Senator Collins Co-Sponsors Bipartisan Legislation to Hold E-Cigarette Companies Accountable for Youth Vaping

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to protect children from the dangers of e-cigarettes.  The Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act would require that e-cigarette manufacturers pay user fees to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help fund more activity at the FDA to conduct stronger oversight of the e-cigarette industry and increase awareness of the danger of e-cigarettes.

“The use of e-cigarettes by our young people threatens the progress we have made to reduce overall tobacco use.  I have heard from teachers across Maine about the issue of vaping in our high schools and middle schools,” said Senator Collins.  “Although we have taken important steps that are already making a difference in reducing the rate of youth vaping, more work remains to be done.  This legislation would impose fees on e-cigarette manufacturers similar to fees for other tobacco products, which could be used to support youth education and prevention initiatives.”

In recent years, the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products has skyrocketed, particularly among teens.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that: 

·         E-cigarette use among high school students rose from 1.5 percent of students in 2011 to 27.5 percent of students in 2019. 

·         E-cigarette use among middle school students also grew, from 0.6 percent of students in 2011 to 10.5 percent of students in 2019.

·         Flavored and easily-concealable vaping products have made e-cigarettes more popular among youth.

The Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act increases the total amount that will be collected in tobacco user fees by $100 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and indexes that amount to inflation for future years.  Critically, the bill also authorizes FDA to collect user fees from all manufacturers of products that have been deemed as tobacco products by FDA, including e-cigarettes.  Currently, manufacturers of traditional combustible tobacco products pay into FDA user fees, but e-cigarette companies are exempt due to a loophole in the law.  The amount collected from individual e-cigarette manufacturers will be proportional to their share of the overall tobacco market, as determined by FDA.  FDA would be able to use this additional revenue from e-cigarette user fees to conduct safety review of vaping products, prevent sales of e-cigarettes to minors, help support efforts to educate youth on the dangers of e-cigarettes and increase the agency’s oversight and enforcement capabilities. 

In addition to Senator Collins, the legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Mitt Romney (R-UT).

Click HERE to read the bill text.

###