“Kroger is discontinuing the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products, or e-cigarettes, at all store and fuel center locations due to the mounting questions and increasingly complex regulatory environment associated with these products,” stated Kroger in a press release. “The company will exit this category after selling through its current inventory.”
These retailers are pulling e-cigarettes in response to the growing number of vaping-related lung illnesses. In addition, these retailers have stated that the uncertain regulatory future that faces the vaping industry. Many states have initiated temporary flavor and e-cigarette bans, some of which are being challenged in the courts. Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Washington’s flavored bans have hit manufacturers and retailers hard [read more here], and a recent ban in the city of Los Angeles also challenges the industry [read more here]. The Trump Administration voiced its support of a national flavor ban and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce new guidance that could place more restrictions and limitations on the sale and distribution of flavored e-cigarettes in the U.S. [read more here].
