NJ Senator Calls For Moratorium On All Vape Products

RIDGEWOOD, NJ – After six vaping-related deaths across the country, Sen. Bob Menendez is calling for a moratorium on the sale and use of e-cigarettes.

During a press conference Monday afternoon at Ridgewood High School, Menendez unveiled a federal plan to curb vaping use, especially among teens, and reduce the risk of vaping-related illnesses.

Within the last 90 days, more than 380 people nationwide have been hospitalized due to vaping-related illnesses, many of the patients being teens and young adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The fruity flavors. The catchy colors. The promoted tweets and Instagram ads. The false claims vaping is safe. Enough is enough,” said Menendez.

Standing with parents, students, administrators and health advocates outside Ridgewood High School, Menendez called for a plan that includes action from the private sector, federal, state and local levels.

“The truth is we don’t know if it’s a single substance being vaped or a cocktail of chemicals being vaped that’s making Americans sick. What we do know is that taking another puff from your vape pen is not worth the risk of winding up on a ventilator. It’s time to press pause, to find answers, and above all else to protect our children,” he said.

• A moratorium on sales and use of all vaping products until it is determined what is causing serious, sometimes fatal illness in users
• Crackdown on deceptive marketing, especially targeted to teens and young people, which offer exotic flavors that appeal to kids and/or portray vapes as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking
• Close the online loophole that allows young people in states like New Jersey with strict over-21 laws to purchase vapes over the internet without proper age-verification
• Dedicate $500 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to study the impact of e-cigarettes on young people and to develop campaigns and grants for communities to educate youth and parents about the dangers of e-cigarettes
• Tax vaping products at the same level as traditional tobacco products as a financial deterrent to curb usage

Menendez’s proposal comes just days after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy created a task force to look into health concerns related to e-cigarette use.

And, last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would draft new regulations prohibiting the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pods.

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The FDA has said the country is experiencing an "epidemic of youth vaping" with a shocking number of high school students admitting to using some sort of e-cigarette product.

During Monday's press conference, Ridgewood High School student Joseph Theisen said vaping "is common in the high school this year and in past years."

"It's a very scary thing to thing about because no one really knows what's inside of these vapes and what it'll do to your body in the long run," the teen said. "It's an especially frightening thought to think that vapes have killed at least six people so far and injured many more."

"It hurts to think about the fact that these vapes are marketed towards teens because the companies want us to think it'll make us cool or popular. Mango, root beer float, strawberry cheesecake and even double sour rainbow - these are all real vape flavors you can buy online and in stores," Theisen said. "With flavors like these you can't argue that vapes aren't marketed towards teens."

Menendez was among a group of legislators who sent letters Monday demanding eBay, Alibaba and Craiglist crack down on listings for e-cigarettes and vaping products on their marketplace that provide youth with a way to purchase these without any age-verification.

He has also co-sponsored two pieces of legislation.

• The Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction (PROTECT) Act (S.1048) would provides $100 million a year over five years to the CDC to combat teen usage of e-cigarettes, research the links between e-cigarettes and smoking and teen-targeted advertising and nicotine dependence, and to develop education campaigns for parents and children on the dangers of e-cigarettes.
• The E-Cigarette Parity Act (S.2463) expands the definition of tobacco products under the tax code to include e-cigarettes and alternative nicotine products. Studies have shown that taxes on harmful tobacco products are one of the most effective ways to reduce usage, save on health care costs, and deter teens from buying them.