FDA issues warning letters to 80 retailers for selling unauthorized ELFBAR, Lost Mary and other products

FDA issues warning letters to 80 retailers for selling unauthorized ELFBAR, Lost Mary and other products

The US FDA requires 80 e-cigarette retailers to stop selling unauthorized products and imposes a $20,000 fine on eight retailers that have not corrected violations. The FDA said it will continue to crack down on the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes to teenagers.

On July 25, US time, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 80 physical retailers in 15 states because they sold unauthorized e-cigarette products that are popular with teenagers, including brands such as ELFBAR and Lost Mary.

At the same time, the FDA announced that it would take civil penalty lawsuits (CMPs) against eight retailers who had previously received warnings for selling unauthorized e-cigarettes but did not take action, requiring each retailer to pay a fine of $20,678.

Warning letters and CMPs are the result of the FDA's use of multiple monitoring systems that can identify products that are popular with or attract teenagers. The FDA will send a warning letter for the first time after confirming or inspecting a violation. The recipient of the warning letter has 15 working days to respond to what measures they will take to correct the current violation and prevent future violations.

Over the past year, the FDA has conducted inspections of retailers to identify those that sell unauthorized e-cigarettes. As a result of these actions, the FDA has issued more than 690 warning letters and more than 140 civil penalty actions to retailers for unauthorized e-cigarette sales.

To date, the FDA has authorized 34 e-cigarette products and devices, which are the only e-cigarette products that may currently be legally sold in the United States.