Online vape sellers have been exposed for failing to comply with safety restrictions
On the Internet cigarettes and vape sellers are liable for non-compliance with sales restrictions.
Regulations are in place to help prevent the sale of vape products to minors, including age verification, shipping methods and flavor restrictions.
Researchers at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California San Diego are testing those rules.
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The study, published in JAMA last week, suggested that some retailers are not following these guidelines.
Of the 156 attempts to do this research, 73% were processed and 67% of the orders were delivered. (Stock)
The investigators asked 16 people to buy flavored vapes online and have them delivered to their homes San Diego County.
Out of 156 attempts, 73% were processed and 67% of orders were delivered.
Restrictions on the sale of flavored cigarettes have been enacted in eight US states and 392 cities or counties as of March 21, 2024, according to UC San Diego.
“The results suggest that it is very easy to buy flavored vaping products online, even in places where it is banned.”
Some restrictions on online transactions are “unclear,” they said, including in states like California.
Eight of the consumers in the study were from the city of San Diego, where there is a law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products, as stated in the press release.
Failure to comply
The purchases made in the study violated the flavor restrictions and the Act to Prevent the Online Sale of E-Cigarettes to Children.
This act is a “federal law that prohibits the use of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship respiratory products. [and] requires both age verification and scan identification upon delivery,” UC San Diego said.
Research has shown that only 1% of consumers have their IDs scanned and 81% of deliveries are made via USPS.
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No contact with delivery personnel was reported for 78% of consumers, while 15% spoke with delivery personnel but did not have their IDs checked.
Eric Leas, Ph.D., lead study author and assistant professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, discussed the findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
There are regulations designed to prevent online sales of vape products to minors. (Stock)
“The results suggest that it is very easy to buy flavored vaping products online, even in places where it is banned,” he said.
“They also suggest that, for the most part, sellers ignore state and national laws regarding transportation requirements and age verification.”
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Leas warned that this is “a problem especially for mitigation efforts vaping for teenagers.”
To prevent these sales from falling into pitfalls, Leas suggested that regular inspections be done to “monitor and enforce compliance among online retailers.”
A 2023 study found that online shopping inquiries for vape products were 162% higher than expected. (Stock)
Online sales of e-cigarettes are “the largest and fastest growing tobacco sector [industry],” noted Leas in a press release.
This is according to Leas' 2023 study published in Tobacco Control, which found that inquiries to buy cigarettes online were 194% higher than expected, and 162% higher than expected for vape products.
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“We need to review tobacco retail policies and make sure they include eCommerce, and monitor the market to improve performance,” he said.
In response to the Tobacco Control study, California lawmakers recently approved SB-1230 to strengthen the state's tobacco control programs. That law is expected to go into effect on January 1, 2025, the release said.
'It's not a new problem'
Micah Berman, a member of the Cancer Control Research Program at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, told Fox News Digital that “this is nothing new.”
“The Tobacco Control Act required the FDA to issue a regulation to regulate sales in remote areas (including online sales) within 18 months of the enactment of this law,” he said.
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“Nearly 14 years after that deadline passed, the FDA still has not issued this rule.”
The study suggests that communities across the country have their own local laws that “affect easy access to e-cigarettes and other tobacco products,” Berman added.
Internet tobacco sellers failing to comply with the rules “is not a new story,” according to a lawyer with knowledge of the matter. (Stock)
“It's impossible for local governments to regulate online sales,” he said. “In order to make progress on this issue, the FDA must fulfill its responsibility to issue regulations, and it must be aggressive in its efforts to stop illegal Internet sales.”
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The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency is reviewing the findings of this study.
Fox News Digital reached out to several online vape retailers for comment.
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