Key Points：
- Charlie’s Holdings signed a licensing agreement with IKE Tech to commercialize an age-gated vape activation system in the United States.
- The system combines biometric authentication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) hardware, and a mobile app to enable continuous, device-level age verification.
- Charlie’s plans to test-market the technology this spring using SBX nicotine analogue products that do not require FDA premarket authorization, with plans to later apply it to PACHA-branded ENDS.
- According to the company, a multi-center human factors study reported 100% age-verification completion, zero underage device activation, and automatic device deactivation after inactivity or loss of Bluetooth signal.
2Firsts, January 5, 2026 — According to ACCESS Newswire, Charlie’s Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: CHUC) announced on January 5 that it has entered into a definitive licensing agreement with IKE Tech LLC to commercialize an age-gated activation system for vape products in the United States.
Under the agreement, Charlie’s will license IKE’s age-verification technology, which combines biometric authentication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) hardware, and a mobile application designed to restrict device activation to verified adult users through continuous, real-time age verification.
IKE Tech is a joint venture formed by Ispire Technology Inc., Touch Point Worldwide Inc. (operating as Berify), and Chemular Inc. The company focuses on identity and age verification technologies for electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
According to the press release, the technology integrates a patented BLE system-on-a-chip with biometric verification via a smartphone application. Devices equipped with the system are designed to deactivate automatically if Bluetooth connectivity is lost or after a defined period of inactivity.
Charlie’s stated that it plans to test-market the age-gated system in the U.S. this spring using a special line of its SBX-branded nicotine analogue products. The company also indicated that it intends to incorporate the technology into its PACHA-branded ENDS products at a later stage.
The company disclosed results from a multi-center Human Factors Validation Study evaluating the system’s effectiveness in preventing underage access, usability, and safety. According to the company, all participants successfully completed age verification, no underage participants were able to activate a device, and all devices deactivated following inactivity or loss of Bluetooth signal.
Charlie’s added that 91% of users rated the application as “Extremely Easy” or “Very Easy” to use, with errors occurring in approximately 1% of task attempts. The company said the full study findings will be published on clinicaltrials.gov.
Under the terms of the licensing agreement, Charlie’s said it has secured a three-year exclusivity period for age-gated nicotine analogue products using IKE’s technology.
Charlie’s management stated that the company views age-gating as part of its regulatory compliance strategy and noted that its SBX nicotine analogue products do not require FDA premarket authorization, enabling near-term deployment of the technology in the U.S. market.
Charlie’s Holdings, Inc. operates in the vapor products sector through its subsidiary Charlie’s Chalk Dust, LLC, with products sold in select international markets. IKE Tech stated that its technology is designed to enable manufacturers to embed access controls into vapor devices to restrict use to verified adult consumers.
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