Puff Bar quickly replaced JUUL as the most popular vape among teenagers after the FDA banned refillable cartridge-based vapes, but carved out a loophole for vapes that were used once and thrown out.
The FDA also banned fruity-flavored vapes that are especially appealing to young people, including most flavors of JUUL — but again, the flavor restrictions only applied to refillable vapes.
So while JUUL flavors were limited to menthol and tobacco, Puff Bars continued to be sold in 24 flavors like mango, strawberry, and O.M.G.
Not surprisingly, Puff Bars boomed in popularity among nicotine-addicted teenagers and young adults who had been using JUUL.
The loophole also proved extremely profitable, with sales of Puff Bar consistently hitting $3 million a week since April and stores moving over 300,000 sticks a week, according to the New York Times.
The problem grew for months, while the FDA was focused on dealing with COVID-19 regulatory issues.
On July 20, the FDA asked the company behind Puff Bar, Cool Clouds Distribution, to pull the products off the market in 15 business days.
The FDA also sent warnings to 9 other companies for selling similarly unauthorized e-cigarettes, or nicotine e-liquids that appeal to children.
