Omnibus Includes Provision to Protect Kids and Families from Unregulated Synthetic Nicotine Products

Provision championed by Murray, colleagues will finally empower the FDA to regulate synthetic nicotine products

Senator Murray: “Dangerous nicotine products shouldn’t be on the market totally unregulated just because of an outdated legal loophole—and now they won’t be.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on a provision she secured in the omnibus, which grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate synthetic nicotine.

“Dangerous nicotine products shouldn’t be on the market totally unregulated just because of an outdated legal loophole—and now they won’t be. This bipartisan legislative fix will help protect our kids from highly addictive products like flavored e-cigarettes containing synthetic nicotine—which have fueled the youth vaping crisis—by ensuring there’s FDA oversight of all synthetic nicotine products. I’m thankful for Senators Durbin, Collins, Merkley, Romney, Feinstein, Kaine, Murkowski, Blumenthal, Warren, Baldwin, Brown, Smith, and Cornyn for their leadership in making sure we get this done.”

FDA has lacked the authority it needs to regulate synthetic nicotine products, like oral nicotine pouches and flavored e-cigarettes, because synthetic nicotine—which is produced in a lab and not derived from tobacco leaves—currently falls outside of the statutory definition of “tobacco product.” The provision included in the spending package will close this loophole, create a brief transition period, and require FDA to submit an annual report to Congress with information about applications for tobacco products, compliance, and enforcement.

Senator Murray has long championed stronger oversight and regulation of tobacco products to protect the health of all Americans and young Americans—who face a nicotine addiction crisis—in particular. Senator Murray has urged FDA to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, called for the swift removal of tobacco products that didn’t meet key approval deadlines, and more.

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