Utah Sen. Mike Lee said he sees the epidemic of youth addiction to e-cigarettes as a real problem.
“Those who try to get our kids hooked on nicotine should be ashamed of themselves,” said Lee, R-Utah, on Wednesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Combatting the Youth Vaping Epidemic by Enhancing Enforcement Against Illegal e-Cigarettes.” He pointed to studies showing that young e-cigarette users are more likely to consume marijuana and other drugs.
“The federal government has said that it wants to be tough on tobacco, and in saying that it’s issued a bunch of regulations for legal approval, only then to sit on those applications for legal products in the U.S. produced by U.S. companies while turning a blind eye to illegal Chinese imports. Small businesses selling products are left with little to no guidance as to what’s legal and what’s illicit,” said Lee…