FDA Authorizes Vuse Alto, Popular Tobacco Industry Vape

The FDA today authorized sale of the Vuse Alto pod vape and six tobacco-flavored refill pods for the device. The Alto is the single most popular vape product sold in the convenience store/gas station segment of the U.S. vaping market.

The Alto pods granted marketing authorization are the Golden Tobacco and Rich Tobacco flavors, both available in 1.8, 2.4, and 5.0 percent nicotine strengths.

The FDA issued a marketing denial order (MDO) for Vuse Alto menthol refill pods in three nicotine strengths in October 2023, but manufacturer R.J. Reynolds continues to sell them while it challenges the MDO in federal court. The FDA recently granted marketing approval to four menthol vaping products made by Vuse competitor NJOY.

The Vuse Alto (and all Vuse-branded vape products) are made by British American Tobacco (BAT). In the U.S. they’re sold by BAT subsidiary R.J. Reynolds, which originally developed Vuse products. The Alto is largely manufactured in Chinese factories by vape industry pioneer Smoore International Holdings.

Vuse produces the largest number of devices and refills on the tiny list of FDA-authorized vaping products: four devices (three still being sold), and a total of nine currently available refill pods and cartridges. All the products authorized by the FDA are produced by manufacturers owned by major tobacco companies—Vuse (Reynolds/BAT), NJOY (Altria) and Logic (Japan Tobacco).

Vuse manufacturer R.J. Reynolds recently launched a line of flavored, nicotine-free disposable vapes under the SENSA brand, hoping to capture some sales from popular nicotine-containing disposable vapes that compete with the Vuse Alto.

Reynolds and BAT have waged a war on independent vaping industry competitors in recent years, fearful of permanently losing market share to smaller companies that often don’t play by the FDA’s rules.