Online e-cigarette and vape retailers are criticized for failing to comply with sales restrictions.

Regulations are in place to prevent the sale of vaping products to minors, including age verification, shipping methods, and flavor restrictions.

Researchers from the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Sciences at University of California San Diego put these regulations to the test.

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The study, published in JAMA last week, suggests that some retailers are not following these guidelines.

Of the 156 attempted transactions in this study, 73% were processed and 67% of orders were delivered. (iStock)

Researchers asked 16 people to buy flavored vapes online and have them delivered to their homes. San Diego County.

Of the 156 transactions attempted, 73% were processed and 67% of orders were delivered.

Restrictions on the sale of flavored tobacco have been enacted in eight U.S. states and 392 cities or counties as of March 21, 2024, according to UC San Diego.

“The results suggest that it is incredibly easy to purchase flavored vaping products online, even in areas where they are restricted.”

Some restrictions on online transactions are “ambiguous,” they said, including in states like California.

Eight of the buyers in the study were from the city of San Diego, where there is an ordinance that restricts the sale of flavored tobacco products, as noted in a press release.

Non-compliance

Purchases made in the study violated flavor restrictions and Law prohibiting the online sale of electronic cigarettes to children.

The law is a “federal law that prohibits the use of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship vaping products (and) requires both age verification and scanning identification upon delivery said UC San Diego.

The study found that only 1% of shoppers had their ID scanned and 81% of deliveries were made via USPS.

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No interactions were reported with delivery staff for 78% of shoppers, while 15% spoke with delivery staff but did not have their identity verified.

Eric Leas, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, discussed the findings in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

There are regulations intended to prevent the online sale of vaping products to minors. (iStock)

“The results suggest that it is incredibly easy to purchase flavored vaping products online, even in areas where they are restricted,” he said.

“They also suggest that, for the most part, retailers are unaware federal and state laws regarding shipping requirements and age verification.

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Leas warned that this is “particularly a problem for efforts to limit youth vaping“.

To prevent these sales from slipping through the cracks, Leas suggested conducting routine checks to “monitor and enforce compliance among online retailers.”

A 2023 study found that online purchase queries for vape products were 162% higher than expected. (iStock)

Online e-cigarette sales are “the largest and fastest growing sector of the tobacco industry,” Leas noted in a press release.

This is according to the 2023 Leas study published in Tobacco Control, which found that online purchase queries for cigarettes were 194% higher than expected and 162% higher than expected for tobacco products. vape.

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“We need to evaluate tobacco retail policies and ensure they cover e-commerce, and monitor the market to improve their implementation,” he said.

In response to the tobacco control study, California lawmakers recently approved SB-1230 to strengthen state tobacco monitoring programs. This law should come into force on January 1, 2025, the press release indicates.

“This is not a new problem”

Micah Berman, an attorney member of the Cancer Control Research Program of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Ohio State University, told Fox News Digital that “this is not a new problem.”

“The Tobacco Control Act required the FDA to issue regulations regarding remote sales (including online sales) within 18 months of the law’s enactment,” he said.

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“Nearly 14 years after that deadline expired, the FDA has still never issued such a rule.”

This study suggests that communities nationwide are seeing their local laws “undermined by easy access to e-cigarettes and other tobacco products online,” Berman added.

Failure to comply with regulations by online e-cigarette sellers is “not a new problem,” according to a lawyer with knowledge of the matter. (iStock)

“It’s just not feasible for local governments to regulate online sales,” he said. “To make progress on this issue, the FDA must fulfill its obligation to issue regulations and it must be more aggressive in its efforts to block illegal online sales.”

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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed to Fox News Digital that the agency is currently reviewing the study results.

Fox News Digital has contacted several online vape sellers for comment.