The Los Angeles Post

FDA delays crackdown on synthetic vaping

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The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday sidestepped a major crackdown on companies that make popular synthetic nicotine products.

  • Late Wednesday, the agency said it had issued warning letters to AZ Swagg Sauce LLC and Electric Smoke Vapor House, which listed a combined total of approximately 10,000 products with the FDA.
  • Neither company submitted a premarket application for its non-tobacco nicotine products.

Synthetic nicotine is made in a lab, and was a way for companies to skirt FDA regulation, since the agency previously did not have the ability to regulate it like it does with tobacco-derived nicotine.

Synthetic nicotine products are often fruity flavored and popular with young people.

  • Under a new law, companies had until May 14 to submit a premarket application to keep their products on the market. Any company that didn’t would be considered illegal and would need to remove their products by July 13.

Advocacy groups and senators said the agency needs to do more and slammed the lack of concrete action.