The FDA has prosecuted 21 small retail businesses for selling unlawful disposable vapes and intends to punish them with the maximum fines permitted by law. The majority of the companies are convenience stores and gas stations.
The retailers have been charged with selling Esco Bar disposables that have not been approved for sale by the FDA. According to the agency, all 21 stores have already been warned for selling unapproved products and will now face rising consequences.
The agency seeks the maximum civil money penalties (CMPs) permitted by law for a single infringement. The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (which includes the Tobacco Control Act) allows for a maximum CMP of $20,678 for each infraction involving tobacco products.
"These retailers were duly warned of what could happen if they continued selling these unauthorized e-cigarettes," stated FDA Center for Tobacco Products Director Brian King in a press release. "They should have acted appropriately to address the infractions, but they chose not to and are now facing the repercussions of their actions. The FDA will not allow inaction to comply with the law.
Esco Bar dealers and distributors have received many FDA warning letters. Last May, the government directed its import inspectors to delay shipments of Esco Bar arriving at US ports. A week later, the maker of Esco Bar vapes was ordered to pull the goods from the US market.
Despite concerns about FDA penalty, businesses continue to distribute and sell Esco Bar disposables for one simple reason: customers demand them. An estimated 10-15 million Americans use nicotine vapor products, with only a small number using the FDA-approved low-power, tobacco-flavored vapes.
If the retailers cited today had sold combustible cigarettes to adult consumers, they would not have faced FDA fines.
