On February 21, ASAM along with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and fifty other organizations, sent a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives urging them to pass H.R. 4742, the Protecting American Lungs Act of 2019, which would impose a tax on nicotine used in e-cigarettes. The letter stressed the importance of decreasing youth use of e-cigarettes, observing that two separate surveys indicate that youth use of e-cigarettes has risen significantly over recent years.

The letter then noted that higher taxes are a particularly effective way to reduce tobacco use among children, as found by decades of studies and Surgeon General reports which indicate that significantly increasing the prices of tobacco products, including through taxes, can reduce and prevent youth use of tobacco products. The letter concluded by urging Congress to use some of the funds that would be generated by this new tax to help combat the youth vaping epidemic through prevention and treatment efforts. 

Read the bill here.

Read the letter here.