I think it became clear to FDA that if they didn’t get their arms around this issue the use of these products by kids across the nation would undo decades of progress.

Matthew Myers

Categorized in : Health

There has never been a federal official who made bolder proposals to reduce tobacco use the question was always going to be would he stick it out to get them done?

He made proposals that were unprecedented in their breadth, scope and, if they were adopted, likely impact, but they were just proposals.

We are pleased that the Food and Drug Administration today has taken action to protect the American public from deception.

With each new generation of products there's a temptation to believe they got it wrong before but they've got it right now.

This puts real pressure on every level of the administration to get this done, it means business as usual won't solve this rapidly growing public health problem.

My hope is that everybody will learn from it. by Matthew Myers

My hope is that everybody will learn from it.

This is the first time there's ever been a serious discussion with a commitment from the highest levels of government to tackle tobacco in a way that is transformative, it will transform public health in the United States and literally do more to reduce cancer, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease than any other set of actions the government could take.

We have seen how slow things move in many areas with tobacco and many impediments to action can arise, we just have to make a commitment to make sure The FDA gets done.

Kids have shifted dramatically to the menthol and disposable e-cigarettes left on the market under the Trump Administration's policy, the evidence couldn't be clearer : As long as any flavored e-cigarettes are left on the market, kids will get their hands on them and we will not solve this crisis.

I'm hoping that this will inspire other people to do the same because as one person -- you can arrest one person, but if all the businesses in Apex open the day after today, you're not going to arrest all those people, i'm a law-abiding citizen. I've done nothing wrong. I'm not endangering lives, I'm trying to support my family.

Raising the tobacco age to 21 is a positive step, but it is not a substitute for prohibiting the flavored e-cigarettes that are luring and addicting our kids, to reverse the e-cigarette epidemic, policy makers must prohibit flavored e-cigarettes and can not be limited by what the tobacco industry says is acceptable.

It is imperative that Facebook and Instagram not only swiftly enact these policy changes, but also see that they are strictly enforced, tobacco companies have spent decades targeting kids – social media companies must not be complicit in this strategy.