Celebrity-Owned or Endorsed Vape Brands Targeted in FDA Warning Letters

As far as the FDA is concerned, the season of goodwill doesn’t extend to retailers and manufacturers of unauthorized flavored vapes. Following the December 5 issuing of more than one hundred warning letters to retailers of Geekbar (and other youth-appealing vapes), the federal agency has announced that eight additional online retailers and one manufacturer will be getting more than Christmas cards in their mailboxes this month.

The warning letters concern the sale or manufacture of flavored vapes that do not have marketing authorization under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). This makes the sale, manufacture, or distribution of these products illegal. 

Among the online retailers named in this latest batch of warning letters is chrisbrownvapes.com. While it is currently unknown if the online store is directly owned by the American songwriter/rapper (CB15K.com appears to be the official brand website), it seems possible as it only stocks the CB15K range of vapes he launched in the first half of 2024. 

The e-cigarettes specifically mentioned in the letters, all of which are disposables, include:

• Insta Puff Ronaldinho 10 15K – Strawberry Kiwi
• Chris Brown CB15K – Cherry Lemon
• Chris Brown CB15K – Blue Slurpie
• Chris Brown CB15K – Grape Blow Pop
• Juicy J J7K – Exotic Paan (Bounce it)
• Juicy J J7K – Mango Mania (SOS Syrup)
• Tyson 2.0 ROUND 2 Vape 7500 – Apple Gummies
• Tyson 2.0 Heavyweight 7000 Disposable Vape – Lush Lime
• Nicky Jam X Fume Vape 10000 – Peach XXX
• Death Row Vape DR15000 – Bubble Gum
• Lost Mary OS5000 – Oceania Coffee
• Geek Bar Vape Pulse 15000 – Sunny Tart
• Hulkamania 18ml 5% 8000 puffs by Hulk Hogan – Strawberry Banana
• Funky Republic Ti7000 5% – Pink Bomb

As the names above show, Chris Brown is not the only celebrity who decided to cash in on vaping and whose vape products are being targeted by the FDA. Vape brands owned, promoted, or endorsed by Mike Tyson, Snoop Dog, Hulk Hogan, and the singer Nicky Jam were all mentioned in the warning letters. In most cases, the products seem to have been sold by third-party online retailers (including some well-known ones), rather than from stores owned by the celebrities themselves. The online stores named in the FDA warning letters are:

• Vapezilla.com
• Chrisbrownvapes.com
• Cloudchasersclub.com
• Elitevapes.com
• i-lovevape.com
• Vaporush.com
• Vapemania.com
• Vapemarley.com
• Vapetyson.com

In addition to the specific violations mentioned in the warning letters, the firms were warned to address any violations that are the same as, or similar to, those stated in the warning letter and to promptly take necessary actions to comply with the law. Failure to promptly correct the violations can result in additional actions such as an injunction, seizure, and/or civil money penalty of more than $20,000.

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.