Over a three-day operation, the FDA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confiscated about 1.4 million illegal e-cigarette products valued at over $18 million dollars. These products arrived in Los Angeles from China and included Elf Bar, the most popular e-cigarette brand used by youth. A significant portion of the products seized targeted youth through enticing flavors and the packages were purposely mislabeled as toys and shoes to evade detection. View images of seized products here.
According to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D.: “Unscrupulous companies try everything they can to bring unauthorized, youth-appealing tobacco products into the country. The FDA will remain vigilant, and together with our federal partners, stop these imports before they make it into the hands of our nation’s youth.”
The FDA has approved 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices for sale in the U.S. and any new product must adhere to regulations. The FDA is actively taking measures against companies involved in unlawful marketing practices, having issued more than 650 warning letters and filed civil monetary complaints.
Save Our Society from Drugs (S.O.S.) commends the federal government’s actions and emphasizes the urgent need for crackdowns on companies producing and distributing new vaping devices and flavored e-cigarettes. National data highlight the prevalence of disposal e-cigarettes as the most widely used type among youth, and almost 8 out of 10 e-cigarette users opting for flavored products.
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