Reynolds Sells FDA-Unauthorized Fruit Vapes — SkimNews
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- Reynolds American launched Vuse Pro vapes in peach, berry, watermelon, and fresh mint flavors in Ohio and select states, though none have received FDA authorization.
- The FDA softened its enforcement guidance in May, effectively permitting manufacturers with pending applications and submitted public health data to sell unauthorized fruit-flavored vapes — a policy Mitch Zeller, former head of the agency's tobacco center, called "wrongheaded."
- Reynolds donated $5 million to a Trump-backed super PAC about a week before the FDA's policy shift, and company executives dined with Trump at his golf club, per New York Times reporting.
- Altria sued the FDA last week over the timeliness of its product review process, and Rutgers' Cristine Delnevo warned Reynolds' move could encourage broader non-compliance if rivals conclude "compliance offers little advantage" over launching first and absorbing penalties later.
- Only 48 e-cigarettes have received FDA authorization to date, and the agency authorized fruit-flavored vapes for the first time in May, approving Glas company's age-gating technology.
- A coalition including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the American Academy of Pediatrics filed a federal lawsuit in July alleging the new enforcement policy violates the 2009 Tobacco Control Act.
- Youth vaping has fallen from a 2019 peak of 20% to 5.9%, but vaping among young adults aged 19–30 hit a record 19% last year, per a University of Michigan survey.
Why it matters: Reynolds' launch effectively tests whether major manufacturers can sell unauthorized fruit-flavored vapes with impunity — Altria's lawsuit and Delnevo's warning suggest rivals are watching closely. For consumers, FDA-authorized products, newly unauthorized major-brand products like Vuse, and illicit disposables from Geek Bar and Foger now sit side by side, with no practical way for a health-concerned adult smoker to distinguish them, per Zeller.
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