The Food and Drug Administration is blanketing the nation with undercover agents in a bold bid to crack down on the exploding sales of e-cigarettes to young people.
With its new Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, the agency says it has already slapped 40 retailers with violations related to sales of JUUL e-cigarettes to young people and is taking steps to end online sales to minors.
In addition, the FDA has launched a sweeping "blitz" of retail establishments to target violations.
E-cigarettes are small electronic devices that deliver nicotine by way of vapor instead of smoke and have been rising in sales.
"Protecting our nation's youth from the dangers of tobacco products is among the most important responsibilities of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – and it's an obligation I take personally," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said.
"We recognize that if the FDA is to end the tragic cycle of successive generations of nicotine and tobacco addiction, we must take every opportunity to disrupt that process where it starts: youth access to and use of tobacco products.
"But as we work to keep kids from making the deadly progression from experimentation to regular cigarette use, it's imperative that we also make sure children and teenagers aren't getting hooked on more novel nicotine-delivery products."
Gottlieb said it is a "troubling reality" that e-cigarettes have become "wildly popular" with kids.
"We understand, by all accounts, many of them may be using products that closely resemble a USB flash drive, have high levels of nicotine and emissions that are hard to see. These characteristics may facilitate youth use, by making the products more attractive to children and teens," he said.
"These products are also more difficult for parents and teachers to recognize or detect. Several of these products fall under the JUUL brand, but other brands, such as myblu and KandyPens, that have similar characteristics are emerging."
The JUUL vape pen is an e-cigarette that comes with a vaporizer and pre-filled containers of nicotine liquid.
Business Insider reports that Instagram and YouTube have numerous videos of teens posting clips of themselves vaping, or "JUULing," in class and in front of teachers.
The magazine says a number of high schools along the East Coast has acknowledged "JUULing" in bathroom stalls as "a widespread problem, and dozens of teachers report confiscating JUUL devices disguised as Sharpies and other classroom items."
Gottlieb said that in some cases, youngsters try these products without even knowing contain addictive nicotine.
"And that's a problem, because as we know the nicotine in these products can rewire an adolescent's brain, leading to years of addiction," Gottlieb said.
"For this reason, the FDA must – and will – move quickly to reverse these disturbing trends, and, in particular, address the surging youth uptake of JUUL and other products."
He said the FDA has contacted eBay to raise concerns over several listings for JUUL products on its website.
"We're thankful for eBay's swift action to remove the listings and voluntarily implement new measures to prevent new listings from being posted to the web retailer's site. Our overarching goal – one we hope everyone shares – is to make sure JUUL, and any other e-cigarettes or tobacco products, aren't getting into kids' hands in the first place," Gottlieb said.
"We're also taking additional steps to contact the manufacturers directly, and hold them accountable. We need to examine all the available information to understand why kids are finding these products so appealing – and address it."
The agency also plans additional enforcement actions focused on companies that "we think are marketing products in ways that are misleading to kids," he said.
"I hope that this sends a clear message to all tobacco product manufacturers and retailers that the FDA is taking on this issue with urgency, and if kids are flocking to your product or you're illegally selling these products to kids, you're on the agency's radar."
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