ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Florida is grappling with a surge of illegal vapes flooding the market, more than any other state, according to the Florida Retail Federation. Many of these vapes are designed to appeal to children, with vibrant colors, cartoon imagery, and fun flavors, the agency told News 6.
Scott Shalley, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation, highlighted the dangers of these unregulated products.
“You’ve got a product that someone is putting in their body that is coming from overseas, primarily China, that has not been evaluated,” Shalley explained. “Worst-case scenario, is there the opportunity for the infusion of fentanyl or some other deadly product? Are there other chemicals that may be included that have not been evaluated by the FDA?”
There are 34 FDA-approved electronic cigarettes on the market, but Shalley warned there are about 1,000 unregulated products available and that many of them target our most impressionable consumers.
“They are packaged to be appealing in terms of the imagery, going down the lines of cartoons and other things and they appeal to children from a marketing level,” said Shalley.
The State of Florida is trying to crack down. Last year, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1007, empowering the Attorney General’s office to create a directory of single-use nicotine vapes believed to be marketed to children. News 6 obtained the directory, which listed more than 150 products.
The directory is public, and stores have 60 days to sell or remove listed products. After this period, these vapes can be seized or destroyed. Anyone who sells or ships a device on the list could get hit with a $1,000 fine per device.
According to the Florida Attorney General’s office, a product must meet certain criteria for it to be placed on the directory, including reports of harm, complaints, surveys or other data sources that indicate a device is being used by minors at a higher rate than other nicotine dispensing devices, and the extent to which the device:
- Is designed to be attractive to minors, such as if there are bright colors or cartoons
- Is designed so that it is easy for children to conceal
- Uses or resembles a branded food product
- Is marketed in a way that appeals to minors or uses actual copyrights, service marks, or trademarks or fake copyrights, service marks or trademarks that resemble consumer or food products popular with minors, including the names of candy or cereal products
News 6 went to more than a dozen vape shops in Central Florida and found that only 2 out of 13 stores were aware of the directory.
Zack Pollack, who works at Winter Garden E-Cigs in Winter Garden, told us he did not know about the list. We showed it to him. Pollack took notice of the listed products, some of which were in stock in his store.
“Before the date, we’ll sell them, and then after we’ll comply with the government 100%,” he said.
In addition to stores being fined for selling the banned items, under the new law, manufacturers who distribute products on the directory also face a $1,000 daily fine until the item is removed from the Florida market. This also applies to stores, wholesalers, and distributors shipping products into the state. Fines begin on March 1.
News 6 asked the Florida Attorney General’s office if retailers, manufacturers and distributors will receive any sort of notice when a product is listed in the directory. A spokesperson provided this statement:
Manufacturers receive actual notice of the intended inclusion on the nicotine dispensing device directory. All members of the public (including retailers and distributors) can sign up to receive notification when a change has been made to the directory, or the notices to the manufacturer of the intent to place its device on the directory. To learn more, please visit https://www.myfloridalegal.com/NDD.
Chase Sizemore, Communications Director, Office of the Attorney General.
Notices were sent to more than 150 manufacturers on Jan. 31, according to the Florida Retail Federation. Manufacturers have 30 days to appeal.
“We don’t expect the single operator to keep their fingers directly on the pulse all the time so we need to help in terms of education notices when products are added to the list,” said Shalley.
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