Companies Warned for Selling Illegal Flavored Cigarettes On Line

Just months after a U.S. ban on flavored cigarettes went into effect, some companies still are offering the illegal tobacco products for sale over the internet, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The FDA recently sent warning letters to more than a dozen companies accused of continuing to sell illegal flavored cigarettes on their websites, in violation of the nationwide ban enacted as part of the Tobacco Control Act, which was signed into law in June 2009. The FDA’s ban formally went into effect on September 22, 2009.

The warning letters order the companies to immediately stop selling and marketing the illegal products or take other actions necessary to bring the banned products into compliance with the law. The FDA also asked the companies to respond in writing within 15 days to tell the agency what steps will be taken with regard to the banned cigarettes.

“FDA takes the enforcement of this flavored cigarette ban seriously,” said Lawrence R. Deyton, M.S.P.H, M.D., director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products. “These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use.”

The FDA ban applies to cigarettes that contain certain fruit or candy flavors, which typically are marketed towards and are more appealing to younger smokers. Removing the products from the market is intended to prevent children and adolescents from picking up smoking habits and reducing the numbers of deaths and disease from smoking, which is a leading cause of death worldwide.

Investigators from the FDA’s Office of Enforcement and the Center for Tobacco Products found banned flavored cigarettes for sale on line, officials said.

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