FDA Warns Five Online Retailers about Unauthorized E-Cigarette Sales

According to the official website of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on February 28th, the FDA announced that it has issued warning letters to five online retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. These letters point out that the disposable e-cigarette products being sold under well-known brands such as ELFBAR/EB Design/EB Create, Funky Republic, Lost Mary, Hyde, Breeze, and Cali Bars.

The FDA continues to issue warning letters based on ongoing surveillance of multiple monitoring systems to identify products that are popular or appealing to adolescents. According to findings from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, e-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students for the past 10 years.

Among over 2.1 million reported cases of teenagers using e-cigarettes, more than half reported using ELFBAR products. Furthermore, based on the agency's review of retail sales data and survey results targeting teenagers, other brands have also been identified as popular or appealing products for teenagers.

Dr. Brian King, Director of the Center for Tobacco Products, stated: "Protecting our nation's youth from the harms of tobacco products is crucial to the public health mission of our center. We are committed to continuing to use data-driven approaches to identify and prevent the unauthorized sale of tobacco products, and take compliance and enforcement actions when necessary."

Retailers who received these warning letters for selling or distributing unauthorized e-cigarette products in the United States have violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The recipients of the warning letters have 15 working days to respond, detailing the corrective actions they will take and measures to prevent future violations. Failure to promptly correct the violations may result in the FDA taking further action, such as injunctions, seizures, and/or civil monetary penalties (CMPs).

These warning letters are the latest move by the FDA in its ongoing efforts to address the marketing and sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes that are appealing to young people. They supplement the 14 similar warning letters sent earlier this month to online retailers selling unauthorized e-cigarettes. As of February 26th, the FDA has issued warning letters to over 440 retailers and taken 100 civil monetary penalty actions against the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes.