FDA Authorizes Glas E-Cigarettes With Age-Gating Technology, Including Fruit and Tobacco Flavors

The Food and Drug Administration authorized fruit-flavored vapes for the first time on May 6, 2026. The newly authorized e-cigarette flavors from Glas include “Gold” and “Sapphire” — pseudonyms for “mango” and “blueberry” — along with tobacco and menthol. Glas is a Los Angeles-based company.

The FDA’s scientific review found that the company’s age-gated technology, combined with the FDA’s marketing requirements, “is expected to effectively mitigate the ability of youth to use the product,” Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said. S. that uses age-gating technology.

The age-gating technology requires users to pair the device with a smartphone and upload a selfie along with identification; the e-cigarettes only work while in close proximity to the paired smartphone, Jonathan Foulds, co-director of the Penn State Center for Research on Tobacco and Health, said.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary initially opposed the authorization of the flavored vapes despite career staff signing off. President Trump admonished Marty Makary last weekend and urged him to approve the products.

That was their view. I was skeptical initially, but that’s their view,” Marty Makary said in an interview with STAT on May 7, 2026.

Marty Makary said the larger concern is “vapes where we have no idea what’s in them,” referring to the illegal market. He added that there is one school security officer in Florida who said almost every month there’s somebody who’s taken to the hospital with some sort of respiratory thing that they believe is related to vapes.

Marty Makary said the FDA is going to be ramping up enforcement and prioritizing illegal Chinese products.

The FDA press announcement on the authorization contains no quote from Marty Makary.

““I am greatly concerned that a decision [from FDA scientific reviewers] was overruled by the Commissioner’s Office, and now, the politicization has been compounded by the President personally weighing in. Science-based application review should be held sacrosanct.””

“— Mitch Zeller, who led the Center for Tobacco Products during Trump’s first term. The FDA in March 2026 released draft guidance suggesting it was opening the door to flavors like coffee, mint, and cinnamon but said that vapes with fruit, candy, and dessert-like flavors “pose a substantial public health risk.” Youth vaping rates peaked at 20% in 2019. The legal age to purchase tobacco products was raised from 18 to 21. Around 70% of the e-cigarettes now sold in the U.S. are illegal, Michael Siegel, a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, said. Michael Siegel has testified against tobacco companies about 13 times in his career. “There’s very strong research to show that the use of flavored vapes is more effective in smoking cessation than switching to just tobacco or menthol vapes,” Michael Siegel said. The American Lung Association called the decision “reckless.” The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids said the decision is “risking a resurgence of youth e-cigarette use.” Truth Initiative said the Glas technology for flavored vapes “will be a key test case” in limiting youth vaping while providing an off-ramp for quitting cigarettes. @statnews reported that public health experts remain divided over whether the potential benefits in helping adults quit cigarettes outweigh the risks of renewed youth uptake. The agency’s action follows years of tight restrictions on flavored products after the Juul-driven surge in adolescent vaping that peaked in 2019.”