Four companies get warning letters over alleged failure to label their liquid
Train Kept A-Rollin'
E-Liquid. It's the oil that's used in the production of e-cigarettes and other vapor products.
And not too long ago, it came under the watchful eye of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Smoked Out
Back in August of last year, the FDA introduced labeling and warning statement requirements for "covered tobacco products" ‒ products that are "deemed to be subject to the FD&C Act." E-cigarettes have been covered by the FDA for more than two years. The new requirements introduced last year mandate the following text on the packaging of every covered product, including e-cigarettes:
"WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical."
This tag, in turn, is defined by its own set of rules governing typeface and prominence on the package. For instance, the warning must "comprise at least 30 percent of each of the principal display panels."
The Takeaway
In early June of this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FDA teamed up to dole out some criticism to four companies that produce the e-liquids: Solace Technologies, Hype City Vapors, Humble Juice Co. and Artist Liquids Laboratories.
According to the FTC's statement, the companies had misbranded the e-liquids because posts by influencers who promote the products on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter failed to include the nicotine warning. This is tantamount to a violation of the FTC Act, the statement maintained, because "the FTC Act's prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices includes the failure to disclose material health or safety risks in advertising." The letters also reminded the companies to ensure that their influencers disclosed their advertising relationship in their posts.
The letters do seem fairly gentle, however, offering a 15-day period for companies to make corrections and lots of suggestions and guidance in lieu of full-blown enforcement actions.
And perhaps that treatment goes to show that the upstart "vaping" companies are becoming legitimate businesses ‒ they're slowly but surely joining the rest of their industry under the regulators' penetrating eye. With this growth of vaping companies and their rising popularity among younger consumers and influencers, disclosure of dangers with these types of required warnings will continue to be extremely important, and products will be watched by the careful eyes of regulators such as the FDA and FTC.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.