OPINION: The Biden-Harris FDA Is Putting Our Children At Risk

As an Associate Pastor and retired 20-years youth pastor, youth sports coach, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, and 40-years of military and Department of Defense service, I am incredibly passionate about protecting children. That’s why I am disappointed and angry, although, not surprised, by the FDA’s failure to stop the flood of illegal nicotine vapes that are flooding our country and threatening our kids.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are over 6,000 different e-cigarette products found in the United States. But – with only a few dozen authorized for sale by the FDA – virtually the entire vape market from coast to coast is completely unregulated. Restrictions on the vape market without strong enforcement has contributed to a sophisticated criminal market. These products flood in to our schools, our workplaces, and our homes from China – despite the Chinese banning these products to reduce access and use by their children.

Youth should not have access to tobacco – period. But the FDA’s efforts to protect our teens without an enforcement strategy have created an unchecked illicit market. Pushing sales out of the supervised, regulated market has made it easier for Chinese manufacturers to illegally market to children. They are targeting our teens on social media with candy flavors and bright packages to seduce teens. And, every day that passes without U.S. government action, younger and younger kids will fall prey to pressures of predatory advertising.

Think I’m just crying wolf? The CDC’s latest e-cigarette study shows that mint-flavored products decreased from 10.1 percent to 5.9 percent while fruity, sweet and chocolate-y flavors increased from 29.2 percent to 41.3 percent, the most popular choice among teenagers. And, through lack of action from the federal government, over-the-counter $20 disposable vapes now include video game screens.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products has failed in its effort to regulate a functioning marketplace that provides alternative cessation products to adult smokers while protecting youth. The FDA’s glacial approval process has authorized only 34 products for sale of the millions that have applied for authorization. Last month, the Convenience Store Association called for the Federal Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products to regulate these dangerous vapes.

In April, the FDA and DOJ seized $700,000 in unauthorized and unregulated e-cigarette products in California. But $700,000 is a small drop in the bucket. There have been so many illegal products shipped into our communities that law enforcement and retailers are struggling to separate the legal from the illegal.

To keep our children safe and to provide regulated, non-combustible, federally-approved e-cigarettes for adults who may use them to quit smoking, many states are taking matters into their own hands. A number of state legislatures are implementing a “vapor product directory” that better enables enforcement of non-FDA-authorized products. A directory of legal products will be published that empowers stakeholders with the information they need to tell the difference.

As Nevada students go back to school this week, it’s more important than ever that we get this policy right. America has the potential to be a global leader in helping smokers transition away from cigarettes to less harmful alternatives while protecting our children, but change must start at the top.