LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) (“TPB” or the “Company”), a Kentucky-based industry leading marketer of Other Tobacco Products (“OTP”) and adult consumer alternatives, provides the following statement regarding recent reports of lung injuries associated with vaping.
In the past week, the CDC and FDA clarified that the focus of ongoing investigations continues to be concentrated on a substance called vitamin E acetate found in certain black market marijuana products. Given the potential to scare or confuse adult nicotine vaping consumers, TPB is heartened that CDC and FDA have clarified their guidance on this issue.
Turning Point Brands is committed to providing quality products to adult consumers. The Company takes this commitment very seriously and condemns the dangerous black market production and sale of vaping products. Turning Point does not sell products containing marijuana or vitamin E acetate and has not been notified by any governmental agency that its products are suspected of being involved in lung or health-related injuries and has no reason to believe its products cause such injuries.
According to the CDC, combustible cigarettes are responsible for over 480,000 deaths in the United States – about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day. In the past decade, public health entities, including Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians, have acknowledged that e-cigarettes are powerful tools for moving adult smokers down the risk continuum to less harmful products. In addition, the Director of FDA Center for Tobacco Products recently reiterated that nicotine vapor products are an important element in a harm reduction strategy.
Turning Point Brands supports the FDA’s goal of providing quality reduced-risk products to adult consumers, while also preventing youth access and appeal. The FDA is currently considering adopting new e-cigarette regulations. TPB believes there are numerous alternatives to combustible cigarettes that would be embraced by the marketplace. TPB looks forward to working within the FDA’s guidelines to provide consumers with satisfying reduced-risk alternatives. TPB does not sell combustible cigarettes.
About Turning Point Brands, Inc.
Louisville, Kentucky-based Turning Point Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TPB) is a leading U.S. provider of Other Tobacco Products. TPB, through its focus brands, Stoker’s® in Smokeless products, Zig-Zag® in Smoking products and VaporBeast® and VaporFi® in NewGen products, generates solid cash flow which it uses to finance acquisitions, increase brand support and strengthen its capital structure. More information about the company is available at its corporate website, www.turningpointbrands.com.