Unfortunately, Kentucky’s youth suffered another setback earlier this summer after efforts to pull harmful Juul e-cigarettes from store shelves were stalled by the FDA. The young people of Kentucky cannot afford such a delay when the stakes are this high; our youth continue to face the damaging health outcomes and deadly consequences of access to e-cigarettes.
Like many other youth advocates, I rejoiced when the FDA announced in June that it was ordering products from vaping giant Juul off store shelves. It was a long overdue vindication of the research done into the harmful effects of vaping, especially on young people.
Benjamin Gies
But the good news didn’t last long. Almost immediately, Juul was in federal court looking for a way out. The court temporarily blocked the FDA’s action. Then, even more disheartening, the FDA put an administrative stay on its own order, stopping any hope of it taking effect soon.
Now is not the time for FDA leaders to succumb to threats from big money corporations. The evidence is clear: Juul pods are hazardous for kids and should be kept off store shelves. We know that more than one in four Kentucky high schoolers use e-cigarettes. We know a single Juul pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. And even worse, we know that Juul’s deceptive marketing practices, developed by high-priced consultants at McKinsey & Company, specifically targeted young people to get them hooked for a lifetime of nicotine usage.
The FDA must continue in its mission to keep all Americans – especially young Americans – safe from harmful products. Public health and youth advocates like me are hopeful that the FDA will remain true to its mission.
In a positive step, the FDA announced it would halt awarding new contracts to McKinsey & Company, a company known for cashing in on lucrative federal contracts while hiding its conflicts of interest from the taxpayers.
Kentuckians will remember McKinsey for paying out hundreds of millions of dollars in legal settlements for its role in turbocharging the national opioid epidemic while working for pill manufacturers and the FDA at the same time. While the FDA’s move to halt McKinsey from new contracts should be applauded, more action is needed to ensure that the FDA stays true to its mission to protect the health and welfare of our youth over all other considerations.
Now is the time for the FDA to hold strong. Agency leaders should remain true to their mission and immediately reinstate the ban on Juul products and defend their action against the vaping company’s lawsuits. And they should give a full accounting for every taxpayer dollar that has helped pad McKinsey’s bottom line.
Once Juul vapes and other e-cigarettes are off the market, we will all be able to breathe a little easier.
Benjamin M. Gies is a former member of the JCPS Board of Education and current Director of Early Childhood Policy & Practice for The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence.
