August 28th, 2014:

http://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-waxman-harkin-rockefeller-and-members-of-congress-report-shows-e-cigarette-marketing-campaigns-lighting-up-among-young-users

WITH CRITICAL FDA REGULATIONS STILL UNDER REVIEW, REPORT FINDS EVIDENCE OF E-CIGARETTE MARKETING REACHING SUBSTANTIAL YOUTH AUDIENCES

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Eleven Democratic lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives today released a report that shows a dramatic recent increase in the marketing of electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes – with extensive resources being dedicated to social media, sponsorship of youth-oriented events, and television and radio advertisements that reach substantial youth audiences. The report, “Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Marketing to Youth,” is the first comprehensive investigation of e-cigarette marketing tactics and was compiled using responses from eight e-cigarette manufacturers received by the lawmakers from their investigation into the industry and other publicly available information.

In light of the findings in this report, and following investigative reports recently released by the New York Times and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the group of lawmakers once more called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promptly issue deeming regulations that would expand the agency’s regulatory authority over tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.

The report was released today by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who was joined by U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee; U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR); and U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ).

The major findings of the report include:

All surveyed e-cigarette companies appear to use various marketing practices that appeal to youth, such as social media outreach, sponsorships of and free samples provided at youth-oriented events, and radio and television advertisements played during events and programs with significant youth viewership.

Six of the nine surveyed e-cigarette companies market e-cigarettes in flavors, like Cherry Crush, Chocolate Treat, Peachy Keen, and Grape Mint, that could appeal to children and teens.

E-cigarette manufacturers have significantly increased marketing spending, more than doubling marketing expenditures between 2012 and 2013. Last year, six leading e-cigarette companies spent a total of $59.3 million on marketing alone.

Six of the eight respondents support some form of regulation, including restrictions on the marketing and sale of e-cigarettes to children and teens.

“Six months ago, with growing public health concerns regarding liquid nicotine and growing e-cigarette use among young people, my colleagues and I reached out to nine leading e-cigarette companies with questions about their distribution and marketing to children and teenagers,” Durbin said. “The answers came back: from candy flavors to rock concert sponsorships, every single company surveyed in this report has employed a marketing strategy that appears to target youth. For years, federal regulations prohibiting tobacco companies from targeting young people have helped to protect a new generation of smokers from getting hooked on nicotine. Now, we must close this new gateway to addiction to protect our children.”

“E-cigarette makers are starting to prey on kids, just like the big tobacco companies,” said Waxman. “With over a million youth now using e-cigarettes, FDA needs to act without further delay to stop the companies from marketing their addictive products to children.”

“This report provides clear evidence that e-cigarette manufacturers are marketing to kids and teens using tactics that would be illegal if these were traditional cigarettes. This should not be a surprise since some of the e-cigarette makers examined are owned by large tobacco companies well-versed in marketing nicotine products to kids and teens,” Harkin said. “The report shows that e-cigarette manufacturers are investing millions of dollars to create a new generation of nicotine addicts—which is shameful and must be stopped immediately. As the Chairman of the Senate committee with oversight of the FDA, I urge the agency to swiftly issue deeming regulations that give the agency the authority to regulate e-cigarettes and to stop these marketing practices that are already illegal for traditional tobacco products.”

“I am deeply disturbed that e-cigarette companies are mimicking tactics that tobacco companies used in the past to glamorize smoking for youth,” Rockefeller said. “Recent reports on rising poison center calls involving e-cigarettes and children under age six is yet another red flag regarding potential health consequences posed by youth exposure to e-cigarette products. No matter what profit may be involved with encouraging young people to use nicotine products, marketing e-cigarettes to kids should be absolutely off-limits.”

The group of lawmakers also recommended several steps that regulatory authorities and e-cigarette companies should take to ensure that children and teens are adequately protected from deceptive advertising practices or unsubstantiated claims. These recommendations include:

E-cigarette companies should take immediate action to prevent the sale of their products to children and teenagers. This should include refraining from the use of television and radio advertisements.

E-cigarette companies should terminate marketing campaigns that target children and teens, including product promotion through social media and event sponsorships intended for youth audiences.

The FDA should promptly issue deeming regulations asserting the agency’s authority to regulate e-cigarettes.

The FDA should issue regulations to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to children and teenagers by requiring age verification and face-to-face sales, and by limiting purchases through vending machines.

