The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warning letters to 61 brick-and-mortar retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products.
The warning letters, sent Tuesday, cited a selection of popular youth-appealing e-cigarette products, which include disposable products from Elf Bar/EB Design and Lava, the FDA said.
The retailers that received warning letters sold or distributed e-cigarettes that lack authorization from the FDA in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. They have 15 working days to respond with how they will correct the violation and prevent future ones.
Findings from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that more than 50 percent of youth who use e-cigarettes reported using the brand Elf Bar. Last year, the manufacturer of Elf Bar began marketing the product under the name of EB Design, according to the agency. The brand Lava was also identified as popular or youth-appealing by the agency following review of retail sales data and emerging internal data from a survey among youth.
The FDA continues to issue warning letters informed through the agency's ongoing monitoring of multiple surveillance systems to identify products that data indicate are popular among youth or have youth appeal, the agency said.
To date, the FDA has issued more than 550 warning letters to and filed 100 civil money penalty actions against retailers for the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes.
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