E-cigarettes in the United States

8th June 2023: US - Hawaii: Senate Bill 975, a companion to House Bill 833, has been signed by governor Josh Green, bringing in the state’s first ever tax on e-cigarettes. A 70% tax on the wholesale price of both devices and e-liquids will apply from 1st January 2024.
6th June 2023: 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.
6th June 2023: 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.
31st May 2023: 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.”
31st May 2023: US - New York: Kent Sopris, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, has published an opinion piece about stopping teen vaping. He emphasises that history shows that prohibiting products only pushes them into the black market, and that a way of incentivising those markets is by creating legislation without proper enforcement strategies. He suggests that the money recently awarded to New York in the settlement with Juul should be used by state leaders "to protect children from the dangers of illegal disposable vapor products in kid-friendly flavors".
30th May 2023: 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.
26th May 2023: US - General: IMiracle Shenzhen Technology Co. Ltd. – the manufacturer of Elf Bar, Lost Mary and EBDesign – issued a statement about the placement of its products on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s Import Alert # 98-06. The company stated that it was given no notice of the agency's decision and was provided no opportunity to address any FDA concerns before action was taken. “It is the job of the FDA to provide consistent and coherent regulatory clarity to the U.S. marketplace. This red list announcement fails to meet this responsibility and provides yet another example of FDA’s politicized decision-making", an IMiracle spokesperson stated.
24th May 2023: 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.
23rd May 2023: 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”.
19th May 2023: US - Federal: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Import Alert 98-06, allowing the agency to detain new tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, that do not have marketing authorisation at US ports of entry. “Divisions may detain, without physical examination, the tobacco products identified on the Red List of this Import Alert,” says the FDA alert. “If the division is not sure whether a tobacco product is the same product as one identified on the Red List, the division should consult with the Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). CTP concurrence is required to add a product to the Red List.” The alert covers shippers from China, South Korea and the US. In order to remove a product from the Red List, information should be provided which demonstrates that the issue leading to the seizure has been resolved.
18th May 2023: 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.

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