Eight U.S. Senators Pressure FDA To Completely Remove Unauthorized E-cigarettes

Eight U.S. senators pressure FDA to completely remove unauthorized e-cigarettes

U.S. Senator Susan Collins and seven of her bipartisan colleagues wrote to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to intensify the crackdown on illegal e-cigarette sales and call for the restoration of the pre-market review process for e-cigarettes required by federal law.

According to the Sierra Sun Times on July 8, last week, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and her bipartisan colleagues wrote to senior officials of the Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Center for Tobacco Products of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking for more information about the recently announced inter-agency task force to combat the illegal sale and distribution of unauthorized e-cigarettes.

The letter also reiterated the need to restore the pre-market review process required by federal law. The letter was also signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The senators wrote,

"We appreciate the recent announcement of a federal task force to strengthen enforcement of these illegal and dangerous products through the collaboration of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Trade Commission. We remain deeply concerned about the inconsistency between the FDA and DOJ's public statements that only 27 e-cigarette products are FDA-authorized, when in fact, thousands of unauthorized e-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors such as Blue Raspberry Ice, Strawberry Watermelon Bubble Gum, and Red Bull Strawberry remain widely available."

"Obviously, the task force's first priority should be to restore the law's premarket review system and enforce the removal of all unauthorized e-cigarettes."

On June 10, 2024, the U.S. DOJ and FDA announced the formation of a federal multi-agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes. In addition to the FDA and DOJ, this task force will bring together multiple law enforcement agencies to use all criminal and civil means to combat illegal e-cigarette distribution and sales.

The letter also calls on the FDA to complete its long-standing review of premarket tobacco product applications submitted by e-cigarette manufacturers. About 2.1 million children may have started vaping since the FDA missed a court-imposed deadline of Sept. 9, 2021, by more than 33 months. The FDA missed another deadline to complete its review of certain products by June 30, 2024. E-cigarette companies must obtain FDA authorization before entering the market under the Tobacco Control Act (TCA), but the FDA has not enforced this requirement.