science
FDA Authorizes Glas E-Cigarettes With Age-Gating Technology, Including Fruit and Tobacco Flavors
The agency approved e-cigarettes in mango and blueberry flavors along with tobacco and menthol on May 6, 2026, citing the manufacturer’s age-gating technology. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who initially opposed the decision, said he was swayed by scientists’ assessment that the safeguards would limit use to adults.
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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. U.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.
