WASHINGTON — Two key senators say the FDA “appears to be on the brink of failing yet again at protecting our nation’s children,” because the agency has not yet taken action against certain illegal vaping companies despite a clear congressional directive to pull these products off the market.
The letter, which cited STAT’s reporting on the agency’s lack of action, came from Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), two of the lawmakers who spearheaded a March effort to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to crack down on so-called synthetic vaping products.
Synthetic products, which are often sold in fruity flavors and are popular with teens, have previously skirted FDA regulations because they are made from nicotine made in a lab, rather than nicotine extracted from tobacco leaf. But Congress gave the FDA the power to regulate these products in March. That law says synthetic companies had to have submitted so-called premarket applications by May 14, 2022, and that any company that didn’t submit an application by that date would be considered illegal. An FDA spokesperson told STAT Friday the FDA has yet to take action against any synthetic product.
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