{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=0790619B-332C-499E-AB6E-8416B180BB69", "Five Years After Tobacco 21, McConnell Highlights Progress Against Youth Nicotine Addiction", "2024-09-17", "2024", "2024-09", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Mitch McConnell", "M000355", "www.mcconnell.senate.gov", "mcconnell", "https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the Tobacco-Free Youth Act:\n\n\u201cI\u2019d like to end on something the walls of this chamber don\u2019t hear enough of: some good news.\n\n\u201cAccording to an annual survey conducted by the CDC and the FDA, the number of young people in America smoking e-cigarettes dropped to its lowest level in the last decade.\n\n\u201cLet me say that again: e-cigarette use among America\u2019s youth is now roughly one-third of the all-time high it hit just five years ago.\n\n\u201cNow there are a lot of factors at play in this downward trend. But one powerful tailwind originated right here in the Senate.\n\n\u201cIn 2019, youth e-cigarette use was at its peak. That\u2019s the year that I wrote and introduced the Tobacco-Free Youth Act with my friend Senator Kaine. Our bipartisan bill raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco products \u2013 including e-cigarettes devices \u2013 from 18 to 21.\n\n\u201cWe didn\u2019t try to reinvent the wheel. We knew that nearly all smokers \u2013 roughly 95 percent \u2013 started by the age of 21. By raising the age limit, less tobacco winds up in high schools, which means less opportunity for children to get their hands on addictive vaping devices.\n\n\u201cThis issue hits close to home. Kentucky has the highest cancer rate in the country. In years past, we\u2019ve even topped the list for highest proportion of cigarette-related cancer deaths.\n\n\u201cNow as the senior Senator of Kentucky, my decision to spearhead this legislation surprised some people. My home state has a close connection to tobacco. But as I\u2019ve pointed out in the past, Kentucky farmers don\u2019t want their children forming nicotine addictions any more than the next parent.\n\n\u201cIf we\u2019ve learned anything in the fight against addiction, it\u2019s that families are right to be worried. At this critical stage of development, nicotine products can be the first step in a life maligned by serious health problems.\n\n\u201cSo while more work remains, I\u2019m proud that the Senate stepped up to address this public health crisis. And I\u2019m grateful to see this legislation actually making a difference.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=0790619B-332C-499E-AB6E-8416B180BB69"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6606820281594992, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}