North Palm Beach Today

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement that it would no longer allow dangerous Chinese-manufactured disposable vapes into the country by empowering import inspectors with the authority to detain shipments of the product arriving in the United States.

“As a mother and former healthcare executive, I am committed to using my elected office to advocate for the health and well-being of our youth. I applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for taking this important first step in addressing the flavored disposable vape epidemic,” said Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick. “Our children are being actively targeted by Chinese manufacturers of flavored disposable vapes and unfortunately, more are becoming addicted to nicotine as a result every day. Stopping Chinese-manufactured flavored disposable vapes at our borders is a positive step that will save lives. I will continue to work with the Administration to have the flavored disposable vapes already in our country taken off store shelves as swiftly as possible.”

Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick has led the charge in Congress to get flavored disposable vapes off store shelves and out of the hands of our children. In February, she introduced The Disposable ENDS Product Enforcement Act of 2023, legislation designed to require the FDA to remove flavored disposable vapes from the market.

According to the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey published by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, disposable e-cigarettes are the device currently most used by youth.

In Florida, roughly 1,750 youth under the age of 18 become new daily smokers each year. Additionally, statistics show that 270,000 youth under the age of 18 who are alive in Florida will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. 

In 2015, Broward County, which is in Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick’s district, banned the use of e-cigarettes in county facilities. However, since flavored disposable e-cigarettes are still available under federal law, due to the Trump Administration’s loophole, they can be sold outside the city limits and made readily available to the children of Broward County. 

This is evident because an estimated 15.8% of youth in Broward currently use e-cigarettes. To counter this epidemic, Broward County Public Schools developed a tiered curriculum structure for students to provide greater awareness regarding prevention and intervention resources. 

“I will continue to work with the Biden-Harris Administration to close the flavored disposable e-cigarette loophole entirely and ensure the safety of future generations,” added Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick.

Original source can be found here.