The chairmen of five key Senate committees on Thursday warned the chief executives of major convenience stores and wholesalers to stop selling illicitly flavored vaping products in what they called “broad violations of federal law.”
The senators voiced their concerns in letters to the companies, fueling frustration among some lawmakers in Congress over the continued availability of brightly colored, candy-flavored e-cigarettes that appeal to young people who might become addicted to nicotine. Uncontrolled sales, they wrote, “pose an enormous threat to public health.”
“The FDA and the industry must do more to address the youth vaping epidemic and immediately remove unauthorized vaping products from their shelves,” said Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic whip.
The letters are addressed to retailers including 7-Eleven, Circle K, bp America, Pilot, Kwik Trip and others. The Food and Drug Administration has previously issued warnings about the sale of unauthorized brands such as Elf Bar, EB Design and Funky Republic.
The senators’ letters reminded the companies that Congress gave the FDA authority over tobacco products in a landmark 2009 law. Selling unapproved items could result in fines or an order to stop selling any tobacco products, the letter notes.
“Today, millions of children use unauthorized e-cigarettes, risking nicotine addiction, respiratory disease, worsening depression and anxiety, and many other harms,” read the letter to Joseph DePinto, the chief executive of 7-Eleven. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
So far, FDA approved 23 vaping products and rejected millions of applications. It allowed the sale of several vapes that remain under review, including some by Juul and Vuse.
Some gas station retailers, represented by the Energy Marketers of America, found the situation so bleak that they formally petitioned the FDA to clarify which e-cigarettes they can sell.
“We have asked the FDA numerous times for complete information about what can – and cannot – be sold in stores and they have refused to provide it,” said Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, in a email. “It is long overdue for the FDA to provide clarity and aggressively enforce the law.”
Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the 23 authorized e-cigarette devices are the only ones that can be “legally sold in the US”. penalties.
“The FDA will continue our comprehensive actions across the supply chain to protect our nation’s youth from the harms of tobacco products,” said Dr. King. The agency has issued more than 440 warnings and 100 fines to retailers accused of selling unauthorized tobacco products.
Public health experts have issued repeated calls for the FDA to complete its review of e-cigarette sales applications and clear the market of illicit vapes. The agency said it will conclude the review by June 30. So far, tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes and recently some types of menthol have been rejected.
A study released last summer It has been suggested that limiting flavored vapes could have an effect: About 40 percent of teens said they would quit e-cigarettes if only tobacco and menthol were available, and 70 percent would quit if vapes only tobacco flavored is sold.
“What that says is in this context, young people are saying, ‘If it just tastes like tobacco, I don’t know if I’m going to continue using this product,'” said Alayna Tackett, an assistant professor at the Center for Tobacco Research in Ohio. State University. He noted that predicted behavior may not reflect what young people actually do.
Vaping levels among teenagers have fallen sharply since its popularity surged in 2019, when about 28 percent of high school students reported using e-cigarettes within the past month. That level dropped to about 10 percent in a similar survey last year.
Supporters of adult-use e-cigarettes cite those statistics as evidence that the youth crisis has abated, and they say the FDA should keep the flavors available to those trying to quit. traditional cigarettes.
Concerns about e-cigarette use are increasing worldwide. In January, Britain announced it would ban disposable, flavored e-cigarettes after a survey showed one in five 11- to 17-year-olds reported vaping in the past year.
In December, the World Health Organization called for “urgent action” to protect children from e-cigarettes and said many countries have no age limit on the products. E-cigarettes are highly addictive, it says, and “create toxic substances, some of which are known to cause cancer and some of which increase the risk of heart and lung diseases.”
Recent studies show the value of e-cigarettes to smokers seeking to quit — along with the risks to those who continue to smoke and vape. A study was released in January found that nearly 16 percent of smokers who switched to e-cigarettes remained smoke-free six months later. That rate was similar to those who took the smoking cessation drug Chantix, and better than those who used nicotine gum.
One more study released last month found that so-called dual users of cigarettes and vapes face an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke and asthma.
“E-cigarettes are, for some diseases, as bad as a cigarette,” said Stanton Glantz, the lead author of the study. “For others, they are quite good. But they are not better and dual use is always worse.
Besides Mr. Durbin, the other senators who signed the letter were Ron Wyden, a Democrat of Oregon; Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent; Sherrod Brown, a Democrat of Ohio; and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat.
