A new teen vaping bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in a bid to fund efforts by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) to combat e-cigarette or vaping product use associated lung injury (EVALI) and educate teenagers on the danger posed by e-cigarette use. Titled Providing Resources to End the Vaping Epidemic Now for Teenagers Act (PREVENT), the H.R.5482 bill will draw funding from e-cigarette companies in order to fuel these goals.
The teen vaping act was introduced on Dec. 17, 2019, by Committee on Energy and Commerce member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi along with cosponsors Rep. Pete King and Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Dick Durbin. Under this bill, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would charge a fee for e-cigarette companies that would fund programs at the CDC to educate youth about the dangers of vaping as well as contribute to the understanding of EVALI. The most recent CDC statistics describe 2,172 cases of EVALI nationally with 42 confirmed deaths.
The teen vaping act also names organizations that would be allowed to conduct these education programs. Authorized educators would include a state or municipal health agency, nonprofit organizations and a partnership of a local educational agency or hospital paired with either of the aforementioned organizations. The goal of this bill is to reduce the rate of teen e-cigarette use which has leaped 135% in high school populations and 218% in middle school populations.