Nashville – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 33 attorneys general in urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action against the rise of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes among young users. In a letter issued this week, the coalition called for new regulations and stronger enforcement mechanisms to address the youth vaping crisis.

The coalition's letter specifically called for a federal ban on all flavored e-cigarettes and similar products, as well as regulations limiting the concentration and quantity of nicotine in e-cigarettes. The coalition also urged the FDA to adopt regulations governing the marketing for e-cigarettes, with particular emphasis on social media and influencers, and to take stronger enforcement actions against manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of flavored disposable e-cigarettes.

The 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that a vast majority of high school students who reported regularly using an e-cigarette said they used flavored products. Flavored, disposable e-cigarettes and similar Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) products have flooded the market and surged in popularity in recent years, often with stronger nicotine strengths, larger volumes of e-liquid, and cheaper prices than traditional cartridge-based e-cigarettes.

Attorney General Skrmetti was joined in the letter by state attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The letter can be read in its entirety here. 

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#PR23-33:  Attorney General Skrmetti Joins Multistate Coalition in Urging FDA to Ban Flavored Disposable E-Cigarettes