WARNING LETTER
EVO Brands, LLC and PVG2, LLC d/b/a Puff Bar
MARCS-CMS 643091 —
October 06, 2022
Delivery Method:
VIA UPS and Electronic Mail
Product:
Tobacco
Recipient:
Recipient Name
Nicholas Minas Alfaro and Patrick Beltran
EVO Brands, LLC and PVG2, LLC d/b/a Puff Bar
251 Little Falls Drive
Wilmington
,
DE
19807
United States
info@puffbar.com
media@puffbar.com
nick@puffbar.com
support@puffbar.com
Issuing Office:
Center for Tobacco Products
United States
October 6, 2022
WARNING LETTER
Dear Nicholas Minas Alfaro and Patrick Beltran:
The Center for Tobacco Products of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently reviewed the website https://puffbar.com, and additional information, and determined that electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products listed there are received and delivered in the United States without a marketing authorization order.
Under section 201(rr) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. § 321(rr)), these products are tobacco products because they are made or derived from tobacco or contain nicotine from any source, and are intended for human consumption. Certain tobacco products, including ENDS products, are subject to FDA jurisdiction under section 901(b) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387a(b)), and are required to be in compliance with the requirements in the FD&C Act.
Please be aware that, on March 15, 2022, the President signed legislation to amend the FD&C Act to extend FDA’s jurisdiction to products “containing nicotine from any source,” not just nicotine derived from tobacco. See Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, Public Law 117-103, Division P, Title I, Subtitle B. Specifically, this legislation expanded the definition of “tobacco product” under section 201(rr) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 321(rr)) to include products containing nicotine from any source. Tobacco products, including ENDS products containing nicotine from any source, must be in compliance with the FD&C Act and its implementing regulations. For more information, please see
https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/ctp-newsroom/requirements-products-made-non-tobacco-nicotine-take-effect-april-14
.
Generally, to be legally marketed in the United States, the FD&C Act requires “new tobacco products” to have a premarket authorization order in effect. A “new tobacco product” is any tobacco product that was not commercially marketed in the United States as of February 15, 2007, or any modified tobacco product that was commercially marketed after February 15, 2007 (section 910(a) of the FD&C Act; 21 U.S.C. § 387j(a)). Generally, a marketing authorization order under section 910(c)(1)(A)(i) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387j(c)(1)(A)(i)) is required for a new tobacco product unless (1) the manufacturer of the product submitted a report under section 905(j) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387e(j)) and FDA issues an order finding the product substantially equivalent to a predicate tobacco product (section 910(a)(2)(A) of the FD&C Act) or (2) the manufacturer submitted a report under section 905(j)(1)(A)(ii) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387e(j)(1)(A)(ii)) and all modifications are covered by exemptions from the requirements of substantial equivalence granted by FDA under section 905(j)(3) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387e(j)(3)).
New Tobacco Products Without Required Marketing Authorization are Adulterated and Misbranded
Our review of the website https://puffbar.com, and additional information, revealed that EVO Brands, LLC and PVG2, LLC receive and deliver ENDS products without a marketing authorization order. Specifically, PVG2, LLC receives the products, including those listed below, from a foreign manufacturer and distributes those products in the United States to some or all of the retailers listed on https://puffbar.com. EVO Brands, LLC and/or PVG2, LLC owns and operates the website https://puffbar.com, which lists the products below for sale, identifies retailers that sell those products, and directs consumers to those retailers. Such retailers, which are found in the “Store Locator” tab of https://puffbar.com, include Puffin Vape Shop (https://www.puffinvapeshop.com) and The Disposable World LLC (https://thedisposableworld.com). ENDS products offered for sale or distribution within the United States on https://www.puffinvapeshop.com include: Puff Max - Clear and Puff Max - Mystery. ENDS products offered for sale or distribution within the United States on https://thedisposableworld.com include: Puff Flow - Lemon Ice.
