FDA and DOJ Launch New Task Force to Combat Illegal E-Cigarette Sales

The US Food and Drug Administration and Justice Department announced Monday that they are creating a task force to target the issue. The task force will include people from the US Marshals Service, US Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies to identify and target illegal sales and distribution of e-cigarettes.

“Unauthorized e-cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of Americans – particularly children and adolescents – across the country,” Benjamin Mizer, the acting associate attorney general with the Justice Department.

“This interagency Task Force is dedicated to protecting Americans by combatting the unlawful sale and distribution of these products,” Mizer said. “And the establishment of this Task Force makes clear that vigorous enforcement of the tobacco laws is a government-wide priority.

Teen vaping is a "serious" public health issue.(pxhere)

Under current regulations, new tobacco products must receive marketing authorization from the FDA before they can be sold; pre-existing e-cigarette products have been allowed to remain on the market, but the agency has asked manufacturers to submit applications to keep them there.

The new federal task force will hone in on several issues, “including investigating and prosecuting new criminal, civil, seizure and forfeiture actions,” according to the news release, and violations “can result in felony convictions and significant criminal fines and civil monetary penalties,” as well as the seizures of unauthorized products.

Approximately 2.1 million teenagers are currently using e-cigarettes. (pxhere)

“The U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Division stands ready to work with our Task Force partners in the seizure of unauthorized e-cigarettes from domestic distributors seeking to sell them unlawfully,” Ronald Davis, director of the US Marshals Service, said in Monday’s news release.

Meanwhile, the American Lung Association has announced that it applauds the launch of the new federal task force.