US PMTA Certification May Force Tens of Thousands of Small Vape Companies to Close

The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act requires all tobacco products to obtain authorization through a PreMarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) before being marketed in the U.S. As the deadline approached, many entities initially set to establish by May 12, including Altria Group Inc. and the NATO tobacco association, requested the FDA to postpone the deadline due to complexities arising from the coronavirus pandemic.

 

 

In response, the agency submitted a request on March 30 to extend the deadline by 120 days, and on April 3, U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm agreed to this request, moving the deadline to September 9, 2020.

 

This means that starting last week, all e-cigarette brands must submit their applications to the FDA for review, or their products will be banned from legal sale in the U.S. market.

 

Unfortunately, the PMTA regulatory process appears to be designed solely for product manufacturers who can afford the accompanying time and financial costs, leaving smaller businesses in a difficult position. It is estimated that around 14,000 small e-cigarette businesses will be forced to close, resulting in over 160,000 Americans losing their jobs.

 

 

Tracking the PMTA status of individual brands

 

The design of the e-cigarette PMTA website aims to track the PMTA status of vaping suppliers. "VAPEPMTA.com is a PreMarket Tobacco Application (PMTA) database designed to help vape users identify vaping products that are PMTA compliant."

 

The creators of the database are working closely with participants in the vape industry to collect accurate data on the PMTA status of vape suppliers, which is now represented on vapepmta.com. It lists which brands have submitted their applications, which have had their applications accepted, which have chosen not to submit, and which intend to submit, among other details.