• FDA has joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in issuing warning letters to 13 companies that market nicotine-containing e-liquids in packaging that has the appearance of being foods that appeal to children, such as juice boxes, candies, and cookies.
  • FDA and FTC took action based on the risk that consumers, especially children, may confuse the e-liquid products as foods and noted that ingesting e-liquids could result in serious harm or death.  In some letters, FDA stated that the e-liquids were sold to minors in violation of Section 903(a)(7)(B) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
  • These warning letters, along with FDA’s recently published Advanced Noticed of Proposed Rulemaking to obtain information related to the role that flavors play in tobacco products, indicate that the Agency may seek to eliminate at least some e-liquids flavors, as well as address kid-appealing marketing tactics, in order to curb the use of vapor products by youth.  For a more detailed discussion of this and other recent FDA activity concerning tobacco and vapor products, please see our related article “FDA and FTC Issue 13 Warning Letters to E-liquid Companies for Misleadingly Marketing to Youth; FDA Investigates Underage Use of JUUL Devices,” published on our companion blog, the Continuum of Risk.