Today, Wednesday, November 20, 2019, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) applauded the House Energy & Commerce Committee and Committee Chairman Frank Pallone advancing the bipartisan vaping and e-cigarette ban, including prohibiting vaping flavors, raising the minimum tobacco purchasing age to 21, and banning online sales of vaping products. Gottheimer is a cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation, the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019.
“What we have right now is a perfect storm of a highly addictive substance with fun flavors, a cool device, impressionable teens, easy online access, and smoke that’s difficult to detect,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “Plain and simple: we need a war on youth vaping. This legislation advancing out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, under the leadership of my friend and New Jersey colleague Congressman Frank Pallone, is exactly what we need to fight this fight. We need to do everything we can to turn the tide, help our children stay healthy, and ensure they’re able to live long, happy, healthy lives. As a parent, that’s truly the goal here.”
In October, Gottheimer announced a multifaceted battle plan to combat youth vaping. Gottheimer’s plan included:
1) Introducing bipartisan legislation to prohibit online sales of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes;
2) Banning e-cigarette flavors nationwide;
3) Working with the FDA to require new e-cigarettes include one-way communication technology to “jam” e-cigs from use on school grounds, and, in the meantime, requiring e-cigarette vapor sensors in all schools;
4) Raising the minimum tobacco purchase age to 21;
5) Banning all non-tobacco e-cigarette products, flavored vaping liquids, and counterfeit e-cigarettes throughout New Jersey; and
6) Beginning a full CDC investigation into the recent vaping lung illnesses and the broader impact of vaping on youth.
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