Trone, Krishnamoorthi, Stewart Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Curb Youth Vaping
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hannah Muldavin, Hannah.Muldavin@mail.house.gov
Trone, Krishnamoorthi, Stewart Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Curb Youth Vaping
WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Representatives David Trone (D-MD), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Chris Stewart (R-UT) reintroduced the bipartisan Accurate Reporting of Smoking Variants Act to help doctors and researchers better understand the impact of the alarming rate of e-cigarette use among America’s young people.
Recent studies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that over 10% of middle school students and over 27% of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. According to the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey, over 3.6 million kids were reported to be currently using e-cigarettes. The highly addictive nicotine in e-cigarettes can harm brain development and may increase the likelihood of using cigarettes in the future.
While electronic health records (EHRs) allow doctors to record whether a patient uses cigarettes or cigars, EHRs don’t currently provide options for doctors to record data regarding the use of e-cigarettes or other smoking variants. This legislation would require the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to ensure that EHRs allow doctors to record vaping and e-cigarette use, just like the records allow for cigarettes and cigars. This change would allow for health care providers and researchers to better understand the prevalence of e-cigarette usage, understand the long-term health impacts of these products, and develop strategies to curb vaping among young people.
“I’ve heard from parents across Maryland about the alarming increase in youth vaping. We can’t ignore this public health crisis,” said Congressman David Trone. “In order to reduce youth vaping, we need to collect and understand the data behind the youth vaping epidemic. The Accurate Reporting of Smoking Variants Act will do just that. I want to thank Representatives Krishnamoorthi and Stewart for coming together on this important bipartisan issue.”
“Our children are getting addicted to e-cigarettes at alarming rates, but our doctors and healthcare professionals aren’t receiving sufficient data to educate the American public on the impact of this epidemic,” said Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Co-Founder of the Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic. “Making sure we fully understand the prevalence of youth vaping and the long-term health implications is a crucial factor in stemming its proliferation among our children. This bill will shed light on the full extent of this public health crisis.”
“Young people in Utah and across the country are using e-cigs at alarming rates,” said Congressman Chris Stewart. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill in an effort to take concrete steps to reverse this trend. There’s no denying it: This is a public health crisis that demands action. Let’s give health providers and researches the tools they need to ensure a healthier America for future generations.”
To read bill text, click here.
To read a bill summary, click here.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees in the 117th Congress and previously served on the Education and Labor and Foreign Affairs Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
