FDA Denies Marketing of Two Vuse Menthol E-Cigarette Products
VIEW TODAY’S NEWS RELEASE HERE
FDA announced the agency has issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) for two menthol e-cigarette products currently marketing by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company – the Vuse Vibe Tank Menthol 3.0% and the Vuse Ciro Cartridge Menthol 1.5%. The company must not market or distribute these products in the U.S. or they risk enforcement action by the FDA.
When reviewing premarket product applications (PMTAs), the agency evaluates, among other things, a tobacco product’s components, ingredients, additives, constituents, design, harmful and potentially harmful constituents, and health risks, as well as how the product is manufactured, packaged, and labeled. After reviewing the company’s PMTAs, the FDA determined that the applications lacked sufficient evidence to demonstrate that permitting the marketing of the products would be appropriate for the protection of the public health, the applicable standard legally required by the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Existing evidence demonstrates that non-tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes, including menthol flavored e-cigarettes, have a known and substantial risk with regard to youth appeal, uptake, and use; in contrast, data indicate tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes do not have the same appeal to youth and therefore do not pose the same degree of risk. Given these existing differences in youth risk, applicants need to provide robust evidence to demonstrate that using their menthol flavored e-cigarette products are likely to promote complete switching or are likely to significantly reduce combustible cigarette use in adult smokers beyond that facilitated by tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes products. Data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that Vuse was the second most common brand youth e-cigarette users reported “usually” using.
These products cannot be legally introduced into interstate commerce in the U.S. without risking FDA enforcement. In addition to ensuring that the manufacturer complies with this order, as with unauthorized products generally, the FDA intends to ensure compliance by distributors and retailers. Retailers should contact R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company with any questions about products in their inventory.