E-cigarette sales surged during the pandemic, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows, with the spike concentrated in disposable vapes after they took a back seat in federal enforcement actions.
The FDA has been under fire from lawmakers as the vaping industry flourished, especially among teenagers. But the agency is also weathering backlash from vaping advocates who say the agency is undercutting a less harmful alternative for traditional smokers.
E-cigarette sales increased an estimated 46.6 percent, from 15.5 million to 22.7 million, between January 2020 and December 2022, according to brick-and-mortar retail data analyzed by the CDC and the anti-nicotine advocacy group Truth Initiative. The total number of e-cigarette brands also increased from 184 to 269, or 46.2 percent, during the study period.
