U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Presses CDC and FDA on the Outbreak of Severe Lung Injury Connected to Vaping

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the request of U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) today held a hearing on the outbreak of lung injury connected to electronic cigarette use, or vaping, and the rise of youth use of these products. Senator Baldwin, a member of the Senate HELP Committee, pressed witnesses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the long-term health impacts of the lung injuries connected to vaping and also pressed the FDA on its delay in cracking down on marketing and advertising targeted at our nation’s young people.

“I’m pleased that we are here to discuss both the outbreak of this illness, as well as the increasing number of children using e-cigarettes,” said Senator Baldwin during the hearing. “However, it is clear that our work is far from over. Now that the CDC has detected one potential chemical of concern, the Committee should hear from individuals on the front lines who can speak to the challenges of identifying, containing and preventing outbreaks and I expect we’ll learn more today that will require further action.”

The full hearing is publicly available here. Video of Senator Baldwin’s second round of questioning is available here.

Senator Baldwin also today praised Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin for its ground-breaking work on this issue. Last month, Senator Baldwin visited Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to meet with the doctors and medical experts who were the first to publicly identify this recent outbreak of lung injury and illness connected to vaping. As of November 7 2019, the CDC has reported 39 fatalities and more than 2,000 cases of lung injuries related to vaping in 49 states.

In September, Senator Baldwin urged the CDC to activate its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to address the outbreak connected to vaping. Following this request, the CDC activated its EOC that allows the agency to provide increased operational support for the response to meet the outbreak’s evolving challenges.