The FDA should implement restrictions on e-cigarette companies marketing to children and teens, and, where appropriate, should work with the Federal Trade Commission to enforce such restrictions.

The FDA should prohibit misleading product claims on e-cigarettes, and should require clear, uniform labels to inform consumers of the health risks associated with their use.

Following a September 2013 Centers for Disease Control & Protection report that showed a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and youth, twelve members of Congress called on nine e-cigarette makers to provide additional information regarding the sale, distribution, labeling, and marketing of their products to children and teens.

http://www.boxer.senate.gov/press/release/congressional-authors-of-e-cigarette-marketing-report-call-new-cdc-data-the-sound-of-an-alarm/

CDC Study Shows that with E-Cigarette Use on the Rise, Adolescents who Smoke E-Cigarettes are Twice as Likely to Intend to Smoke Traditional Cigarettes

Washington, D.C. – With e-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers still on the rise, nine Members of Congress responded today to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that adolescents who had used e-cigarettes were more likely to express intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes than those who had not. Previous scientific studies have shown that intent to smoke cigarettes is a valid predictor of future tobacco use. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization released a report calling for a ban on the use of e-cigarettes indoors, an end to flavored e-cigarettes, and immediate regulation of e-cigarette advertising aimed at youth.

Last year, Members released an investigative report that showed a dramatic recent increase in the marketing of e-cigarettes with extensive resources being dedicated to social media, sponsorship of youth-oriented events, and television and radio advertisements that reach substantial youth audiences. More information is available here.

“If last year’s Centers for Disease Control report on the growing number of kids using e-cigarettes was a call to action, then this new CDC data on the marketing of these dangerous devices is the sound of an alarm,” the Members said. “This study is further evidence that the absence of federal regulation has resulted in an explosion of marketing for e-cigarettes and the number of kids and young adults who want to try smoking them. FDA has an existing mechanism to protect children now, and the scientific evidence has never been clearer: strong regulatory action on the marketing of e-cigarettes to children cannot wait.”

The joint statement was released by: U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and U.S. Jack Reed (D-RI).

The report released by the CDC on Monday found that number of middle school and high school students in the United States who have tried e-cigarettes – but not traditional cigarettes – increased three-fold between 2011 and 2013, reaching more than 260,000 youth. Most troublingly, the report found that those youth who have used e-cigarettes are almost twice as likely to intend to smoke conventional cigarettes.

The new CDC report also produced further evidence that that the more young people report exposure to pro-tobacco advertising, the more likely they are to intend to smoke conventional cigarettes. Thirteen percent of students who said they had no exposures to tobacco ads reported intentions to smoke, compared to 25.6 percent who reported the highest levels of exposure to tobacco advertising. This is especially concerning given a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, which found that the number of children aged 12 to 17 years exposed to e-cigarette marketing increased by 256% between 2011 and 2013.

This report is a follow-up to a CDC report released last year, which showed a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and youth. That report found that use of e-cigarettes had more than doubled in use among high school students since the 2011-2012 school year.

In total, the report found that 1.8 million middle and high school students nationwide have tried e-cigarettes, and more than 75% of them were also smoking traditional cigarettes.

In response to the information presented in that report, twelve Members of Congress wrote to nine e-cigarette makers asking for additional information regarding the sale, distribution, labeling, and marketing of their products to children and teens.

Using responses the lawmakers received to this letter from eight e-cigarette manufacturers, as well as other publicly available information, the Members released an investigation report entitled “Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Marketing to Youth” that showed a dramatic recent increase in the marketing of e-cigarettes with extensive resources being dedicated to social media, sponsorship of youth-oriented events, and television and radio advertisements that reach substantial youth audiences.

The report found that in just two years, from 2012 to 2013, six of the surveyed companies sponsored or provided free samples at 348 events, many of which were music festivals and motorsport events geared toward young people—including Grand Prix auto racing events.

In April, the FDA proposed a rule that would expand the agency’s regulatory authority to regulate e-cigarettes and other liquid nicotine delivery devices. The proposed rule failed to prohibit marketing to minors, the use of flavors, or online sales of e-cigarettes and other nicotine delivery devices to minors.

Earlier this month, thirteen Members of Congress responded to this rule and called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take immediate action to protect young people from predatory e-cigarette marketing and distribution tactics that are straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In the letter, the Members asked the FDA to exercise its existing authority and apply the restrictions imposed on combustible tobacco products to limit youth access to e-cigarettes.