FDA issues warning letters to online retailers to stop marketing unauthorized e-cigarettes to KIDS

Health officials have warned online retailers to stop marketing e-cigarettes like Elf to children to “promptly protect public health.”

This week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 10 online retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products.

The agency cited popular products under the brands Elf Bar, EB Design, Bang, Cali Bars and Lava.

The warning comes at a time when 2.1 million American teens vape and half of them become addicted.

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 the trend over the past four years has shown that while the rate of youth smoking cigarettes is at an all-time low All the time, more and more young people are going electric.

Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said: “FDA’s robust oversight of the e-cigarette landscape helps us identify products appealing to youth and act quickly to protect public health. “.

“The goal is to identify, prevent and reduce these risks for our nation’s youth before they increase further.”

Recipients of the letter have 15 business days to respond with steps they will take to correct the violation and prevent future violations, the FDA states.

“Failure to promptly correct violations may result in additional FDA action, such as injunction, seizure, and/or civil monetary penalties,” the agency said.

“As always, we will hold accountable anyone who sells unauthorized e-cigarettes labeled, advertised and/or designed to encourage youth use.”

Anti-smoking advocates believe the government can and should do more to prevent young people from purchasing and using vaporizers.

Matthew Myers, former president and chief executive of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and a staunch critic of the government’s approach, told DailyMail.com in the past that the current youth vaping crisis is the product of “a combination of timidity and “The tobacco industry fights regulation at every stage.”

Among the regulations that smoking and vaping advocates have fought so hard for is a national standard limit on the amount of nicotine allowed in e-cigarettes.

The maximum level of nicotine allowed in a vaporizer is set at 20 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter of liquid (two percent) in Europe, the United Kingdom and Canada. These devices last between 550 and 600 inhalations.

But in the United States, where you can easily find a vape with up to five percent nicotine, those concentrations have been rising steadily for some time. An Elf Bar BC5000 device, which contains five percent nicotine, holds about 5,000 puffs.

It’s no surprise that children can become addicted to the strong dose of nicotine contained in vaporizers in a matter of days.

And flavors like cotton candy and strawberry lemonade in highly addictive vapes further compound the problem.

Nearly nine in 10 young vapers in 2023 used the flavored products that advocates and many lawmakers have pushed to ban with lackluster results, as evidenced by the fact that children’s use of flavored products had increased since the figure. 83 percent in 2020.

Over the past year, the FDA issued more than 400 warning letters to retailers for selling illegal cigarettes.

In June, the agency ordered 180 stores across the United States to stop selling e-cigarettes with fruit and candy flavors, 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 those in the supply chain, including retailers, for compliance with federal law. “.