The Food and Drug Administration has filed civil money penalty (CMP) complaints against 20 brick-and-mortar retailers, which include convenience stores, for the illegal sale of unauthorized Elf Bar e-cigarette products.
The FDA had previously warned these retailers to stop selling unauthorized tobacco products, and during follow-up inspections, the agency found the retailers had not corrected the violations, the agency said on Monday.
The agency is seeking the maximum penalty amount of $20,678 per violation from each retailer.
Those retailers include Rubber Ave Food Mart LLC dba The Road Runners Convenience, Waterbury Connecticut; TA Group USA Inc. EZ Mart Convenience Stores / dba Shell Rubber Ave Food Mart LLC, Milford, New Hampshire; and F and R, LLC dba 59th Quick Mart Smoke Shop, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and more. A full list of retailers that received CMP complaints can be found on the FDA’s website.
“These retailers have not adequately addressed the violations noted in previous warnings from FDA regarding the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes,” said Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “Their continued failure to comply with the law is inexcusable, and as is evidenced by today’s actions, we’re committed to holding them accountable for it.”
The FDA has filed more than 100 CMPs against retailers for the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes. It has also filed CMP complaints against tobacco product manufactures.
The e-cigarette products that were the focus of these complaints are popular among youth, the FDA said. Findings from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey revealed that Elf Bar was the most commonly used brand among middle and high school students who reported using e-cigarettes.
Last month the FDA fined 21 brick-and-mortar businesses $20,678 for the sale of unauthorized Esco Bars e-cigarettes.
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