The ENDS products listed above are new tobacco products because they were not commercially marketed in the United States as of February 15, 2007. These products do not have an FDA marketing authorization order in effect under section 910(c)(1)(A)(i) of the FD&C Act and are not otherwise exempt from the marketing authorization requirement. Therefore, these products are adulterated under section 902(6)(A) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387b(6)(A)). In addition, these products are misbranded under section 903(a)(6) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. § 387c(a)(6)) because a notice or other information respecting these products were not provided as required by section 905(j) of the FD&C Act.
Conclusion and Requested Actions
FDA has determined that your firms receive and deliver new tobacco products lacking premarket authorization in the United States. All new tobacco products on the market without the statutorily required premarket authorization are marketed unlawfully and are subject to enforcement action at FDA’s discretion.
The violations discussed in this letter do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list. You should address any violations that are referenced above, as well as violations that are the same as or similar to those stated above, and promptly take any necessary actions to bring your tobacco products into compliance with the FD&C Act. It is your responsibility to ensure that your tobacco products and all related labeling and/or advertising on this website, on any other websites (including e-commerce, social networking, or search engine websites), in any other media in which you advertise, and in any retail establishments comply with each applicable provision of the FD&C Act and FDA’s implementing regulations. Failure to address any violations of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 301 et seq., and implementing regulations relating to tobacco products including the tobacco regulations in 21 C.F.R. Parts 1140, 1141, and 1143, may lead to regulatory action, including, but not limited to, civil money penalties, seizure, and/or injunction. However, this Warning Letter does not constitute “written notice” for purposes of section 303(f)(9)(B)(i)(II) of the FD&C Act. Please note that tobacco products offered for import into the United States that appear to be adulterated or misbranded may be detained or refused admission.
Please submit a written response to this letter within 15 working days from the date of receipt describing your actions to address any violations and bring your products into compliance, including the dates on which you discontinued the violative labeling, advertising, sale, and/or distribution of these tobacco products and your plan for maintaining compliance with the FD&C Act. If you believe that your products are not in violation of the FD&C Act, include your reasoning and any supporting information for our consideration. This letter notifies you of our findings and provides you with an opportunity to address them. You can find the FD&C Act through links on FDA’s homepage at http://www.fda.gov.
Please note your reference number, RW2201866, in your response and direct your response via email at CTPCompliance@fda.hhs.gov and to the following address:
DPAL-WL Response, Office of Compliance and Enforcement
FDA Center for Tobacco Products
c/o Document Control Center
Building 71, Room G335
10903 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
If you have any questions about the content of this letter, please contact Bryan Hills at (301) 796-9367 or via email at CTPCompliance@fda.hhs.gov.
Sincerely,
/S/
Ann Simoneau, J.D.
Director
Office of Compliance and Enforcement
Center for Tobacco Products
VIA UPS and Electronic Mail
cc:
EVO Brands LLC
Attn: Nicholas Minas Alfaro and Patrick Beltran
1700 Santa Fe Ave, Unit 420
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Puff Bar Wholesale
101 N. Verdugo Rd, #11001
Glendale, CA 91226
PVG2, LLC
777 S Alameda St, 2nd Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90021
PVG2, LLC d/b/a Puff Bar LLC
Attn: Nicholas Minas Alfaro and Patrick Beltran
3920 Brilliant Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Puffin Vape Shop
2201 Griffin Road
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
info@puffinvapeshop.com
The Disposable World LLC
5200 W HWY 52
Emmett, ID 83617
support@thedisposableworld.com
Thompson Hine LLC
Attn: Eric Heyer
1919 M Street NW, Suite 700
Washington, D.C. 20036-3537
eric.heyer@thompsonhine.com
Contact Privacy Inc.
puffbar.com@contactprivacy.com
Tucows Domains, Inc.
domainabuse@tucows.com
Shopify, Inc.
abuse@shopify.com
Content current as of:
10/06/2022
Regulated Product(s)
Tobacco