Following Senator Baldwin’s Request, Senate HELP Committee Announces Hearing on Lung Injury Outbreak 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) announced it will hold a hearing next month 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, called for a hearing in September to investigate the outbreak and work to prevent future cases.

“The outbreak of lung injury connected to using e-cigarette, or vaping, products continues to grow. Forty nine states have reported cases of illness and deaths have been confirmed in 24 states. We need to know more about what is making people sick and do more to prevent young people from using vaping products,” said Senator Baldwin. “I look forward to the opportunity to learn more about the causes of this outbreak and what more we can do to protect people from getting sick, or worse.”

The hearing, titled “Examining the Response to Lung Illnesses and Rising Youth Electronic Cigarette Use,” will take place on Wednesday, November 13, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. More information is available here.

Earlier this 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 October 22, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported 34 fatalities and more than 1,600 cases of lung injuries related to vaping nationwide.

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.