Attorney General Yost launches campaign against illegal flavored vaping devices
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has announced a campaign to combat illegal vaping devices, with the aim of protecting young peo- ple from addiction, respi- ratory problems and other health risks.
In a news release, Yost said federal law mandates all new tobacco products, including vapes, have to receive pre-market autho- rization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before being sold in the country, and the FDA has authorized only 27 e-ciga- rette products, all of which are tobacco- or menthol-fla- vored.
All other vape products, Yost said, including those sold in Ohio, are illegal.
Yost said he has filed complaints against three Ohio businesses for “selling ille- gal vapes, failing to disclose the illegality of these prod- ucts, and misrepresenting their authorization status,” which he said are unfair or deceptive practices under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. He added the complaints were filed after the three stores continued to sell illegal flavored vapes in defiance of a warning lat- ter sent from the attorney general’s office in April.
The attorney general said unauthorized vaping devices pose a significant public health threat, saying harmful chemicals found in vapes include formaldehyde.
He also said vapes are the most-used tobacco products among U.S. middleand high-school students.
Citing tightly controlled sales data, the Associated Press reported in June 2023 the number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. had nearly tripled, driven by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China.
The AP reported that, although the FDA effectively banned all flavors except for menthol and tobacco from cartridge-based e-cigarettes in 2020, the policy excluded disposable vapes, a decision which the previous director of the agency’s tobacco program Mitch Zeller said was made by the Trump administration without the FDA’s input.
The result, Zeller said, is entrepreneurs can send their logo and flavor requests to Chinese manufacturers and quickly have thousands of unauthorized disposable vapes.
“You don’t have any idea what is in those vape cartridges,” Yost said. “This is a consumer protection issue, particularly when it comes to our youngsters that are still developing, the idea these unregulated, unauthorized vapes are on the market is a real danger.”