Two Major U.S. Cigarette Giants Joined Forces With The FDA To Hunt For E-cigarettes

Two major U.S. cigarette giants "joined forces" with the FDA to hunt for e-cigarettes

Altria and R.J. Reynolds have also taken legal action to end their e-cigarette competition and supported PMTA registration laws proposed in state legislatures to boost cigarette sales; FDA does what it can to protect cigarettes

Altria backs PMTA registration law to boost cigarette sales

 

Altria supports the creation of a so-called PMTA registry (or catalog) and bans the sale of e-cigarette products that are not authorized by the FDA or have a premarket tobacco application (PMTA) still under review. the agency. Some bills also allow the sale of products that were rejected by the FDA but remain on the market due to a federal court order (such as R.J. Reynolds' Vuse Menthol Refills).

 

More than two dozen PMTA registration bills have been introduced in state legislatures since January. The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association (CASAA) has issued a call for action on 21 registered bills, indicating they are gaining traction among lawmakers or have scheduled hearings. New bills are introduced almost every day.

 

Altria executives have expressed support for registration bills at legislative hearings in several states, said Gregory Conley, director of legislative and external affairs for the Association of American Vaping Manufacturers (AVM).

 

The bills aim to curb sales of popular disposable e-cigarettes and bottled e-cigarette liquids, both of which compete with Altria's combustible cigarettes, including the Marlboro brand. The disposable e-cigarette also competes with Altria's NJOY e-cigarette, but NJOY is a very small player in the e-cigarette market (and Altria's profitability prospects). (Vuse manufacturer R.J. Reynolds (which also makes Newport and Camel cigarettes) also supports the PMTA registration law.)

 

Alabama, Louisiana and Oklahoma have passed registration laws and currently register the products they are allowed to sell. Lawmakers in both Alabama and Oklahoma have introduced bills this year to strengthen enforcement of the laws.

 

Altria and R.J. Reynolds also took legal action to end their e-cigarette competition. Last October, Altria subsidiary NJOY filed a lawsuit in federal district court against dozens of disposable e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors and retailers, including Breeze, Elf Bar, Esco Bar, Flum, Juice Box, Lava Plus, Loon, Lost Mary, Mr. Fog and Puff Bar brands. NJOY asked the court to ban the companies from importing and said it would "consider further litigation activity." (In January, the court dismissed most of the lawsuits.)

 

FDA doing all it can to protect cigarettes

 

The FDA's Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has been engaged in a whack-a-mole war with independent e-cigarette companies - primarily manufacturers and sellers of e-cigarette oils and disposable e-cigarettes - for years.

 

The agency has issued hundreds of warning letters, ordered manufacturers and retailers to remove products from the U.S. market, and imposed hefty "civil penalties" (fines) on repeat offenders. In some cases, the FDA has sought help from the Justice Department to shut down small e-cigarette businesses.

 

Products have been seized at airports by the FDA, and the agency has ordered its import inspectors to detain shipments of Elf Bar and Esco Bar disposables without first inspecting them.

 

The FDA has approved just seven vaping devices, all of which are made by companies owned by Altria (NJOY), Reynolds (Vuse) or Japan Tobacco (Logic). The agency has not granted marketing authorization to any open system (refillable) products, including bottled e-cigarette oil or any non-tobacco flavored e-cigarette product.
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