Puff Bar Electronic Cigarettes Could Face FDA Crackdown

Puff Bar vape, a popular disposable electronic cigarette that uses flavored synthetic nicotine, may face scrutiny now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has the authority to regulate synthetic, or lab-created, nicotine products.

On March 11, a new federal spending bill was signed into law giving the FDA regulatory power over synthetic nicotine, also called tobacco-free nicotine. Previously, the FDA only had the power to regulate products containing tobacco-based nicotine. Many e-cigarette makers, including Puff Bar, used this loophole to continue selling their nicotine-based products without gaining direct approval from the FDA.

The FDA issued a warning letter in July 2020 to the makers of Puff Bar vape, ordering the company to stop selling its disposable flavored e-cigarettes as it did not have the required premarket authorization. The agency cited its ongoing efforts to combat “illegally marketed tobacco products,” but Puff Bar found a way around the ban.

In February 2021, Puff Bar announced its products would start being manufactured with synthetic, tobacco-free nicotine. Now Puff Bar and other e-cigarette makers may be hit with another round of warning letters from the FDA, ordering them to pull their products from the market.

Substantial clinical research is needed to determine the exact dangers of synthetic nicotine as the chemical is too new for any conclusive assessment of its health risks. However, there is some evidence that synthetic nicotine is more readily absorbed by the body than tobacco-based nicotine and therefore could be more addictive.

Nicotine addiction among teens and young adults is a primary reason many parents and users have filed lawsuits against e-cigarette manufacturers such as Juul. Over 3,500 Juul lawsuits are currently pending as people who have suffered vaping-related injuries look to hold Juul and other e-cigarette manufacturers accountable for their products and misleading, youth-oriented advertising.