The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave online cigarette sellers 15 days in order to stop the sales of flavored tobacco products to American citizens as their stores may be in violation of the new legislation banning sales of flavored cigarettes.

On Sept. 22, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act applied an interdiction over the sale of all flavored cigarettes, besides Menthol Cigarettes.

The law decreed in June gives the FDA the authority to adjust the content of cigarettes as well as the marketing and distribution of cigarettes and smoke-free tobacco and the effect of their advertisements on youngsters. The recent law also permits the FDA to determine the quantity of nicotine in products and to forbid labels like “light” and “low tar” that seem to propose “healthier” cigarettes.

In accordance with the net searches, performed by the by the Center for Tobacco Products, a department recently created within the FDA to track the enforcement of new tobacco related policies and evaluate applications for the latest tobacco products, admonitory letters were sent to 14 owners of Web sites which are still selling the prohibited flavored cigarettes to their customers from U.S.

On September 14, the Food and Drug Administration sent an earlier letter to the tobacco companies alerting them about the flavored-cigarette veto and suggesting that any company selling the prohibited products would be exposed to penalties.

These warnings went to particular retailers, some from U.S. and some from abroad, but selling to U.S. residents through their Web sites. All the messages render the content of the new proposed act according to which: “A cigarette or any of its component parts (including the tobacco, filter or paper) shall not contain, as a constituent or additive, an artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, grape, orange, clove, cinnamon, pineapple, vanilla, coconut, licorice, cocoa, chocolate, cherry, or coffee, that is a characterizing flavor of the tobacco product or tobacco smoke.”

In case that the products offered for sale from the retailers’ web sites do contain similar aromas, they would be considered fake or defect tobacco products subject to the FDA penalties.

The FDA notified the Retailers situated abroad who received FDA letters that their shipments to U.S. would be stopped, and their home – country authorities would be informed that their counterfeit tobacco products would not be allowed into the country.

The FDA constraint act is part of its actions aimed to deter adolescents from starting to smoke —something they can be introduced to by candy- or fruit-flavored tobacco products, as well as promotion aimed at young people.

Lawrence Deyton, director of the Center for Tobacco products declared in an announcement “These actions should send a clear message to those who continue to break the law that FDA will take necessary actions to protect our children from initiating tobacco use.”