I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6038 

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

Use of E-Cigarettes Initiative. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 24, 2023 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, and Mr. 

DESAULNIER) introduced the following bill 

OCTOBER 25, 2023 

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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 317V of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b–24) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 317W. 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 


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1 and the initiation of smoking with cigarettes or 

2 cigars; 

3 ‘‘(D) use of electronic cigarettes and 

4 emerging tobacco products among different de5 mographic groups; 

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

7 adults access electronic cigarettes and emerging 

8 tobacco products, and methods of distribution 

9 of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco 

10 products; 

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

12 advertising of electronic cigarettes and emerg13 ing tobacco products; 

14 ‘‘(G) marketing and advertising strategies 

15 used by manufacturers, including the channels 

16 and messaging used and strategies that target 

17 different demographic groups; 

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

19 use such products; 

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

21 adult electronic cigarette users are nicotine de22 pendent; 

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

24 electronic cigarette cessation behaviors, includ25 ing patterns in motivation to quit, quit atVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Nov 04, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6038.IH H6038

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1 tempts, successful cessation, and associated fac2 tors; and 

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

4 using to quit tobacco use. 

5 ‘‘(2) Conducting research on— 

6 ‘‘(A) the characteristics and nicotine deliv7 ery technology of electronic cigarettes and 

8 emerging tobacco products; 

9 ‘‘(B) biomarkers of exposure to electronic 

10 cigarettes and emerging tobacco products and 

11 resulting health impacts from such exposure; 

12 and 

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

14 cigarettes and emerging tobacco products. 

15 ‘‘(3) Developing, in collaboration with profes16 sional medical organizations, guidance for health 

17 care providers, schools, and other entities, as appro18 priate, on intervening with, and treating, youth and 

19 young adults who use electronic cigarettes and other 

20 emerging tobacco products, and disseminating such 

21 guidance. 

22 ‘‘(4) Identifying promising strategies to— 

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

24 and young adults of electronic cigarettes and 

25 emerging tobacco products; 


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1 ‘‘(B) identify existing, and develop new, 

2 cessation strategies and quit support that are 

3 appropriate for youth and young adults; and 

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

5 tobacco cessation services for, youth and young 

6 adults, including the use of technology-delivered 

7 services. 

8 ‘‘(5) Identifying effective messages and commu9 nication efforts that prevent initiation of tobacco 

10 product use and reduce use, including the use of 

11 electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products, 

12 among youth and young adults. 

13 ‘‘(6) Developing and implementing, in coordina14 tion with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, a 

15 campaign, in coordination with the Surgeon General, 

16 to reduce tobacco initiation and use by youth and 

17 young adults, and to educate the public about— 

18 ‘‘(A) the rapidly evolving tobacco product 

19 landscape; 

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

21 youth and young adults of electronic cigarettes 

22 and other emerging tobacco products; and 

23 ‘‘(C) culturally-competent strategies for in24 tervening with youth and young adults who use 


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1 tobacco and providing or directing them to ap2 propriate cessation services. 

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

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Na5 tional Tobacco Control Program cooperative agree6 ment to State, local, territorial, and island health de7 partments and Tribal organizations, as appropriate, 

8 for— 

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

10 youth and young adults of electronic cigarettes 

11 and emerging tobacco products; and 

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

13 cessation strategies that are appropriate for 

14 services to youth and young adults addicted to 

15 nicotine, including through quitlines and pro16 vider education on cessation services available 

17 through the Medicaid program under title XIX 

18 of the Social Security Act and the Children’s 

19 Health Insurance Program under title XXI of 

20 such Act. 

21 ‘‘(8) Evaluating State, community, and school22 based strategies for— 

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

24 electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco prod25 ucts among youth and young adults; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) intervening with youth and young 

2 adults who use tobacco and providing or direct3 ing them to appropriate cessation services. 

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

5 that activities under this section do not duplicate other 

6 activities of the Department of Health and Human Serv7 ices. 

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

9 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall sub10 mit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

11 Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 

12 Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make 

13 available to the public on the internet website of the De14 partment of Health and Human Services, a strategy for 

15 carrying out the Reducing Youth Use of E-Cigarettes Ini16 tiative. 

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

18 carry out this section, there is authorized to be appro19 priated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

20 through 2028.’’. 

Æ 


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