Murray: No Time to Waste Ensuring FDA Moves Forward In Protecting Kids From Tobacco Products

Murray calls for urgent action, transparency following deadline for manufacturers of e-cigarettes and other deemed tobacco products to file marketing applications with FDA

Murray: “Now that this important and long-delayed deadline has finally arrived, we must hold the Trump Administration accountable to acting with the urgency that the crisis of youth tobacco use demands.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the need for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to immediately clear the market of products that failed to meet the deadline for manufacturers of e-cigarettes and other deemed tobacco products to file marketing applications with FDA, ensure transparency, and apply stringent public health standards in the agency review of pre-market tobacco applications.

“Now that this important and long-delayed deadline has finally arrived, we must hold the Trump Administration accountable to acting with the urgency that the crisis of youth tobacco use demands. After years of the Trump Administration dragging its feet on this critical step as youth tobacco use skyrocketed, there is no time to waste. FDA must immediately clear the market of tobacco products that fail to meet today’s deadline and move forward quickly with a strong, public health driven review process that prioritizes kids, not tobacco companies. We also need transparency from the FDA as soon as possible, so we can be sure that the same Administration which has needlessly delayed stronger oversight of tobacco products and protections for kids in the past, doesn’t impede this critical work in the future.”

Senator Murray has repeatedly pushed back against numerous delays in today’s deadline and urged FDA to take stronger action to protect kids from tobacco products. Earlier this year, Senator Murray and several of her Democratic colleagues sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Hahn, pressing the FDA to provide a list of marketed products that are the subject of an application for approval submitted to FDA by the deadline.

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