II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2974 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a Reducing Youth 

Use of E-Cigarettes Initiative. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 7, 2021 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. BROWN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. REED, and 

Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 

a Reducing Youth Use of E-Cigarettes Initiative. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preventing Opportuni5 ties for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘PROTECT Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REDUCING YOUTH USE OF E-CIGARETTES INITIA2 TIVE. 

3 The Public Health Service Act is amended by insert4 ing after section 317U of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–23) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 317V. REDUCING YOUTH USE OF E-CIGARETTES INI7 TIATIVE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre10 vention, shall carry out an initiative, to be known as the 

11 Reducing Youth Use of E-Cigarettes Initiative, which shall 

12 include the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) Conducting research, (including by en14 hancing State-level surveillance and by using rapid 

15 surveillance methods) on use by youth and young 

16 adults of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco 

17 products, including research on— 

18 ‘‘(A) the types of products youth and 

19 young adults use; 

20 ‘‘(B) patterns of products used by youth 

21 and young adults, including initiation, fre22 quency of use, use in combination with other to23 bacco products, and use of flavors; 

24 ‘‘(C) the association between the use by 

25 youth and young adults of electronic cigarettes 

26 and smoking initiation; 


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1 ‘‘(D) use of electronic cigarettes and 

2 emerging tobacco products among different de3 mographic groups; 

4 ‘‘(E) the means by which youth and young 

5 adults access electronic cigarettes and emerging 

6 tobacco products, and methods of distribution 

7 of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco 

8 products; 

9 ‘‘(F) youth and young adult exposure to 

10 advertising of electronic cigarettes and emerg11 ing tobacco products; 

12 ‘‘(G) marketing and advertising strategies 

13 used by manufacturers, including the channels 

14 and messaging used and strategies that target 

15 different demographic groups; 

16 ‘‘(H) the reasons youth and young adults 

17 use such products; 

18 ‘‘(I) the extent to which youth and young 

19 adult electronic cigarette users are nicotine de20 pendent; 

21 ‘‘(J) patterns of youth and young adult 

22 electronic cigarette cessation behaviors, includ23 ing patterns in motivation to quit, quit at24 tempts, successful cessation, and associated fac25 tors; and 


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1 ‘‘(K) resources youth and young adults are 

2 using to quit tobacco use. 

3 ‘‘(2) Conducting research on— 

4 ‘‘(A) the characteristics and nicotine deliv5 ery technology of electronic cigarettes and 

6 emerging tobacco products; 

7 ‘‘(B) biomarkers of exposure to electronic 

8 cigarettes and emerging tobacco products and 

9 resulting health impacts from such exposure; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(C) the levels of nicotine in electronic 

12 cigarettes and emerging tobacco products. 

13 ‘‘(3) Developing and disseminating guidance for 

14 health care providers, schools, and other entities as 

15 appropriate on intervening with, and treating, youth 

16 and young adults who use electronic cigarettes and 

17 other emerging tobacco products. 

18 ‘‘(4) Identifying promising strategies to— 

19 ‘‘(A) prevent and reduce the use by youth 

20 and young adults of electronic cigarettes and 

21 emerging tobacco products; 

22 ‘‘(B) identify and develop cessation strate23 gies and quit support that are appropriate for 

24 youth and young adults; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) improve access to, and the delivery of 

2 tobacco cessation services for, youth and young 

3 adults, including the use of technology-delivered 

4 services. 

5 ‘‘(5) Identifying effective messages and commu6 nication efforts that prevent initiation of tobacco 

7 product use and reduce use, including the use of 

8 electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products, 

9 among youth and young adults. 

10 ‘‘(6) Developing and implementing a campaign, 

11 in coordination with the Surgeon General, to reduce 

12 tobacco initiation and use by youth and young 

13 adults, and to educate the public about— 

14 ‘‘(A) the rapidly evolving tobacco product 

15 landscape; 

16 ‘‘(B) the harms associated with the use by 

17 youth and young adults of electronic cigarettes 

18 and other emerging tobacco products; and 

19 ‘‘(C) culturally competent strategies for in20 tervening with youth and young adults who use 

21 tobacco and providing or directing them to ap22 propriate cessation services. 

23 ‘‘(7) Continuing to provide funding through the 

24 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Na25 tional Tobacco Control Program cooperative agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:36 Oct 12, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2974.IS S2974

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1 ment to State, local, territorial, and island health de2 partments and Tribal organizations, as appropriate, 

3 for— 

4 ‘‘(A) preventing and reducing the use by 

5 youth and young adults of electronic cigarettes 

6 and emerging tobacco products; and 

7 ‘‘(B) improving access to and delivery of 

8 cessation strategies that are appropriate for 

9 services to youth and young adults addicted to 

10 nicotine, including through quitlines and pro11 vider education on cessation services available 

12 through the Medicaid program under title XIX 

13 of the Social Security Act and the Children’s 

14 Health Insurance Program under title XXI of 

15 such Act. 

16 ‘‘(8) Evaluating State, community, and school17 based strategies for— 

18 ‘‘(A) preventing the initiation and use of 

19 electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco prod20 ucts among youth and young adults; and 

21 ‘‘(B) intervening with youth and young 

22 adults who use tobacco and providing or direct23 ing them to appropriate cessation services. 

24 ‘‘(b) NO DUPLICATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

25 that activities under this section do not duplicate other 


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1 activities of the Department of Health and Human Serv2 ices. 

3 ‘‘(c) STRATEGY.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall sub5 mit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

6 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

7 Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 

8 available to the public on the internet website of the De9 partment of Health and Human Services, a strategy for 

10 carrying out the Reducing Youth Use of E-Cigarettes Ini11 tiative. 

12 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

13 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro14 priated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

15 through 2026.’’. 

Æ 


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