FDA warns stores to stop selling Elf Bar, the 'youth-appealing' top disposable e-cigarette

The Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday it sent 189 "warning letters" to convenience stores, vape shops, and other stores across the U.S., advising then to stop selling fruit- and candy-flavored disposable e-cigarettes, including Elf Bar and Esco Bars products.

The FDA said both are among the top-selling brands and come in flavors that appeal to children and teenagers, including bubblegum and cotton candy.

The FDA is prepared to use all of its authorities to ensure these, and other illegal and youth-appealing products, stay out of the hands of kids,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. noted in a news release. “We are committed to a multipronged approach using regulation, compliance and enforcement action and education to protect our nation’s youth.”

The release noted that the letters follow a recent "nationwide retailer inspection blitz" in which the FDA has been "cracking down on the sale of these unauthorized e-cigarettes." The FDA added "the agency’s ongoing surveillance efforts helped FDA identify Elf Bar and Esco Bars as being among the most popular brands in the United States and having high youth appeal."

The FDA has tried for years to regulate the multibillion-dollar vaping industry, but separate data released by government researchers Thursday shows unauthorized e-cigarettes continue to launch.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the number of e-cigarette brands increased by 46.2% from January 2020 to December 2022.

"During this study period, the number of brands increased by 46.2%, from 184 to 269 brands. Prefilled devices decreased, while disposable devices increased; and sales of youth-appealing flavors—such as fruit, candy, and desserts—increased," the CDC noted in a separate release.

Aside from Elf Bar and Esco Bars, the CDC study also reported the top-selling e-cigarette brands during December 2022 included the following:

  • Vuse
  • JUUL
  • NJOY
  • Breeze Smoke

Elf Bar was the top-selling disposable brand among youth aged 16 to 19 throughout the U.S. in August 2022, according to the CDC, and was responsible for driving "sharp" increases in e-cigarette use among the same age group in England.

“The dramatic spikes in youth e-cigarette use back in 2017 and 2018, primarily driven by JUUL, showed us how quickly e-cigarette sales and use patterns can change,” Deirdre Lawrence Kittner, PhD, MPH, who is the director of CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health, noted in the release. “Retail sales data are key to providing real-time information on the rapidly changing e-cigarette landscape, which is essential to reducing youth tobacco use.”

Brian King, Ph.D., M.P.H., the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, shared similar sentiments.

“All players in the supply chain -- including retailers -- have a role in keeping illegal e-cigarettes off the shelves,” King said. “This latest blitz should be a wake-up call for retailers of Elf Bar and Esco Bars products nationwide. If they’re waiting for a personal invitation to comply with the law, they might just get it in the form of a warning letter or other action from the FDA.”

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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