WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and 10 of his Congressional colleagues released a report that shows a dramatic increase in the marketing of electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes – to youth through candy and fruit flavored products, social media, and sponsorship of youth-oriented events. The report, “Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Marketing to Youth,” was compiled using responses from eight e-cigarette manufacturers and the lawmakers’ investigation of the industry through publicly available information.
“Big Tobacco can create new products with a fresh new image, but its goal remains the same: to market addictive—and harmful—products to children in order to replace the 480,000 customers it loses each year to tobacco-related deaths,” Brown said. “This report is further evidence that the Administration must act quickly to regulate electronic cigarettes. E-cigs contain toxic substances, use addictive nicotine, and are being marketed to children using practices now outlawed for traditional cigarettes.”
In light of the findings in this report, and following investigative reports recently released by the New York Times and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the group of lawmakers called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promptly issue deeming regulations that would expand the agency’s regulatory authority over tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Last week, Brown and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) met with Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the FDA, to urge the agency to do everything in its power to expand its oversight of Big Tobacco in order to protect consumers from the dangers of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) and ensure they aren’t being marketed to children.
Brown released the report today with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL); U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee; U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR); and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).
The major findings of the report include:
The group of lawmakers also recommended several steps that regulatory authorities and e-cigarette companies should take to ensure that children and teens are adequately protected from deceptive advertising practices or unsubstantiated claims. These recommendations include:
Following a September 2013 CDC report that showed a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and youth, twelve members of Congress called on nine e-cigarette makers to provide additional information regarding the sale, distribution, labeling, and marketing of their products to children and teens.
The letter was sent to the following companies: NJOY, Lorillard Inc., Reynolds American Inc., Altria Group, Inc., LOGIC Technology, Eonsmoke, GreenSmoke, VMR Products, and Lead By Sales LLC. Every company but one – Lead by Sales LLC, the maker of White Clouds Cigarettes – responded to the lawmakers’ request, and their responses formed the basis of today’s report.
###