We are happy to announce that Bidi Vapor has been granted a stay order by the FDA.
Which means all 11 flavors of the BIDI®️ Stick are now legal to market and distribute as the FDA is currently reviewing the previously released MDO.
MELBOURNE, Fla. — With compliance being a core company value, Bidi Vapor, LLC, announced its support of the state of Alabama and the publishing of a directory of compliant ENDS products legal for sale in the state. The Alabama Revenue Commission is scheduled to make that directory public as of May 1, 2022. After that date, any manufacturer not on the list that sells product in Alabama will be subject to daily fines.
“Alabama’s new directory will identify manufacturers who are following the regulatory processes set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,” said Niraj Patel, president and CEO of Bidi Vapor, Melbourne, Fla. “This list of manufacturers will remove players who are trying to circumvent the rules, including manufacturers pushing electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS with synthetic nicotine, which the state has separately banned. We encourage states to follow the path that Alabama has taken in creating a directory of compliant ENDS products so that retailers and distributors can know what they are permitted to sell.”
The directory is part of a larger measure designed to keep nicotine-delivery devices like e-cigarettes from minors. When signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May of 2021, the new law raised the legal age to purchase tobacco and other nicotine products to 21, bringing state law in alignment with federal age restrictions. With the general purpose of preventing youth from vaping, the law puts restrictions on sponsorships of events where youth will be present, keeps vaping devices out of vending machines in establishments that permit minors, and prohibits manufacturers from labeling or marketing their products with candy, cake or pie flavors, as well as food brands or superheroes and other characters that appeal to children.
“The underlying goals of this Alabama law fully align with our vision,” Patel said. “We prioritize preventing youth use of vaping products, while providing adult smokers 21 and older with an alternative to combustible cigarettes. We believe our product and the way we go to market are appropriate for the protection of the public health.”
Also included in the law is a ban on products containing synthetic nicotine, unless the manufacturer obtains FDA authorization for sale as a drug, device, or combination product. Bidi Vapor has publicly stated its support for bans of these products, which Congress placed under FDA’s tobacco product authority this past March.
“We support ongoing Congressional efforts to place synthetic nicotine under the authority of the FDA,” Patel said. “Products in the vaping space should be developed and placed in the market under a high degree of supervision, with prime examples being the FDA’s PMTA and drug-approval processes.”
The Alabama law adds another layer of complexity to the category, especially regarding flavored ENDS products. As noted in a recent CSP podcast, the FDA eliminated over 90% of the applications for flavored ENDS this past September, in a series of swift and surprising Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) decisions.
Bidi Vapor submitted PMTAs for all 11 flavor varieties of its BIDI® Stick prior to the court-ordered September 9, 2020, PMTA deadline, despite considerable business and logistical challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The detailed applications ran over 285,000 pages and contained significant information supporting the products as appropriate for the protection of the public health. Despite submitting scientifically rigorous PMTAs and keeping FDA informed about its ongoing clinical and behavioral studies, Bidi Vapor received a marketing denial order or MDO for its flavored BIDI® Sticks, along with nearly all other manufacturers of flavored ENDS, in early September 2021.
However, on February 1, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Eleventh Circuit issued a judicial stay on that MDO. The court-ordered stay means that the MDO is not legally in force. Accordingly, Bidi Vapor anticipates being able to continue marketing and selling the flavored BIDI® Sticks, subject to the FDA’s enforcement discretion, while Bidi continues with its merits case challenging the legality of the MDO. FDA has indicated that it is prioritizing enforcement against companies that have either not submitted PMTAs, or whose PMTAs have been refused acceptance or filing by FDA, or whose PMTAs remain subject to MDOs.
Bidi Vapor remains committed to regulatory compliance and the premarket review process and is forging ahead with its planned studies to support its PMTAs. The Company’s behavioral studies show that the majority of BIDI® Stick consumers are older smokers who were either able to transition completely away from smoking or were able to significantly reduce the number of daily cigarettes smoked. This corresponds with the Bidi Vapor’s completed clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) study, which demonstrates that the BIDI® Sticks deliver nicotine to adult consumers comparable to their usual cigarette brand and also elicited similar subjective effects. In short, the behavioral studies and PK study demonstrate that the BIDI® Sticks may be a satisfying alternative to cigarettes among current smokers and may support their transitioning away from cigarette smoking.
BIDI Vapor has updated its Terms & Conditions effective December 11, 2020 | Terms & Conditions Update >
Bidi Vapor stands firm against the access of the BIDI® Stick to minors. The sale of tobacco products to minors is prohibited by law.
Warning: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
California Proposition 65 Warning: This product can expose you to chemicals including formaldehyde, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, and nicotine, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.
You may find more crucial warning information about the BIDI® Stick here.
To ensure that the BIDI® Sticks remain unappealing to the youth, we have changed our flavor names and packaging.
What’s changed?
Hi, there! You have reached your daily limit of BIDI® Stick orders! We are delighted to see that you’re happy with our product. However, we have implemented a daily restriction of 1 transaction per wholesaler or direct retailer account in our efforts to prevent any unauthorized product distribution. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact us at sales@bidivapor.com.
Please provide us the following information, and we’ll get back to you:
Thank you for signing the Wholesalers and Direct Retailers Agreement & Terms (“Agreement”). By signing this Addendum, you agree to the following clarification of the intent of the Agreement with regard to the Age-Verification process and online sales as it relates to your role as a reseller to another reseller (those that resell to other resellers, herein “Wholesalers”). The following clarification does not apply or modify the terms of the Agreement related to any sales to, or marketing you may make directed to, end user customers of BIDI® Sticks (the “products”).
With regard preventing underage access to the product and marketing to underage persons, to the extent you do not control the sales practices of your resellers, you agree to act responsibly and comply with your own obligations under the law and in support of the policies in the Agreement in your role as a reseller of the products you purchase and sell under the Agreement. For instance, although you may not control that a cashier checks IDs, you will not sell to those resellers who have a history of selling to minors, as indicated in the FDA’s retailer inspection database. You will not sell and will cease selling to resellers upon knowledge of underage sales of the products or other non-compliance with the law related to sales of such products.
As a reminder, Kaival Brands Innovations Group, Inc. (“Kaival”) specifically prohibits any sellers at any level from selling the products via online sales to end user customers without prior written approval from Kaival. You as a Wholesaler agree you will not sell to those resellers that you know intend to sell the products online, and you will not permit such activity in terms with resellers or otherwise.
You will make our requirements for resellers known to those you sell product to, which can include providing them a copy of Bidi Vapor’s Retailer Pledge, and a link to our website where our terms reside and/or passing down policies (including by posting them on an internal ordering portal) so that such resellers are aware of them. All other terms of the Agreement as it relates to Wholesaler shall continue to apply.
Please indicate your agreement by clicking below.