Vape Makers Warned Over Sales of Flavored Products

(Bloomberg Law) -- The FDA demanded in warning letters Monday that popular flavored vape producer Puff Bar and nine other vape companies stop selling their flavored disposable e-cigarettes and “youth-appealing e-liquid products” because they didn’t have proper authorization.

Puff Bar and vape company HQD Tech USA are claiming their products are lower risk than other types of tobacco products, according to the Food and Drug Administration—a distinction the agency hasn’t approved. The agency also said seven of the 10 companies were selling “products targeted to youth or likely to promote use by youth.”

The companies have 15 days to respond to the agency’s warning or FDA officials could seize their products or fine them.

Puff Bar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Cutting back on youth tobacco use during the pandemic has been especially important because health officials warn smoking or vaping can exacerbate symptoms of Covid-19.

In-person inspections of vape shops have largely paused because of Covid-19, but “our enforcement against unauthorized e-cigarette products has endured,” Mitch Zeller, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement. “These warning letters are the result of ongoing internet monitoring for violations of tobacco laws and regulations.”

The FDA in January finalized its vaping policy that partially banned flavored vape products and required companies to apply to the agency for the ability to keep selling their products.

With some exceptions, companies had 30 days to remove most fruity products from their shelves and apply with the agency to start selling them again. The deadline to apply for marketing authorization from the FDA was extended several times. Before Covid-19 hit, the deadline was in May, but a judge moved it to Sept. 9 after the FDA requested an extension.

House Democrats criticized the agency in April for allowing e-cigarette products to remain on shelves during the Covid-19 emergency.

“E-cigarette use can expose the lungs to toxic chemicals, but whether those exposures increase the risk of COVID-19 is not known,” an FDA spokesman said at the time.

More research should be done around Covid-19, smoking, and vaping, the spokesman said.

The 10 companies that received letters include: Puff Bar, HQD Tech USA LLC, Myle Vape Inc., Eleaf USA, Vape Deal LLC, Majestic Vapor LLC, E Cigarette Empire LLC, Ohm City Vapes Inc., Breazy Inc. and Hina Singh Enterprises (doing business as Just Eliquids Distro Inc.).

To contact the reporter on this story: Jacquie Lee in Washington at jlee1@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fawn Johnson at fjohnson@bloomberglaw.com; Brent Bierman at bbierman@bloomberglaw.com

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