Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, spoke as part of an expert panel at a congressional staff briefing as the American Academy of Pediatrics representative and medical expert for the Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic. This was an informational session to provide updated statistics and information on the youth vaping epidemic and changes to the FDA policy guidelines for e-cigarettes.

"Pediatricians are on the front lines of counseling youth and young adults about the harms posed by tobacco products," Dr. Walley remarked during the panel. "The latest data from the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey show that e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among youth and 27.5% of high school students are current e-cigarette users. As pediatricians, we are seeing all too frequently how nicotine addiction takes hold in adolescent patients who use e-cigarettes."  

After the staff briefing, the House voted to pass the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act. When asked about the House's passage of the legislation, Dr. Walley said, "the body of evidence is clear: flavors in tobacco products attract young users. The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act passed by the House will help prevent youth from starting tobacco use and pediatricians continue to have a vital role to prevent youth tobacco use and assist nicotine-addicted youth in quitting."

The Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic will now work to get the legislation introduced in the Senate.