FDA warns NH retailers about selling flavored vape products
The Food and Drug Administration has sent warnings to stores in seven New Hampshire communities about the sale of unauthorized flavored vape products. A person must be 21 years of age in New Hampshire to purchase vape products. In 2020, the FDA implemented a ban on the sale of many flavored e-cigarettes, but the state does not have a flavor ban. Stores in Portsmouth, Rindge, Hinsdale, Newton, Merrimack, Lyndeborough and Keene have been issued warning letters by the FDA for selling popular flavor vape brands Elf and Esco Bars. “Products like Esco Bars, with candy flavors, are designed to keep young people hooked on vape products,”[ads1]; said Patricia Tilley, public health director for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. DHHS said that in 2019, 34% of New Hampshire high school students vaped or used some kind of vape product. Two years later, it has fallen to 16%, the lowest rate since the department began asking teenagers that question. “That’s good news,” Tilley said. “But still 16% of high school students is way too many.” Tilley said she believes the decline is due to parents and high school students becoming more educated about e-cigarettes. “Kids who were vaping a few years ago are now still vaping or using other tobacco products now that they’re young adults,” Tilley said. Health officials said the concerns are not limited to teenagers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said thousands of cases have been reported to poison control centers for children under the age of 5 who either inhale or ingest vape products. More than half of these cases involved the Elf Bar brand. The owner of a vape shop in New Hampshire told News 9 that young people getting such products could be due to bad parenting, and said it’s impossible to avoid completely.
The Food and Drug Administration has sent warnings to stores in seven New Hampshire communities about the sale of unauthorized flavored vape products.
A person must be 21 years of age in New Hampshire to purchase vape products. In 2020, the FDA implemented a ban on the sale of many flavored e-cigarettes, but the state does not have a flavor ban.
Stores in Portsmouth, Rindge, Hinsdale, Newton, Merrimack, Lyndeborough and Keene have been issued warning letters by the FDA for selling popular flavor vape brands Elf and Esco Bars.
“Products like Esco Bars, with their candy flavorings, are designed to keep young people hooked on vape products,” said Patricia Tilley, director of public health for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.
DHHS said that in 2019, 34% of New Hampshire high school students were vapers or used some kind of vape product. Two years later, it has fallen to 16%, the lowest rate since the department began asking teenagers that question.
“That’s good news,” Tilley said. “But still 16% of students at upper secondary school is far too many.”
Tilley said she believes the decline is due to parents and high school students becoming more educated about e-cigarettes.
“Kids who were vaping a couple of years ago are now still vaping or using other tobacco products now that they’re young adults,” Tilley said.
Health officials said the concerns are not limited to teenagers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said thousands of cases have been reported to poison control centers for children under the age of 5 who either inhale or ingest vape products. More than half of the cases involved the Elf Bar brand.
The owner of a vape shop in New Hampshire told News 9 that young people getting such products could be due to bad parenting, and said it’s impossible to avoid completely.
