U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin criticized the Trump Administration’s Food and Drug Administration on May 13 for authorizing the sale of fruit-flavored electronic cigarettes and allowing illegal vaping products to remain available, according to remarks delivered on the Senate floor.
The issue is significant because flavored e-cigarettes have been linked to increased nicotine addiction among children, with health experts estimating that at least 40 percent of high schoolers are vaping. Durbin argued that these decisions undermine public health efforts and put young people at risk.
“[When I was 14 years old], my father died of lung cancer. Seeing my dad struggle changed my life. I have made it a priority during my time in Congress to spare others from this suffering. We have made significant progress in reducing smoking over the last several decades. After I passed legislation that banned smoking on airplanes, it appeared to be a tipping point, and increasingly we’ve seen tobacco and cigarettes disappear from public spaces. But Big Tobacco did not dissipate like a cloud of smoke. They re-branded with flashy new products: vaping and e-cigarettes. And they followed the same playbook they used to sell Marlboro cigarettes and so many others. They targeted our children in America,” Durbin said.
He also said, “Tobacco companies donated to Donald Trump’s election, his inauguration, and his Great Gatsby ballroom—with the expectation of favorable treatment. President Trump’s Administration has delivered for Big Tobacco. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration did something it has never done before. After pressure from President Trump, the FDA authorized the first ever flavored e-cigarettes.”
Durbin cited studies showing harmful substances such as formaldehyde, chromium, nickel, and lead present in e-cigarettes: “These are not kids vaping to quit cigarette smoking—these are kids who first became addicted to nicotine because of flavored vapes… Formaldehyde, chromium, heavy metals like nickel and lead—all of these are present in e-cigarettes.” He added that a recent study found vaping is likely to cause cancer.
He further addressed personnel changes at FDA: “But even that gift to vaping and cigarette titans Altria and RJ Reynolds was not enough… Yesterday, President Trump forced the resignation [of Dr. Makary]. [He] is gone for his resistance to this expansion of vaping…”
Durbin concluded by warning against political influence over regulatory agencies: “Whether it is for drugs, medical devices or tobacco products—it is never a good idea for the President…to pressure regulators…”
Durbin has long worked on tobacco control issues after losing his father as a teenager due to lung cancer; he led efforts such as banning smoking on airplanes—which led toward broader bans—and supporting federal jurisdiction over tobacco regulation according to the official website.
