{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=B3B83FB2-D0D0-4BE3-8A54-E08FC04DE208", "McConnell, Kaine Applaud Final Rule To Raise Minimum Age For Tobacco Sales Set By Their Bill", "2024-09-25", "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 Today, U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded a final rule issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding ID requirements for the purchase of tobacco products at retail establishments. The rule, which will go into effect on September 30, was required by McConnell and Kaine\u2019s Tobacco-Free Youth Act. Signed into law in December 2019, the bipartisan McConnell-Kaine legislation raised the minimum age to buy all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21.\n\nLast week, Senator McConnell delivered remarks on the Senate floor highlighting a recent survey by the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) which concluded the number of young people in America smoking e-cigarettes dropped to its lowest level in the last decade.\n\n\u201cYouth e-cigarette use was at its peak just five years ago. That\u2019s when I introduced legislation along with Senator Kaine to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21. Today, the number of young people smoking e-cigarettes dropped to its lowest level in a decade,\u201d said Senator McConnell. \u201cI\u2019m glad to see the FDA finally produce this rule that will help keep even more children from getting their hands on addictive vaping devices. While more work remains, I\u2019m grateful to see our bipartisan legislation making a big impact.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad the FDA issued final guidance to implement our bipartisan legislation to raise the tobacco age to 21,\u201d said Senator Kaine. \u201cI was proud to work with Senator McConnell to get this legislation signed into law. Our bipartisan bill has already made a huge difference in keeping tobacco products away from young people, and this final rule will only further these efforts.\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=B3B83FB2-D0D0-4BE3-8A54-E08FC04DE208"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6644489951431751, "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"}