Senate committee members grill officials about the agency’s delayed action on illegal vaping products.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a new task force on Monday to curb the sale of illegal e-cigarettes in the United States. The interagency task force will identify illegal distributors, execute seizures of illicit products when necessary, and oversee criminal and civil prosecutions related to illegal e-cigarette sales.
Flavored e-cigarettes are primarily marketed to middle school and high school students, and the FDA has issued more than 1,100 warning letters to those illegally distributing unauthorized products. The FDA has only approved 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products thus far.
FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Members of the committee questioned Director King extensively about the FDA allowing e-cigarette products to stay on the market that have not received the agency’s approval, a violation of the Tobacco Control Act.
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, chair of the committee, highlighted the FDA’s inaction after a federal court ruling. He said, “After the court-ordered deadline passed on September 9, 2021, the FDA could have ordered every single unauthorized e–cigarette off the market, and that’s what it should have done. Instead, thousands of unauthorized e-cigarettes flooded the market.”
Senator Durbin added, “Not a single one of these products has been authorized by the FDA. None of them. These illegal products, clearly designed for kids by their flavors, are being sold” a mile from the FDA’s headquarters.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For FDA officials as they implement the task force and other plans to address unauthorized vaping products.
- For members of Congress as they seek to ensure the enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act and protect youngsters from potentially harmful e-cigarettes.
Sources: Reuters, CNN
