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Working with States, FDA Warns More than 100 Retailers for Illegal Sale of Youth Appealing E-Cigarettes, including Geek Bar

December 5, 2024

On December 5, FDA announced the issuance of warning letters to 115 brick-and-mortar retailers for selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. The warning letters cite the sale of disposable e-cigarette products owned by Chinese manufacturers and marketed under popular brand names, including Geek Bar Pulse, Geek Bar Skyview, Geek Bar Platinum, and Elf Bar. 

These warning letters are a result of FDA’s ongoing enforcement efforts, in coordination with state partners, to identify and crack down on the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes. FDA has contracts with states, territories, or third-party entities, to assist with compliance check inspections of retail establishments.  

Findings from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey indicated that 5.8 percent of current youth e-cigarette users reported using products under the Geek Bar brand. FDA’s review of additional rapid surveillance data and preliminary data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study has also identified the brand as popular or youth-appealing. 

FDA closely monitors industry compliance with tobacco laws and regulations under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and takes action when violations occur. Warning letter recipients are given 15 working days to respond with the steps they will take to correct the violation and to prevent future violations. Failure to promptly correct the violations can result in additional FDA actions such as an injunction, seizure, and/or civil money penalty. 

A new tobacco product must have FDA authorization before it can be legally marketed, and generally, products without authorization are at risk of enforcement action. To date, the FDA has authorized 34 e-cigarette products and devices. These are the only e-cigarette products that currently may be lawfully marketed and sold in the United States. Further information on tobacco products that may be legally marketed in the United States is available in FDA’s Searchable Tobacco Products Database. 

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