An employee displays some of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices manufactured by EB Design, formerly known as Elf Bar, at Vapes N Smoke in Pinecrest, Fla., Monday, June 26, 2023. Since 2020, the number of different e-cigarette devices for sale in the U.S. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three-fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from China. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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Feds target illegal e-cigarettes
A new task force of federal agencies aims to crack down on the sale and distribution of illicit electronic cigarettes, intent on stemming a flood of products that continuously skirt government regulation.
Critics have widely argued that illicit vaping products are purposely designed to appeal to children and young adults. Despite the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing a ban on most fruit and mint-flavored e-cigarettes, products continue to flow into the U.S.
The FDA announced Monday it will partner with the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service, among other agencies.
Lawmakers and public health groups were cautiously optimistic.
“The creation of this task force can be an important step in preventing youth use of e-cigarettes, which are endangering the health and well-being of young people,” said Yolonda Richardson, president and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “This move will only have an impact if it is immediately followed with concrete and comprehensive enforcement actions.”
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has been an outspoken critic of FDA’s efforts to regulate and police the e-cigarette market.
“I’m glad my calls for greater enforcement against unauthorized e-cigarettes have been heeded,” Durbin said in a statement. “But new partnerships only matter if our federal agencies use their enforcement tools instead of cowering to the tobacco industry’s lawyers. Thus far, our agencies have failed to prevent a wave of youth e-cigarette addiction.”
The FDA has authorized the sale of only 23 e-cigarettes for adult smokers looking for alternatives to traditional cigarettes. These are the only e-cigarette products that currently may be lawfully marketed and sold in the United States.
Still, thousands of unauthorized products find their way into the U.S., primarily from China, and the FDA is facing bipartisan pressure to do more to stop Chinese vape products in kid-friendly flavors from entering the market.
They include major disposable products such as Elf Bar, which was the most popular e-cigarette among underage teens last year.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
A federal advisory panel on Monday voted in favor of recommending Eli Lilly’s new drug that is under consideration for its potential to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee met on Monday to discuss Eli Lilly’s donanemab. The committee’s voting members were asked to vote on the question, …
Moderna’s late-stage trial for its COVID-flu combination vaccine yielded positive results, the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company announced Monday. The combination vaccine, which Moderna calls mRNA-1083, produced a higher immune response than standalone vaccines for COVID-19 or influenza. The results were also seen among trail participants 65 years and older, whom often don’t show as strong a response to vaccines …
Former President Trump on Monday virtually addressed a conservative Christian advocacy group that supports the end of abortion, telling the organization’s members if he’s reelected they would “make a comeback like just about no other group.” Trump delivered a roughly two-minute recorded video message at the Danbury Institute’s Life and Liberty Forum, which featured remarks from evangelists and …
On Wednesday a Senate Judiciary subcommittee holds a hearing on traveling for abortion care.
The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday holds a hearing on youth residential treatment facilities.
The Hill event
Keeping Pharmacy Shelves Filled: Solutions to Address Drug Shortages | June 25 in Washington, D.C. | In person & streaming
Join The Hill for a special discussion on the pharmaceutical supply chain as we discuss the collective goal of preventing drug shortages and, when they are unavoidable, mitigating their impact on patients.
Speakers include:
Dr. Mark McClellan, director, Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy
Dr. Marta Wosińska, senior fellow, Center on Health Policy, The Brookings Institution
Michael Kleinrock, lead research director, IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science.
Things to know about FDA warning on paralytic shellfish poisoning in Pacific Northwest
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says consumers should avoid eating shellfish from Oregon and Washington state as they may be contaminated with toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. At least 31 people have been sickened in Oregon so far, according to state health officials. Here’s what to know …
Secret recordings published Monday showed Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’s and Justice Samuel Alito’s thoughts on the politics of the court, … Read more
Some Senate Republicans are expressing concerns over former President Trump’s calls for political vengeance after the 2024 election, warning … Read more
