FDA is About to Crack Down on Non-Compliant Vapes

The FDA looks ready to begin enforcing the most restrictive of the existing regulations written into its Deeming Rule: the ban on innovation of products after the grandfather date.

Most vapers know the date by heart: Aug. 8, 2016.

That’s the date after which no new vapor product can come to market without first successfully going through one of the three pathways the agency offers: substantial equivalence (SE), premarket tobacco application (PMTA), or modified risk tobacco product (MRTP). Getting approval to market new products through those routes is probably impossible for the vast majority of independent vaping companies.

The prohibition on new products includes any changes to existing products — even minor changes. Inconsequential modifications like firmware upgrades or minor alterations to e-liquid recipes count as violations of the marketing prohibition.

Until now, the FDA has apparently decided not to enforce the rule against selling new products after that date. But that may be about to change.

The FDA has asked for bids on a contract to provide “Vape Inspection” services. The agency is prepared to spend $23 million over a five-year period to verify compliance, and has published a detailed list of items inspectors will be searching for.

The contract specifies inspections of manufacturers (which also includes any vape shop that makes e-liquid on site), but the Tobacco Control Act allows gives the FDA authority to inspect all “establishments engaged in the retail sale of FDA-regulated tobacco products.” That could include any vape shop or online seller.

One of the tasks inspectors will have is checking to see if “Establishment is potentially in violation of Section 910 of the FD&C Act, which prohibits introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce any ‘new tobacco product’ without an order from FDA authorizing the marketing of the product.”

Responsibility for proving that products were available before the Aug. 8, 2016 cutoff belongs to manufacturers and wholesale/importers, but non-compliant products could be seized from retailers. The FDA could even confiscate shipments to individuals from China or other countries after mail inspections.

The news about the FDA call for inspection bids was first reported by ECigIntelligence. The vape market analysts say there is evidence that some non-compliant products are being sold currently.

“There appears to be some disconnect between product authorisation and product availability,” said ECigIntelligence managing director Tim Phillips in an email to subscribers. “It could be that manufacturers and importers are gambling on non-enforcement or even a rollback of the FDA regulations governing e-cigarettes,” he added.

There are a variety of ways manufacturers can prove a product was “commercially marketed” before the Aug. 8 grandfather date. According to an FDA guidance document, these are some examples:

Many vape manufacturers documented technical compliance with the rules by selling products once before the Aug. 8 cutoff, then immediately removing them from the market.