Title: PROTECT Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction Act or the PROTECT Act  This bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a campaign to reduce and prevent the use of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products among youth and young adults. As part of this process, the CDC must conduct research about the types and patterns of use of such products and the corresponding health impacts of their use. The CDC also must provide grants to state agencies, local health departments, and nonprofits to further reduce the use of electronic cigarettes among young people.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1048 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1048

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

                             April 4, 2019

  Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Reed, Mr. 
Durbin, Mr. Brown, 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Preventing Opportunities for Teen E-
Cigarette and Tobacco Addiction'' or the ``PROTECT Act''.

SEC. 2. REDUCING YOUTH USE OF E-CIGARETTES INITIATIVE.

    The Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 
317T of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-22) the following:

``SEC. 317U. REDUCING YOUTH USE OF E-CIGARETTES INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of 
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall carry out an 
initiative, to be known as the Reducing Youth Use of E-Cigarettes 
Initiative, which shall include the following:
            ``(1) Conducting research (including by using rapid 
        surveillance methods), on use by youth and young adults of 
        electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products, including 
        research on--
                    ``(A) the types of products youth and young adults 
                use;
                    ``(B) patterns of products used by youth and young 
                adults, including initiation, frequency of use, use in 
                combination with other tobacco products, and use of 
                flavors;
                    ``(C) the association between the use by youth and 
                young adults of electronic cigarettes and smoking 
                initiation;
                    ``(D) use of electronic cigarettes and emerging 
                tobacco products among different demographic groups;
                    ``(E) the means by which youth and young adults 
                access electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco 
                products, and methods of distribution of such products;
                    ``(F) youth and young adult exposure to advertising 
                of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products;
                    ``(G) marketing and advertising strategies used by 
                manufacturers, including the channels and messaging 
                used and strategies that target different demographic 
                groups;
                    ``(H) the reasons youth and young adults use such 
                products;
                    ``(I) the extent to which youth and young adult 
                electronic cigarette users are nicotine dependent; and
                    ``(J) youth and young adult motivation to quit 
                using electronic cigarettes.
            ``(2) Conducting research on--
                    ``(A) the characteristics and nicotine delivery 
                technology of electronic cigarettes and emerging 
                tobacco products; and
                    ``(B) biomarkers of exposure to electronic 
                cigarettes and emerging tobacco products and resulting 
                health impacts from such exposure.
            ``(3) Identifying effective messages to youth and young 
        adults, parents, clinicians, health professionals, and others 
        who work or interact with youth and young adults for preventing 
        use of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco products.
            ``(4) Developing and implementing a campaign, in 
        coordination with the Surgeon General of the Public Health 
        Service, to educate youth and young adults, parents, 
        clinicians, health professionals, and others about--
                    ``(A) the rapidly evolving tobacco product 
                landscape; and
                    ``(B) the harms associated with the use by youth 
                and young adults of electronic cigarettes and other 
                emerging products.
            ``(5) Providing funding through grants, cooperative 
        agreements, or contracts to State, territorial, Tribal, and 
        local health departments, community organizations, national and 
        Tribal organizations, or State and local educational agencies, 
        as appropriate, for preventing and reducing the use by youth 
        and young adults of electronic cigarettes and emerging tobacco 
        products.
            ``(6) Informing the development, implementation, and 
        evaluation of evidence-based policies to prevent the initiation 
        and use of emerging tobacco products among youth and young 
        adults.
    ``(b) No Duplication.--The Secretary shall ensure that activities 
under this section do not duplicate other activities of the Department 
of Health and Human Services.
    ``(c) Strategy.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make available 
to the public on the Internet website of the Department of Health and 
Human Services, a strategy for carrying out the Reducing Youth Use of 
E-Cigarettes Initiative.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024.''.
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