A recent study by researchers at the University of California San Diego has found that online e-cigarette retailers are not consistently following laws designed to prevent the sale of vaping products to minors. The study, published in JAMA on Nov. 11, 2024, involved 16 participants attempting to purchase flavored vape products online for delivery in San Diego County.
The results showed that 73 percent of the 156 attempted transactions were processed, and 67 percent were delivered. This occurred despite restrictions on flavored tobacco sales enacted in eight U.S. states and 392 cities or counties. The study also found violations of the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, a federal law banning the use of the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ship vaping products and requiring age verification and ID scanning upon delivery.
Key findings include:
– Only 1 percent of buyers had their IDs scanned. – 81 percent of deliveries were made via USPS.
Online vape sales face scrutiny
– 78 percent of buyers reported no interaction with delivery personnel. – 15 percent of buyers spoke with delivery personnel but did not have their IDs checked. – 6 percent of buyers had their IDs checked but not scanned.
There are longstanding surveillance systems in place for brick-and-mortar stores, but we lack similar systems for online retailers,” said Eric Leas, an assistant professor at the Herbert Wertheim School and director of the Tobacco E-commerce Lab. “The results of this study highlight the need for greater oversight and enforcement of online tobacco retailers.”
Leas’ research indicated a significant rise in online shopping queries for cigarettes (194 percent higher) and vape products (162 percent higher) following the implementation of California’s Senate Bill 793, which prohibited the sale of flavored tobacco products. In response, California lawmakers approved SB-1230 to enhance state tobacco oversight, including online sales of flavored tobacco products, effective Jan.
1, 2025. This research pilots a system for monitoring online compliance that local health departments could adopt to strengthen public health law implementation aimed at reducing the sale of tobacco products to minors,” concluded Leas.
