Health authorities have warned online retailers to stop marketing e-cigarettes to children to “quickly protect public health.”
This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 10 online retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products aimed at children.
The agency named popular products under the brand names Elf Bar, EB Design, Bang, Cali Bars and Lava.
The warning comes at a time when 2.1 million American teenagers smoke and half of those who try become addicted.
The FDA has sent warning letters to 10 online retailers for selling and marketing unauthorized e-cigarettes to children. Elf Bar is one of the most popular brands mentioned in the letters
The vast majority of teen vapers chose fruit or candy flavored vape products in 2023
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Youth Tobacco Survey found that half of current youth e-cigarette users smoke disposable products like Elf Bar.
The CDC’s Annual Youth Tobacco Survey is a nationally representative sample of tobacco use, and trends over the past four years have shown that, while the number of young people smoking cigarettes is at an all-time low, the number of young people smoking is increasing People switch to electrical devices.
Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said: “FDA’s rigorous monitoring of the e-cigarette landscape helps us identify products that are attractive to youth and act quickly to protect public health .”
“The goal is to identify, prevent and reduce these risks to our country’s youth before they escalate further.”
Letter recipients will be given 15 business days to report what steps they will take to correct the violation and prevent future violations, the FDA said.
“Failure to promptly correct the violations may result in further FDA action such as an injunction, seizure, and/or civil monetary penalties,” the agency said.
It added: “As always, we will hold accountable anyone who sells illicit e-cigarettes that are labeled, advertised and/or intended to promote youth use.”
Anti-smoking advocates believe the government can and should do more to discourage young people from buying and using e-cigarettes.
Matthew Myers, former president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and a staunch critic of the government’s crackdown, has previously told that the current teen vaping crisis is the result of a “combination of shyness and tobacco use “. The industry is fighting regulation at every stage.’
Among the regulations that anti-smoking and e-cigarette advocates have fought for is a nationwide cap on the amount of nicotine allowed in e-cigarettes.
The maximum permitted nicotine content in a vape is set at 20 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of liquid (two percent) in Europe, Great Britain and Canada. These devices are sufficient for around 550 to 600 trains.
But in the United States, where you can easily find an e-cigarette vaporizer with up to five percent nicotine, these concentrations have been steadily increasing for some time. An Elf Bar BC5000 device, which contains five percent nicotine, holds about 5,000 puffs.
Flavors such as cotton candy and strawberry lemonade, which appeal primarily to young consumers, further exacerbate the problem in highly addictive e-cigarettes.
Highly potent e-cigarettes are extremely addictive. Of all the young people who tried it, almost half became regular users.
Nearly nine in 10 teen vapers in 2023 used the flavored products that advocates and many lawmakers have called for to be banned, evidenced by the fact that children’s use of flavored products increased from 83 percent in 2020.
Last year, the FDA issued more than 400 warning letters to retailers about selling illegal cigarettes.
In June, the agency ordered 180 stores in the U.S. to stop selling fruit- and candy-flavored e-cigarettes, including Elf and Esco Bars.
Ann Simoneau, director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said: “CTP will continue to closely monitor all participants in the supply chain, including retailers, for compliance with federal law.”
Online retailers have issued warning letters from the FDA
Vapor Rage LLC
Ohm Centric Coils LLC
Hubbly Bubbly LLC, d/b/a Trifecta Tobacco
Swiss Global LLC
Prestige 22, Inc, d/b/a The Vapers World
Lingkey Co. Ltd, d/b/a Vape Hammer
Pamirs Group Limited, d/b/a VapeCig Wholesale
Tyler Wholesale Supply LLC, incorporated as BBW Supply
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