E-cigarettes in North America

US - general: E-cigarette maker VPR Brands has asked the Federal Circuit Court to maintain a court order banning the sale of Elf Bar vapes, issued during a trademark dispute over the use of the “Elf” mark, Law360 reports. VPR claims its own Elf brand products have never been subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strictures or legal action and that its Elf devices are neither sold nor intended for nicotine consumption, unlike Elf Bar products that come pre-filled with “nicotine e-liquids with candy and fruit flavors”. iMiracle, the Chinese company behind Elf Bar, appealed to the Federal Circuit Court in March against a district court’s preliminary injunction and requested that the order be staying pending the appeal.

US - general: The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and other retail associations have asked the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be more transparent with its premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process and repeated their call for a list of e-cigarettes that are legal to market to be made publicly available. “It has been 18 months since this request and the Agency has received millions of applications and made decisions on 99 percent of them to date, yet the only list publicly available is the names of the manufacturers and not the names of the products themselves,” the NACS said, quoting the letter sent to the FDA in October 2021.

US – federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued warning letters to 30 retailers it accused of selling various unauthorised types of Puff and Hyde brand disposable e-cigarettes, including Puff Bar, which are among the most popular brands with young US users. “Protecting our nation’s youth from tobacco products – including disposable e-cigarettes – is a top priority,” FDA commissioner Robert Califf said. “We’re committed to holding all players in the supply chain – not just manufacturers but also retailers and distributors – accountable to the law.”

US - Texas: House Bill 4758 has been passed by both the House and the Senate and sent to the governor for signature. It would prohibit e-cigarette containers from depicting cartoon-like characters that mimic those aimed at minors; using trademarks or “trade dress” of products marketed to minors; featuring symbols or celebrity images primarily used to market products to minors; or resembling a food product, including candy or juice.

Americas: Ahead of tomorrow’s World No Tobacco Day (31st May), Jarbas Barbosa, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), has warned that novel tobacco and nicotine products “threaten to undo decades of gains against tobacco use”. He said: “The tobacco industry and its allies do not rest. Currently, they spread a lot of misleading information that promotes, especially among young people, the use of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products.”

US - Texas: House Bill 4758 has been passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk. It would ban e-cigarette containers that depict cartoon-like characters; mimic trademarks or appearance of products primarily marketed to minors; include symbols or celebrity images aimed at minors; or resemble food products, including candy or juice.

US - federal: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has hired its first senior advisor for health equality. Charlene Le Fauve has 25 years’ experience of federal work related to health equality, dedicating her career to “advancing health equity and the health of under-served and under-represented populations through research and research workforce development”.

US - Louisiana: House Bill 179 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. The bill would ban the sale or service of any e-liquid or vapour product with any flavour other than tobacco.