American Lung Association Opposes Tobacco Industry Efforts to include Riders in the Ag-FDA Bill

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations released its Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (Ag-FDA) appropriations bill, which includes additional provisions, also known as riders, that if enacted, would undermine the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Tobacco Control Act. The American Lung Association’s President and CEO Harold Wimmer issued the following statement:

“The riders in the Ag-FDA appropriations bill undermine the Tobacco Control Act and threaten the FDA’s ability to protect the health of the public and our nation’s youth from tobacco products. The American Lung Association opposes these riders and urges the Committee to reject them. While we have called on FDA, the Department of Justice, and Customs and Border Patrol to take enforcement action against the illegal products on the marketplace, the tobacco industry’s riders only further complicate these enforcement issues.  

“The American Lung Association supports additional funding for the Center for Tobacco Products so that e-cigarette manufacturers pay their fair share of user fees. The Resources to Prevent Youth Vaping Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Murkowski (R-AK), would give FDA the additional resources it needs to enforce against the illegal products. Unfortunately, the amount of funding in the appropriations bill is a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed to address the significant number of illegal e-cigarettes currently on the market and coming into the U.S. every day. 

“Congress tasked the Food and Drug Administration with protecting public health. The riders in the Ag-FDA appropriations bill impair the FDA’s ability to carry out this goal and undermine efforts to protect our nation’s youth. We urge the Committee to reject these riders.”