Altria's Report Exposes Widespread Nicotine Mislabeling in Illegal E-Cigarettes

Recently, Altria has published a research report on its official website titled "Widespread Mislabeling of Nicotine Content in Illegal E-Cigarette Products." The report states that an independent laboratory was commissioned to investigate illegal e-cigarette brands in the US market, and found that 9 out of 12 e-cigarette brands made false statements about the source of nicotine; 10 out of 12 e-cigarette brands falsely reported their nicotine concentration; and 2 out of 14 e-cigarette products claiming to be "nicotine-free" actually contained excessive amounts of nicotine.

The "zero nicotine" e-cigarette product contains nicotine.

The report states that out of 14 "nicotine-free" e-cigarette products, 2 of them contain more than trace amounts of nicotine.

Due to lack of product management and manufacturing controls, illegal manufacturers are circumventing regulations and selling e-cigarette products labeled as "zero nicotine" that actually contain excessive amounts of nicotine, including:

After testing, it was found that Mr Fog Zero Nicotine SW15000 Banana Pancake contains 1.8% nicotine. North FT12000 Zero Nicotine Blue Slurpie was also tested and found to contain 0.1% nicotine by weight.

False claims about the source of nicotine.

The report stated that out of 12 illegal e-cigarette brands, 9 made false claims about the source of nicotine, with the type of nicotine used not matching their claims.

In 2020, manufacturers began heavily introducing flavored disposable products to the American e-cigarette market, claiming to use synthetic nicotine to circumvent the FDA's 2020 PMTA submission deadline. However, in 2022, the U.S. Congress granted the FDA regulatory authority over synthetic nicotine products. Consequently, any e-cigarette products released to the market after the established deadline (whether they contain synthetic nicotine or tobacco-derived nicotine) are considered illegal until they obtain a Marketing Authorization Order (MGO). This includes products transitioning from synthetic nicotine to tobacco-derived nicotine. Additionally, illegal manufacturers prioritize profit over product integrity and may choose to use tobacco-derived nicotine over synthetic nicotine for cost-saving reasons.

Analysis:

Among the 12 brands, only 3 brands (25%) accurately labeled the type/source of nicotine.

Nine out of twelve brands (75%) were found to have misleading labels.

Specific Brands Misleading Situations:

100% Misleading Labeling: Both Breeze Smoke and King Vape (all 4 SKUs for each) have misleading labeling.

75% of misleading labeling: HQD, Lost Mary, and Lost Vape (3 out of 4 SKUs for each brand have misleading labeling).

50% misleading labeling: Elf Bar, Esco Bars, Geek Bar, and Mr. Fog (2 out of 4 SKUs for each brand have misleading labeling).

0% mislabeling: Fume, Juicy Bar, and Loon (all SKUs correctly labeled).

Incorrect labeling of nicotine concentration

The report states that 10 out of 12 illegal e-cigarette brands inaccurately labeled their nicotine concentrations, with 6 brands mislabeling the nicotine content in all tested SKUs.

The illegal market lacks manufacturing and quality control, leading to serious consumer protection issues, including potential product safety risks. Similar to mislabeling of nicotine sources, profit-driven illegal manufacturers may be incentivized to lower nicotine levels to reduce their product costs. Of particular concern is that lower-than-labeled nicotine concentrations may affect the ability of adult smokers to transition from combustible cigarettes.

Overall situation:

17% of products (2 brands) accurately labeled the nicotine concentration.

83% (10 brands) of products have inaccurate nicotine concentration labeling.

Specific brand performance:

100% of the products from the brands Elf Bar, Fume, Geek Bar, Juicy Bar, Lost Mary, and Lost Vape have labeling errors on all four SKUs.

75% of the tags were inaccurate: Three out of the four SKUs were mislabeled as "Loon.

50% of the items were mislabeled, specifically Mr. Fog (2 out of 4 SKUs).

25% labeling error: Esco Bars and Kang Vape (1 out of 4 SKUs from each brand have labeling errors).

0% error rate (all correct): Breeze Smoke and HQD (all 4 SKUs correctly labeled).

Click to access the original report.