Durbin Questions NIH Director, Rips Trump Administration For Bowing To Big Tobacco & Endangering Children

Durbin Questions NIH Director, Rips Trump Administration For Bowing To Big Tobacco & Endangering Children

"For God's sake, is there one person in the Administration besides those who have already resigned who will stand up and say enough, this violates my conscience?" Durbin said during today's Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today questioned the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya about the Trump Administration's failure to protect children from nicotine addiction and exposure to toxic chemicals as Big Tobacco continues to push kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes. Durbin's questioning followed the Trump Administration's outrageous recent actions, including authorizing the first-ever non-tobacco or menthol-flavored vaping products, and issuing final guidance permitting e-cigarettes that lack authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remain on the market in violation of the law. Those actions prompted FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to resign in protest.

Durbin began by speaking about his own father's passing after a battle with lung cancer, which motivated him to take on Big Tobacco at the beginning of his congressional career.

"I was a sophomore in high school, 14 years old. My father had lung cancer, and he died at age 53. I stood by his hospital bed and felt helpless and destroyed as a kid. I never forgot that experience, and I never will. So, when it came to Congress, I decided to take on Big Tobacco. Thirty-six years ago, I introduced a little amendment. It banned smoking on airplanes. That amendment triggered a reaction I didn't even anticipate. It was a tipping point. At the time that we passed that amendment to ban smoking on airplanes, 27 percent of high school students were smoking [cigarettes]. Today, it is two percent," Durbin began.

Explaining that Big Tobacco has evolved to now target children through vaping and e-cigarette products, Durbin asked Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about the addictive qualities of these vape products.

"Our kids are not safe from another product of Big Tobacco. It's called vaping... Dr. Volkow, is vaping dangerous to children?" Durbin asked.

Dr. Volkow confirmed that vaping is dangerous as these products still contain nicotine. She explained that children are particularly vulnerable to developing an addiction to vaping products. Dr. Volkow also noted that the National Institute on Drug Abuse does track children's use of vape products.

Durbin then asked Dr. Bhattacharya about how, if at all, the Trump Administration plans to crack down on Big Tobacco's efforts to unleash flavored e-cigarettes to children.

"Big Tobacco is no longer peddling [cigarettes] to your kids and grandkids. They are peddling vaping with the same addictive qualities of nicotine and the same danger to these kids. So the question, Dr. Bhattacharya, is what is this Administration doing about vaping?" Durbin asked. "Do you see any connection between fruit-flavored vaping and children being attracted to it?"

Dr. Bhattacharya agreed that vaping is dangerous to children, but he failed to offer details on research or programming to stop children from getting hooked on nicotine.

Pointing to the boxes of kid-friendly and fruit-flavored vapes in front of him, Durbin pushed further: "Do you realize that the announced policy of this Administration within the last two weeks is going to make it easier for these companies to peddle 'fruit monster' vaping, 'candy cane' vaping, 'raspberry slushy' vaping to our children in junior high and high school now?"

Dr. Bhattacharya said the NIH would need to research and document the way to address these health problems, but he gave no further insight into how NIH plans to do so, nor did he reference existing studies which demonstrate that children are attracted to e-cigarettes because of the flavors.

"They're peddling flavors that attract children. Children, who don't have the maturity to make the decision, and they become addicted to a product that is dangerous to them according to Dr. Volkow, which I couldn't agree with more. How can we in good conscience say that this Administration has the best interests of children at heart when they are exposing them to this deadly product?" Durbin pressed.

Dr. Bhattacharya attempted to suggest that the NIH could conduct a study.

Durbin quickly shut down Dr. Bhattacharya's answer, saying: "We don't need a study. We need action. We need to stop this. The previous Administration wasn't much better to be honest with you. I was pretty critical of them as well. To think that these companies, many from China, are going to peddle some product to our kids, that they're going to vape in this steamy concoction of chemicals-chromium and God only knows what else is in it-and we're going to look the other way? As this Administration says, 'Let's have more fruit flavors on hand for kids to dabble in.' Does this make sense to you?"

"Is there anyone on the panel of six doctors who thinks that this is a sensible decision by the Trump Administration to make it easier to peddle fruit-flavored vaping to the kids in high school and junior high school?" Durbin asked.

None of the six witnesses, all physicians or PhDs and directors of centers within NIH, raised their hands.

Durbin concluded his questioning by underscoring that the Trump Administration decided to allow a selection of fruit-flavored on the market after tobacco giant Reynolds American donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., a Trump-backed super PAC.

"A $5 million donation from Big Tobacco proceeded the vaping decision. Reynolds sent along a check for $5 million and the President switched his position on this. This is ghastly, to think that we are allowing this to occur," Durbin said.

"Here I am, 36 years after passing banning smoking on airplanes, seeing us introducing a new product, a new variation to addict our children. For God's sake, is there one person in the Administration besides those who have already resigned who will stand up and say enough, this violates my conscience?" Durbin concluded.

Video of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Audio of Durbin's questions in Committee is available here.

Footage of Durbin's question in Committee is available herefor TV stations.

Earlier this week, Durbin penned a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urging him to push back on FDA's recent misguided decisions regarding kid-friendly flavored e-cigarettes. By authorizing fruit flavors that are primarily used by children, FDA is once again enabling youth tobacco use and exacerbating the risk of serious chronic disease and death for a new generation.

Durbin also joined U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) along with six of their Senate colleagues, in calling on Acting Commissioner of FDA Kyle Diamantas to rescind FDA's recent decision to authorize flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to children.

Durbin has been a vocal leader in the fight against Big Tobacco since he lost his father to lung cancer when Durbin was 14 years old. He went after Big Tobacco when he served in the House of Representatives and led the charge to ban smoking on airplanes, which eventually led to bans on smoking in restaurants, office buildings, trains, and other locations. Durbin has also led efforts to grant FDA jurisdiction over tobacco, raise tobacco taxes to prevent youth initiation, and enhance support for tobacco cessation tools.

During last month's Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing about the President's Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Durbin called on Secretary Kennedy to crack down on illegal e-cigarette products, especially those targeting children.

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