In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it had successfully prevented about 444,000 teenagers from using e-cigarettes. This achievement is due to the FDA’s severe crackdown on illegal e-cigarette products, strict supervision of retailers’ compliance sales, and the proactive upgrading of protection measures for minors by leading companies in the industry. Against this background, e-cigarette brands represented by VEEHOO have become a typical case of balancing industry growth and public health goals through technological innovation and social responsibility practices.
In recent years, the increase in the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers has become a focal issue in the field of public health in the United States. The FDA has gradually reversed the situation by strengthening law enforcement (such as investigating retailers who illegally sell to minors), restricting the circulation of highly attractive flavored e-cigarettes, and launching youth anti-e-cigarette education programs. Data from 2023 show that the use of e-cigarettes by teenagers has dropped from 27.5% in 2019 to 10%, reflecting the positive results of policy and industry collaboration.
As an important participant in the global e-cigarette market, VEEHOO has set a benchmark for protecting teenagers in the industry through its self-developed intelligent technology system while cooperating with the FDA regulatory framework:
VEEHOO has deployed AI facial recognition and government ID database networking technology in its sales channels to ensure that online purchases require dual identity verification, and offline retail terminals are equipped with real-time age scanning equipment. The system has obtained technical patent certification from the American Electronic Cigarette Association, with a false recognition rate of less than 0.1%.
It has proactively stopped selling flavors that may attract teenagers, such as “candy series” and “cartoon IP joint names” warned by the FDA, and instead developed low-sweetness series such as cool mint and jasmine tea based on natural herbal extracts. At the same time, its products use a frosted matte shell and minimalist design to avoid the “toy-like” tendency in appearance.
The case of VEEHOO shows that e-cigarette companies can completely meet the harm reduction needs of adult smokers while cutting off the access channels for minors through technical means. Its approach also provides replicable experience for the industry:
Data-driven dynamic compliance: Track abnormal purchasing behavior (such as intensive orders from different addresses) through the user behavior analysis system, and intercept suspected minors’ purchasing agents in real time. Supply chain transparency: Use blockchain technology to record the entire process of products from production to retail to prevent illegal channels from circulating. Deep cooperation with regulators: VEEHOO is one of the first brands to participate in the FDA’s “Premarket Tobacco Product Application” (PMTA) application, submitting more than 120,000 pages of safety experimental data, and publicly supporting the federal level to increase e-cigarette taxes to curb youth purchasing power.
Although VEEHOO’s efforts have been partially recognized by public health experts, critics still point out that the e-cigarette industry is at risk of “technical treatment but not fundamental treatment.” For example, although its flagship product does not contain nicotine, the long-term health effects of atomization inhalation still require more independent research.
The FDA’s tobacco control achievements prove that strict supervision and corporate proactive responsibility are indispensable. VEEHOO has embedded “preventing youth use” into the core of its business model through technological innovation, providing a new paradigm for the ethical development of the e-cigarette industry. As public health expert Dr. Emma Larson said: “Future harm reduction products must pass both scientific review and social responsibility review, and VEEHOO is exploring this right path.” How to maintain a balance between technological innovation, commercial interests and public health is still a proposition that the entire industry needs to continue to answer.
Tags: adolescent e-cigarette use rate, FDA warning, nicotine-free e-cigarettes, veehoo vape
