On September 9, ASAM, along with 44 other organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to support the Stopping Appealing Flavors in E-Cigarettes for Kids Act (SAFE Kids Act), introduced by Senator Dick Durbin and Senator Lisa Murkowski (S. 655) and Representative Diana DeGette and Representative Jamie Raskin (H.R. 1498).  The bill would prohibit flavors in e-cigarettes unless the manufacturer demonstrates that a flavor will help with smoking cessation, not increase youth initiation, and not increase the risk of harm to the user. It furthermore prohibits use of flavors in other non-cigarette tobacco products, such as cigars and smokeless tobacco.   

The letter stressed the threat that flavored tobacco products pose to the public health, pointing to a survey that found that 64 percent of current middle and high school tobacco users had used a flavored tobacco product in the past month. However, while flavored tobacco products were hooking a new generation on nicotine, the tobacco industry actually expanded its flavor offerings, from 108 to 250 different flavors from 2008 to 2015. The letter concluded by urging Congress to address the public health threat of menthol cigarettes by adding language to regulate them as the SAFE Act moves through the legislature.

Read the bill here.

Read the letter here.