FDA imposes civil penalties on 10 retailers for selling ELFBAR e-cigarettes

FDA imposes civil penalties on 10 retailers for selling ELFBAR e-cigarettes

The US FDA will impose civil penalties of $20,678 on 10 retailers for selling unauthorized "ELFBAR" e-cigarettes to combat youth e-cigarette use.

According to surveys, more than 50% of teenage smokers use "ELFBAR" e-cigarettes.

According to the official website of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 30, the FDA will seek to impose civil penalties (CMP) on nine physical retailers and one online retailer for selling the e-cigarette brand "ELFBAR" that teenagers are keen on.

The FDA has issued warning letters to these retailers, warning them to sell unauthorized tobacco products. However, subsequent investigations found that these retailers failed to correct these violations. Therefore, the FDA is now seeking to impose a civil penalty of $20,678 on each retailer.

According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, "ELFBAR" is the most commonly used brand of e-cigarettes used by middle and high school students in the past 30 days, of which 56.7% of teenage e-cigarette users are currently using it, and about a third (31.1%) say "ELFBAR" is their "common" brand.

The FDA is seeking a civil penalty of $20,678 against each retailer, consistent with similar penalties sought in previous months against retailers that sold unauthorized products. Retailers can pay the fine, enter into a settlement agreement, request an extension of the response period, or request a hearing. If retailers do not take action within 30 days of receiving the complaint, they may face a default order to pay the full amount of the fine.

To date, the FDA has authorized 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices. These are the only e-cigarette products that can currently be legally marketed and sold in the United States, and specific information can be obtained in the searchable tobacco product database published by the FDA.