At a House Oversight Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) spoke about the use of flavored vapes by children.
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00:00Mr. Cristomorte from Illinois.
00:05Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to show a visual here.
00:09Dr. Williams, according to the CDC, measles cases have skyrocketed during Donald Trump's time in office
00:15with 607 confirmed cases and two tragic deaths.
00:19You don't dispute that, right?
00:22You got to turn on your mic.
00:24No, I don't dispute that.
00:25And, Dr. Williams, you wrote that, quote, this tragic measles outbreak is a direct consequence
00:32of spreading misleading information about vaccines,
00:35and unfortunately, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has played a role in perpetuating these false claims.
00:42You wrote that, correct?
00:43No, I did not write that.
00:45That must be another Williams.
00:47Measles outbreak, RFK Jr.'s health agenda and surprising health wins.
00:53No, sir, I did not write that.
00:54Okay, let me mention this.
00:57On Sunday, Mr. Kennedy finally said the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,
01:05but he did not disavow false claims that many people have said were directly linked to the measles outbreak.
01:13And this obviously is something that must be addressed immediately, correct?
01:17Yes, sir.
01:18Let me turn to my next topic.
01:20President Trump has put tariffs on just about everything, sending prices skyrocketing, and unfortunately, the stock market is plummeting right now.
01:34Mr. Bentley, you wrote that, quote, tariffs of any kind are a direct tax on consumers, correct?
01:42That's correct.
01:43And Mr. Safdar, in a February 18th Q&A at the White House, the following was asked and answered of the president.
01:51He said the question was asked of the president, and what about pharmaceutical tariffs?
01:57Answer, it'll be 25% and higher.
02:00You don't dispute he said that, correct, Mr. Safdar?
02:03I was not at the White House congressman, but I'll take your word for it.
02:06Okay, thank you.
02:07Well, look, today, according to the New York Times and many other periodicals,
02:12even common medicines like Tylenol and the active pharmaceutical ingredients in Advil are primarily made outside the U.S.
02:20and are now subject to tariffs.
02:21Moreover, according to Forbes and ING, researchers have found that tariffs will increase the price of all generics by about $42 per drug per year.
02:32So I come back to you, Mr. Bentley.
02:34You said tariffs, in this article, tariffs aren't just a threat to the economy, they are a threat to public health, correct?
02:44Correct, Congressman.
02:45I was talking about tariffs on e-cigarettes, which would be a threat to public health because e-cigarettes are a substitute for combustible cigarettes.
02:51And, of course, tariffs on generic drugs would also be a threat to public health as well.
02:57Now, let me turn to you again, Mr. Bentley, regarding e-cigarettes.
03:03Mr. Bentley, by 2018 and 19, 20 percent of our kids were vaping, and the rate was doubling year over year,
03:09prompting Trump's then-FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, to call it an epidemic.
03:14However, at this time in 2018, you call the situation, quote, an alleged epidemic, right?
03:22Correct.
03:23And today, there are over 1.6 million youth vapors.
03:27Yet, despite millions of underage users, you said recently that, quote,
03:31claims of widespread youth vaping are disputable.
03:34You said that in this article, correct?
03:36Correct, because youth vaping has fallen dramatically since 2019.
03:39I assure you that the parents of the 1.6 million youth vapors don't believe that somehow claims of widespread youth vaping are somehow disputable.
03:51Now, let me turn to your other article, another article that you wrote here.
03:55You said, quote, a question of taste, the public health case for e-cigarette flavors.
04:05You believe, as the title suggests, that there is a public health case for flavored vapes, right?
04:10That's correct, Congressman.
04:12Let me just show you some of the American-built, these are American-sourced vapes that are on the market currently.
04:20Strawberry Super Strudel.
04:22There's a public health case for that, right?
04:25There are 18 million adult vapors in the United States.
04:27There's a public health case for Strawberry Strudel?
04:30Yes, there is, because most people vapors...
04:32And how about this one, Rainbow Road?
04:34There's a public health case for Rainbow Road, right?
04:37They all need to go through FDA review to be evaluated on their public health merits, which I completely support.
04:42But flavors are the overwhelming choice of adults, 18 million of whom are using these threats to quit smoking.
04:4713% of youth, according to you, 13% of youth, on page 3 of your statement,
04:5213% of youth who vape cite the availability of flavors as their reason for vaping.
04:58So hundreds of thousands of children who have never smoked are taking up vaping because of these flavors.
05:06This is sour Skittles.
05:08This is a sour Skittle vape.
05:10Sir, your defense of flavored vapes is completely unacceptable and endangering our youth today.
05:17Thank you, and I yield back.