Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation applauds Co-sponsors McConnell and Kaine for Pushing FDA to Enforce Tobacco 21

DUBLIN, OH, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation is gratified to see Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who co-sponsored the federal Tobacco 21 legislation in 2019, pushing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to finalize rules for enforcement. In a press release issued by Senator Kaine yesterday that included the text of a joint letter to the FDA, Kaine and McConnell expressed concerns about the ‘delays in finalizing regulations related to the Tobacco 21 legislation and the lack of transparency around the implementation and enforcement of that legislation' and urged the FDA to ‘act swiftly to issue a final rule and increase transparency around enforcement of Tobacco 21.’

The Tobacco 21 legislation, signed into law on December 20, 2019, amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to include a new subsection which states: “Minimum Age of Sale ¬– It shall be unlawful for any retailer to sell a tobacco product to any person younger than 21 years of age.” No exceptions or phase-ins were included in the legislation and it went into effect immediately, but the FDA has failed to finalize rules for enforcement of the minimum sales age.

Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation President Dr. Rob Crane stated that ‘we are deeply appreciative to Senators Kaine and McConnell for following up with the FDA on the legislation they passed more than two years ago. In our 25 years of advocating for Tobacco 21 laws around the country, we know how absolutely critical strong enforcement is for the law to work to protect kids. The FDA has been inexcusably slow to act and irresponsible in its duty to enforce tobacco age-of-sale laws in the U.S.; as a result, millions of American kids have easy access to tobacco and nicotine products and have become addicted, while retailers continue to reap the profits of unlawful sales to minors. This cycle must stop and the FDA must do its job. Our kids deserve these protections.”

The Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation and its advocacy arm, Tobacco 21, work nationwide to raise the minimum legal sales age for nicotine and tobacco to 21 and advocate for strong enforcement through tobacco retail licensing (TRL) policies.

Amanda Turner
Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation
+1 571-431-8282
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