Walmart Nixes eCigarette Sales

Walmart has announced it will no longer sell eCigarettes after it sells out of its current inventory. The world’s biggest retailer currently sells brands including Njoy, Blu and Juul.

“Given the growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding eCigarettes, we plan to discontinue the sale of electronic nicotine delivery products at all Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. locations,” a Walmart spokeswoman said, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Last week, President Donald Trump revealed plans to outlaw all flavored eCigarettes due to the rise in youth vaping. Health officials have also been conducting probes into hundreds of lung problems linked to the use of eCigarettes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 530 cases of vaping-associated pulmonary illnesses, and there have been eight deaths.

In May, Walmart said it would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 and that it would stop selling fruit-flavored eCigarettes. And earlier this year, Juul Labs announced a Track & Trace program, which track its devices using their serial numbers to determine how they get into the hands of minors.

“As part of our efforts to prevent youth use through technological solutions, we are developing a unique product tracking system to better understand how these products are getting into the hands of minors,” the company said at the time. “Ultimately, our aim is to use this information to trace a device confiscated from a minor back through the distribution channel, potentially identifying the specific retail store that sold the product. With that information, we can take appropriate action.”