New Data on E-Cigarette Sales Underscore Urgent Need for Additional Federal Government Enforcement

Today, the CDC Foundation released data that show a significant increase in e-cigarette sales in the U.S. during 2022, including numerous illegal flavored e-cigarette products. In response to this new data, the American Lung Association’s President and CEO Harold Wimmer released the following statement.

“It is unacceptable that so many illegal flavored e-cigarette products are currently being sold. This shows the urgent need for the federal government, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce the law and remove all illegal products from the market. Enforcement should be focused on manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and importers. 

“The new data show that as of July 10, disposable e-cigarette products, such as Puff Bar, made up nearly 50% of total e-cigarette sales and among youth who used e-cigarettes in 2022, 55.3% used disposable e-cigarettes. The most commonly used flavors of disposable e-cigarettes were fruit (69.1%) and candy/desserts/other sweets (38.3%). In addition, total sales from January to July 2022 outpaced sales from the same period in 2021.

“In March, Congress closed the Puff Bar loophole when it passed a law requiring FDA to regulate tobacco products made with synthetic nicotine. As a result, all synthetic nicotine products on the market, such as Puff Bar, are now illegal, yet are still being sold in the U.S. There are also a steady stream of synthetic nicotine products coming into the U.S. from overseas that must be stopped.

“On October 18, the DOJ announced that it filed complaints for permanent injunctions in federal district courts against six e-cigarette manufacturers on behalf of the FDA. This is the first time FDA and DOJ have taken these steps and comes just a couple weeks after the release of the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which revealed that more than 2.55 million youth are regularly using e-cigarettes. The data also show that nearly 85% of youth who vape are using flavored products, including 26.6% using menthol and 29.4% using mint-flavored e-cigarettes, with 27.6% are vaping daily. Virtually all of these flavored products are on the market illegally. 

“The new data from the CDC Foundation show the urgent need to prevent more kids from becoming addicted to these products. We urge the federal government to swiftly remove all illegal e-cigarette products from the market and put strict enforcement measures in place.”

The Lung Association has resources to prevent tobacco use and help youth quit, specifically designed for schools, parents and teens, including TalkAboutVaping.org, our Vape-Free Schools Initiative, Not On Tobacco, and more resources available online.