According to a report by WSET on November 10th, Jason Miyares, the Attorney General of Virginia, has written a letter to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging for stronger regulation of illegal electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes and e-cigarette vaporizers.
Miares emphasized that despite efforts to restrict minors’ access to ENDS products, there is currently no centralized enforcement mechanism or licensing requirement for holding stores accountable. He also noted that a significant number of illegal counterfeit ENDS products are being imported from China to the United States, which could potentially be laced with fentanyl and pose a threat to public health.
According to the proposal by Attorney General Mires, the FDA should establish a transparent and regularly updated directory that lists all legal and regulated ENDS products in the market. This measure aims to empower state legislatures to develop their own comprehensive retail licensing schemes, modeled after tobacco regulation.
According to Miares, the lack of a regulatory framework for the market of ENDS products and authoritative oversight of retailers and distributors has led to a doubling in sales volume of these products since January 2020.
