U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., held a news conference with Yale Department of Psychiatry faculty and scientists on September 16 to learn more about the department's research into the effects of vaping and e-cigarette use.
Blumenthal has promoted legislation to combat the rise in e-cigarette use among teens through funding for enhanced research, community grants, and the development of evidence-based policies.
Representing the department at the news conference were Suchitra Krishnan-Sarin, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, and Stephanie O'Malley, PhD, Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry. They direct the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science which investigates the influence of flavors, sweeteners, and other additives on the appeal and addictive potential of traditional tobacco products and e-cigarettes.
With many in government calling for a crackdown on vaping products due to a spike in vaping-related illness, Blumenthal asked for the meeting with the Yale researchers to better understand the science of e-cigarettes. He called for a ban on all flavored e-cigarette products at the news conference.
Watch TV coverage of the news conference: