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By: Mario Mancini
Much like Camel cigarettes was accused of using the character of Joe Camel to appeal to young people, Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on the US Food and Drug Administration to investigate a hot, new Chinese-made e-cigarette that he believes is skirting American advertising laws by appealing directly to kids and teenager via social media, according to an exclusive report by The New York Post.
The New York Democrat said the e-cig — called “Elf Bar” — is wrapped in colorful packaging to attract youthful customers. And it hooks them with kid-friendly flavors like rainbow candy, peach mango, cotton candy and vanilla ice cream, according to a statement to The New York Post on Sunday.
“While the FDA has done much to snuff out the worst kinds of e-cigs that can hook kids, like Juul, there are clear workarounds and illegal methods being used by sneaky actors like Elf Bar. Elf Bar is littering TikTok and Instagram, using influencers they pay directly, to push the e-cig to kids and teens,” he continued. “This kind of ploy might totally evade FDA advertising rules, and we have to get ahead of it” Schumer said in the statement.
Schumer said Elf Bar may be even worse than Juul — the popular e-cigarette maker that was forced to pull certain flavors because they allegedly enticed kids — given its “shoddy manufacturing, the risk of counterfeit products and its risk for mislabeled nicotine levels.” Schumer added that federal regulators must use their “full authority and power to investigate and take actions against Elf Bar and be prepared to ban it from the market,” the statement said.
“Regulators cannot rely on modern day tobacco barons to regulate themselves,” Schumer wrote. “Considering the risks at play and the health of our nation’s children, I ask that the FDA prioritize this issue immediately.”
Elf Bar, which is based in Shenzhen, China, is available at bodegas throughout New York City, Schumer said. In an open letter to the FDA, Schumer said he was worried that companies like Elf Bar — who offer “cheap, colorful and sweet disposable e-cigarettes” — will push the crisis to new heights. Schumer asked that the FDA also look at the Elf Bar’s manufacturing supply chain, which could lend itself to counterfeit products bearing the company’s name.
According to Wikipedia, An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such, using an e-cigarette is often called “vaping”. The atomizer is a heating element that vaporizes a liquid solution called e-liquid, which quickly cools into an aerosol of tiny droplets, vapor and air. E-cigarettes are activated by taking a puff or pressing a button.
Some look like traditional cigarettes, and most kinds are reusable, the vapor mainly comprises propylene glycol and/or glycerin, usually with nicotine and flavoring. Its exact composition varies, and depends on several things including user behavior.
There have been steady attacks on e-cigarettes by the government, yet many doctors recommend cigarette smokers to switch to e-cigs if they are unable to quit. The Democrats attack on this product may indeed be another virtue signal, although everyone agrees minors should not be vaping and marketing to children. Many smokers do experience far less side effects, such as a chronic cough and phlegm after switching to e-cigarettes and vaping vs smoking.
