United States Senators Urge DOJ and FDA for E-cigarette Enforcement

According to a report from the Sierra Sun Times on July 8th, last week, US Senator Susan Collins and her bipartisan colleagues wrote to senior officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) Consumer Protection Division and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products, requesting more information about the recently announced interagency task force to combat unauthorized e-cigarette sales and distribution.

The letter also reiterated the importance of restoring the pre-market review process required by federal law. The letter was co-signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The senators wrote,

We appreciate the recent announcement of the establishment of a federal task force to enhance enforcement of these illegal and dangerous products through the collaboration of the FDA, Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Federal Trade Commission. However, we remain deeply concerned about the inconsistency between the public statements of the FDA and DOJ, which claim that only 27 e-cigarette products have been authorized by the FDA, while in fact, thousands of unauthorized e-cigarettes with child-friendly flavors such as blueberry ice, strawberry watermelon bubblegum, and Red Bull strawberry are still readily available.

Clearly, the top priority of the working group should be to restore the pre-market review system for e-cigarettes and enforce the removal of all unauthorized e-cigarettes.

On June 10, 2024, the United States Department of Justice and the Food and Drug Administration announced the establishment of a federal multi-agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes. In addition to the FDA and the DOJ, this task force will also bring together multiple law enforcement agencies, utilizing all criminal and civil measures to crack down on illegal e-cigarette distribution and sale.

This letter also calls on the FDA to complete long-term reviews of premarket tobacco product applications submitted by e-cigarette manufacturers. Since the FDA missed the final deadline set by the court on September 9, 2021, over 2.1 million children may have already started using e-cigarettes. The FDA also missed another deadline to complete reviews of certain products by June 30, 2024. According to the Tobacco Control Act (TCA), e-cigarette companies must obtain FDA authorization before entering the market, a requirement that the FDA has failed to enforce.