FTC Issues Orders to Five E-Cigarette Manufacturers’ Seeking Information on 2019 and 2020 Sales, Advertising, and Promotional Methods

As part of its ongoing study of the U.S. e-cigarette market, the Federal Trade Commission has issued orders to five manufacturers seeking information about the companies’ 2019 and 2020 sales, advertising, and promotional expenditures. The FTC sent the orders to JUUL Labs, Inc.; R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company; Fontem US, LLC; Logic Technology Development LLC; and NJOY, LLC.

The orders seeking 2019 and 2020 data follow similar orders the FTC issued to e-cigarette manufacturers in October 2019 to collect information about industry sales and marketing for the calendar years 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. The goal is to help the Commission, policymakers, and the public better understand this rapidly growing market. The FTC’s e-cigarette study complements studies the agency has been conducting for many years on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

Among other things, the Commission orders seek: annual data on the sales and give-aways of e-cigarette products; information about the characteristics of the companies’ e-cigarette products, such as product flavors; annual amounts the companies spent on advertising and promoting e-cigarette products; and information about e-cigarette product placement, the websites and social media accounts used to advertise or sell e-cigarettes, affiliate programs, influencer marketing, and college campus programs.

The Commission is authorized to issue the Orders to File a Special Report by Section 6(b) of the FTC Act. The Commission vote to issue the orders announced today was 4-0.