McConnell, Kaine push FDA to implement new legal tobacco age set by their bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, who successfully worked together to pass their legislation to raise the tobacco age from 18 to 21 in 2019, pushed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue the guidance needed to fully implement and enforce that change, according to a release.

“There have already been significant delays in the rulemaking process and limited communication about these delays, resulting in a lack of clarity on enforcement. We urge the FDA to act swiftly to issue a final rule and to increase transparency around enforcement of Tobacco 21,” the senators wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.

“We are concerned about the impact that the delay in issuing the final rule has had on enforcement of Tobacco 21. The Tobacco 21 legislation, if properly enforced, is an important tool to reduce the number of children in our country who attempt to access an age-restricted product, which if accessed, may lead to addiction to tobacco and nicotine products. However, without updated sales compliance regulations from the FDA, Congress cannot ensure retailers are abiding by the law,” they continued.

Specifically, the senators requested that the FDA respond within two weeks with information regarding when a final rule will be issued to update regulations to conform with their legislation, and how they plan to complete compliance checks to ensure the rule is enforced.

The National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 2 million US teens say they use e-cigarettes. A quarter of those teens said they use e-cigarettes on a daily basis.