The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The AP.
Once a niche market, cheaper disposables made up 40% of the roughly $7 billion retail market for e-cigarettes last year, according to data from analytics firm IRI obtained by the AP. The company’s proprietary data collects barcode scanner sales from convenience stores, gas stations and other retailers.
Adding to the challenge, foreign manufacturers of the prefilled devices don't have to register with FDA, giving regulators little visibility into a sprawling industry centered in China’s Shenzhen manufacturing center. The IRI data obtained by the AP provides key insights beyond figures released last week by government researchers, which showed the number of vaping brands in the U.S. grew nearly 50% to 269 by late 2022.
FDA’s authority originally only referenced products using nicotine from tobacco plants. In 2021, Puff Bar and other disposable companies switched to using laboratory-made nicotine. In September 2019, Trump announced at a news conference a plan to ban non-tobacco flavors from all e-cigarettes — both reloadable devices and disposables. But political advisers to the president worried that could alienate voters.
In September 2018, FDA officials declared teen vaping an “epidemic,” pointing to rising use of Juul, Reynolds American’s Vuse and other brands. Reynolds and Juul have seen sales flatline amid the surge in disposables, according to the IRI data. Disposable e-cigarettes generated $2.74 billion last year.
“We’re a company that does very positive things for society and the community, and the government just attacked us,” said Surriff, who added that he recently purchased new cars for several longtime employees. Made by iMiracle Shenzhen, Elf Bar alone has generated nearly $400 million in U.S. sales since late 2021, the IRI data shows.
Fourteen years later, the FDA hasn't finalized manufacturing rules that would extend its authority to foreign vaping factories. In fact, regulators only released a draft regulation in March. The FDA itself recognizes the problem, stating in its proposed guidelines: “Covering foreign manufacturers is necessary to assure the protection of the public health," and noting “numerous reports of battery fires and explosions,” with Chinese e-cigarettes.The FDA announced plans to start regulating the products in 2011, and it took regulators another five years to finalize rules.
“When an agency declares that everything on the market is illegal, it puts itself in the position of being completely unable to enforce its own regulations,” said Tony Abboud, of the Vaping Technology Association.Even with broad agreement that flavored disposables are a problem, there’s little consensus on the solution.
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