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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized its first fruit-flavored e-cigarettes intended for adults, the agency said Tuesday in a major shift from prior approvals that had been limited to tobacco or menthol flavors. The FDA authorization applies to e-cigarettes made by Los Angeles-based Glas Inc., with flavors marketed as Gold, Sapphire, Classic Menthol and Fresh Menthol, according to the agency’s release.
FDA officials said the approval is not an endorsement of vaping and that the authorized products are intended for adult smokers interested in quitting or cutting back on cigarettes. The agency also said the company’s digital age-verification system is designed to help prevent underage use by requiring users to verify their age with a government-issued ID on a cellphone before using the device.
The Truth Initiative, an anti-tobacco nonprofit, said the FDA’s move will be tested in practice. Kathy Crosby, the organization’s chief strategy officer, said in an emailed statement that the FDA’s decision would be “a key test case” and added that “it’s critical that we remain vigilant in protecting young people, including closely monitoring the use of authorized products.”
The authorization comes amid a broader political and regulatory shift in how vaping is handled. The vaping industry has spent months appealing to President Donald Trump for changes, and the new FDA action is likely to draw opposition from health groups and organizations that have long pointed to flavors as a driver of underage vaping.
In its latest decision framework, the FDA said the Glas vapes can be used only after age verification and that, after verification, the devices can then be used only when connected via Bluetooth to the verified user’s cellphone. The FDA reiterated that it is only authorizing the Glas products for adults, while warning that fruit- and other sweeter flavors have been associated with teen appeal in earlier agency guidance.
Under President Joe Biden, the FDA denied more than a million marketing applications for candy- or fruit-flavored products as part of a wider crackdown, which is credited with contributing to declines in teen vaping after a surge in 2019. During Trump’s first administration, the FDA carried out earlier steps on vaping and tobacco policy, including restricting certain flavors and raising the purchase age for tobacco products from 18 to 21.
The FDA decision also arrived as vaping policy has at times moved lower on the agency’s list of priorities, according to the AP account, with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary focusing on other areas including restricting COVID-19 vaccine policy, phasing out artificial food dyes and speeding up approval of certain drugs. In recent weeks, groups such as the Vapor Technology Association have lobbied administration officials for further changes related to flavors.
The FDA’s authorization highlights the ongoing dispute between public health advocates and the vaping industry, which argues that e-cigarettes can reduce harm for adult smokers compared with continuing to smoke cigarettes. Vaping companies have said their products are intended to help blunt the toll of smoking among adults, which is blamed for 480,000 U.S. deaths annually from cancer, lung disease and heart disease.
At the same time, the AP report said that the vast majority of U.S. teens who vape continue to use unauthorized fruit- and candy-flavored products. Those items are described as technically illegal but widely available in cheap, disposable brands that are typically imported from China, leaving the debate over flavors and enforcement centered on how authorized products are monitored and how access is controlled.