January 2, 2020 9:30 a.m. 
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley blasted an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration regarding e-cigarettes, which he said fell “far short” of a previously planned ban on flavors that have been shown to attract children.
Merkley said “yet again, President Trump and the FDA are going spineless in the face of corporate lobbying”. He said “the health of millions of American children will continue to suffer because of today’s announcement”.
Merkley said youth e-cigarette addiction has been building over the course of many years. Merkley claims that e-cigarette companies have been given free rein by the FDA to pursue a “massively successful strategy of addicting a new generation on nicotine”. He said it targets middle and high school students with social media influencers and “sweet flavors blatantly designed to appeal to children”. Merkley’s release said in addition to the health impacts of nicotine addiction, the country is facing vaping illnesses related to the additives that have contributed to multiple deaths across the country, including two in Oregon.
Merkley said he is “deeply disturbed that industry lobbyists were able to get President Trump to gut the ban on flavors that the FDA was belatedly planning”. He said the FDA is carving out loopholes for tobacco and menthol flavors and vape shops.
Merkley concluded his release by saying “industry profits and politics should never take precedence over children’s lives and health, but that’s the choice the Trump administration is making today”.