If you’re concerned about the epidemic of e-cigarettes and vaping, contact your two U.S. Senators to let them know how you feel! A sample letter is below. Here is a link to find the names and contact info for your senators.
Dear Senator_____:
I am very concerned about the dangers of e-cigarettes and I am writing to ask you to require that Congress address this serious epidemic. Action is urgently needed since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating reports that more than 250 people, including many teenagers and young adults, have suffered harm and in some cases, hospitalization because of lung injuries from vaping.
One man in Illinois has died and vaping is strongly suspected as the cause of his fatal illness.
Scientists are studying whether certain brands of e-cigarettes are most likely to be harmful, and whether the lung damage is caused by the chemicals, contamination or other causes. Meanwhile a range of vaping products are widely sold and teens and adults are being seriously harmed.
In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) issued regulations aimed at restricting access to e-cigarettes and requiring studies of their risk. The regulations were supposed to go into effect in 2018, but were delayed. Meanwhile, the FDA has failed to require the companies to prove that their products are safe.
The industry and the scientists they have hired claim that vaping helps people to quit smoking, but that has not been proven. Meanwhile, we now know that vaping can cause serious lung damage in just a year or two. That’s faster than cigarettes, which generally take decades to cause serious harm.
After initially delaying the regulation of e-cigarettes for 4 years, the former FDA Commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, modified his views, calling vaping an epidemic, and vowed that the agency would take appropriate action.
Please become a co-sponsor of the SAFE Kids Act (S. 655), which would ban most flavoring from e-cigarettes. These flavors are a major reason why children like to vape. In addition, please contact the FDA and urge the agency to immediately restrict the marketing of e-cigarettes and require that these devices be drastically restricted until the companies submit conclusive safety data through the PMTA process. The current delay is harming unknown numbers of teens and adults.
Sincerely,