United States addresses the FDA's delayed oversight of vaping concerns as well as the adoption of a menthol cigarette ban

U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin criticizes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for prolonged delays in overseeing vaping dangers and missing deadlines for pre-market tobacco product applications, urging the FDA to quickly implement a proposed rule to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars because communities of color suffer disproportionately from Big Tobacco's targeted marketing tactics. On the two-year anniversary of his Senate confirmation, Durbin notes the FDA's failure to regulate synthetic nicotine products and urges FDA Administrator Dr. Robert Califf to employ regulatory measures to address vaping. Durbin, a long-time opponent of Big Tobacco, underlines the critical importance of public health policies to combat addiction, disease, and death.