SAFE Kids Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1498 To impose additional restrictions on tobacco flavors for use in e-cigarettes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 5, 2019 Ms. DEGETTE (for herself and Mr. RASKIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To impose additional restrictions on tobacco flavors for use in e-cigarettes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Appealing 4 Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids Act’’ or the ‘‘SAFE Kids 5 Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds as follows: 8 (1) Tobacco use almost always begins during 9 adolescence and, because nicotine is addictive, most 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 1498 IH youth tobacco users continue to use tobacco as 1 adults, even if they intended to quit. 2 (2) According to the Surgeon General, ‘‘The 3 use of products containing nicotine in any form 4 among youth, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe’’ and 5 ‘‘Nicotine exposure during adolescence can cause ad- 6 diction and can harm the developing brain’’. 7 (3) In 2018, youth e-cigarette use increased by 8 78 percent among high school students and by 48 9 percent among middle school students. More than 10 3.6 million youth currently use e-cigarettes, an in- 11 crease of 1.5 million high school and middle school 12 students in one year. 13 (4) In 2018, 28 percent of high school e-ciga- 14 rette users and 16 percent of middle school e-ciga- 15 rette users reported frequent use of e-cigarettes, 16 using e-cigarettes on at least 20 of the preceding 30 17 days. 18 (5) Rising youth use of e-cigarettes is hindering 19 progress in reducing youth tobacco use. The use of 20 any tobacco product increased by 38 percent among 21 high school students and 29 percent among middle 22 school students between 2017 and 2018. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 1498 IH (6) Both the Surgeon General and the Commis- 1 sioner of Food and Drugs have called the recent 2 surge in youth e-cigarettes use an ‘‘epidemic’’. 3 (7) The Surgeon General in 2018 issued an ad- 4 visory emphasizing the need to take immediate ac- 5 tion to stem the youth e-cigarette epidemic and to 6 protect kids from a lifetime of nicotine addiction and 7 related health risks. 8 (8) Youth use of cigars is a public health con- 9 cern. High school boys smoke cigars at a higher rate 10 than cigarettes (9 percent for cigars and 7.6 percent 11 for cigarettes). 12 (9) Flavors play a significant role in attracting 13 kids to tobacco products and make them easier to 14 use by masking the harshness of tobacco products. 15 (10) A 2017 study identified more than 15,000 16 unique e-cigarette flavors available online. E-ciga- 17 rettes come in flavors such as gummy bear, cotton 18 candy, and fruit loops. 19 (11) The number of unique cigar flavor names 20 more than doubled, from 108 to 250, between 2008 21 and 2015, and flavored cigars made up more than 22 half of the convenience store cigar market in 2015. 23 Cigars come in flavors such as chocolate, water- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 1498 IH melon, and tropical fusion and are sold in conven- 1 ience stores for as little as 3 for 99 cents. 2 (12) Youth often begin tobacco use with a fla- 3 vored product. Eighty-one percent of youth who have 4 ever used a tobacco product started with a flavored 5 tobacco product. 6 (13) Flavors are a primary reason why youth 7 use e-cigarettes and cigars. Eighty-two percent of 8 current youth e-cigarette users and 74 percent of 9 current youth cigar smokers said they used these 10 products ‘‘because they come in flavors I like’’. 11 (14) In 2018, the Food and Drug Administra- 12 tion (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission 13 (FTC) took action against some deceptive e-liquid 14 products that look like kid-friendly juice boxes, cook- 15 ies, and candy. Many similar products remain on the 16 market. 17 (15) The American Association of Poison Con- 18 trol Centers reported more than 3,100 calls in 2018 19 due to exposure to e-liquids, and the American 20 Academy of Pediatrics has warned about the dan- 21 gers of accidental poisonings because of the appeal 22 of the packaging of flavored products. 23 (16) Curbing the use of flavors in tobacco prod- 24 ucts will help to protect kids from nicotine addiction 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 1498 IH and tobacco-caused diseases such as cancer, heart 1 disease, and respiratory disease. 2 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF TOBACCO 3 FLAVORS. 4 (a) TOBACCO PRODUCT STANDARDS.—Section 5 907(a)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 6 (21 U.S.C. 387g) is amended— 7 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub- 8 paragraph (C); and 9 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR TOBACCO PROD- 12 UCTS OTHER THAN CIGARETTES.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 14 vided in clause (ii), a tobacco product that 15 is not a cigarette, or any component, part, 16 or accessory of such a product, shall not 17 contain, as a constituent (including a 18 smoke or aerosol constituent) or additive, 19 an artificial or natural flavor (other than 20 tobacco) or an herb or spice (including 21 menthol, strawberry, grape, orange, clove, 22 cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, lico- 23 rice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, and coffee) 24 that is a characterizing flavor of the to- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 1498 IH bacco product, tobacco smoke, or aerosol 1 emitted from the product. Nothing in this 2 subparagraph shall be construed to limit 3 the Secretary’s authority to take action 4 under this section or other provisions of 5 this Act applicable to any artificial or nat- 6 ural flavor, herb, or spice not specified in 7 this subparagraph. 8 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—An electronic nic- 9 otine delivery system component or part 10 shall not contain or use an artificial or 11 natural flavor (other than tobacco) that is 12 a characterizing flavor of the product or its 13 aerosol unless the Secretary issues an 14 order finding that a manufacturer has 15 demonstrated that use of the character- 16 izing flavor— 17 ‘‘(I) will increase the likelihood of 18 smoking cessation among current 19 users of tobacco products; 20 ‘‘(II) will not increase the likeli- 21 hood of youth initiation of nicotine or 22 tobacco products; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 1498 IH ‘‘(III) will not increase the likeli- 1 hood of harm to the person using the 2 characterizing flavor.’’. 3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 900 of the Federal Food, 4 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387) is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 6 (22) as paragraphs (9) through (23); and 7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(8) ELECTRONIC NICOTINE DELIVERY SYS- 10 TEM.—The term ‘electronic nicotine delivery sys- 11 tem’— 12 ‘‘(A) means any electronic device that de- 13 livers nicotine, flavor, or another substance via 14 an aerosolized solution to the user inhaling 15 from the device (including e-cigarettes, e-hook- 16 ah, e-cigars, vape pens, advanced refillable per- 17 sonal vaporizers, and electronic pipes) and any 18 component, liquid, part, or accessory of such a 19 device, whether or not sold separately; and 20 ‘‘(B) does not include a product that— 21 ‘‘(i) is approved by the Food and 22 Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco 23 cessation product or for another thera- 24 peutic purpose; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 1498 IH ‘‘(ii) is marketed and sold solely for a 1 purpose described in clause (i).’’. 2 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 9(1) of the 3 Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act 4 of 1986 (15 U.S.C. 4408(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘sec- 5 tion 900(18)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 900(19)’’. 6 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 7 this section shall take effect 1 year after the date of enact- 8 ment of this Act. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Mar 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1498.IH H1498 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS