The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday launched an initiative designed to push hundreds of thousands of retailers to stop selling illegal vaping products.
Dr. Marty Makary, the FDA commissioner, has pressed for months to raise awareness about unauthorized products the government believes are streaming in primarily from China that pose “unknown health risks” and are “designed to make kids addicted.”
This week, the agency announced it is sending notices to over 300,000 retailers nationwide containing lists of vaping and associated tobacco products that are legal in the United States. The materials will feature QR codes linked to the FDA real-time digital versions of those lists.
The FDA will start mailing out the notices this fall. The effort is meant to increase “voluntary compliance” from retailers, according to the FDA. A press release from the agency noted it has received questions from businesses about what tobacco products are legal to sell.
The FDA reiterated concerns that up to 54% of vaping products sold nationally are illegal, and frequently contain chemicals commonly found in industrial textiles and pesticides.
Makary recently said China could be raking in as much as $100 billion annually from organized crime and cartels, including Sinaloa, associated with driving illegal vaping products across U.S. borders.
MARTY MAKARY OUTLINES FDA CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL FOREIGN VAPE PRODUCTS
He criticized previous FDA leadership for failing to tackle the problem sufficiently. Investigations posit that of approximately 7,000 vape products sold in the U.S., only 39 are approved by the FDA. In recent months, the FDA has led raids targeting facilities funneling illegal products, with officials saying that in one operation, 90% of the products seized originated from China.
“This is a big epidemic right now affecting children that very few people are aware about,” the FDA commissioner said during an interview with ABC 7 News. “Very few adults understand what’s going on among middle school and high school kids. Right now, it’s up to half of kids in some high schools are addicted to vaping products, and 64% have tried to quit and not been able to quit.”
