The number of different e-cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled, despite a three-year effort by the Food and Drug Administration to crack down on kid-friendly flavors.
WASHINGTON — The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The Associated Press.
Most disposables mirror a few major brands, such as Elf Bar or Puff Bar, but hundreds of new varieties appear each month. Companies copy each other's designs, blurring the line between the real and counterfeit. Entrepreneurs can launch a new product by simply sending their logo and flavor requests to Chinese manufacturers, who promise to deliver tens of thousands of devices within weeks.
"The FDA moves at a ponderous pace and the industry knows that and exploits it," said Dr. Robert Jackler of Stanford University, who has studied the rise of disposables."Time and again, the vaping industry has innovated around efforts to remove its youth-appealing products from the market." "I don't think there's any panacea here," King said."We follow a comprehensive approach and that involves addressing all entities across the supply chain, from manufacturers to importers to distributors to retailers."
But in the meantime disposable vape makers have exploited two loopholes in FDA's oversight, only one of which has been closed. "It was preventable," said Mitch Zeller, who retired from the FDA last year."But I was told there was no appeal." In September 2018, FDA officials declared teen vaping an"epidemic," pointing to rising use of Juul, Reynolds American's Vuse and other brands.
Reynolds and Juul have seen sales flatline amid the surge in disposables, according to the IRI data. Disposable e-cigarettes generated $2.74 billion last year. "We're a company that does very positive things for society and the community, and the government just attacked us," said Surriff, who added that he recently purchased new cars for several longtime employees.
Made by iMiracle Shenzhen, Elf Bar alone has generated nearly $400 million in U.S. sales since late 2021, the IRI data shows. Fourteen years later, the FDA hasn't finalized manufacturing rules that would extend its authority to foreign vaping factories. In fact, regulators only released a draft regulation in March.
The FDA itself recognizes the problem, stating in its proposed guidelines:"Covering foreign manufacturers is necessary to assure the protection of the public health," and noting"numerous reports of battery fires and explosions," with Chinese e-cigarettes.The FDA announced plans to start regulating the products in 2011, and it took regulators another five years to finalize rules.
"When an agency declares that everything on the market is illegal, it puts itself in the position of being completely unable to enforce its own regulations," said Tony Abboud, of the Vaping Technology Association.SPLIT VIEWS ON A SOLUTIONEven with broad agreement that flavored disposables are a problem, there's little consensus on the solution.
But that assertion has stoked frustration about why the agency hasn't been more aggressive in using the legal tools it has available, including fines and court orders. Former agency officials note that some legal actions require cooperation from other agencies, including the Justice Department. Fun activities that will help you get in shape, and more videos to improve your life Here are five fun activities that will help you get in shape, some sneaky ways to save money, and more videos to improve your life.
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