Walmart to stop selling all e-cigarettes at US stores, citing 'regulatory complexity and uncertainty'

US retail giant Walmart says it will stop selling electronic cigarettes at its namesake stores following a string of illnesses and deaths related to vaping. Photo / AP

Large American retailer Walmart will stop selling e-cigarettes at its US stores, the company said yesterday, as vaping-related deaths and illnesses are rising across the country.

The retailer attributed its decision to "growing federal, state and local regulatory complexity and uncertainty regarding e-cigarettes" and said it would sell through its existing inventory before exiting the market altogether. Walmart, which has 5000 U.S. locations, is the country's largest retailer.

The company will also stop selling all related devices and accessories, including cartridges and pods. A Walmart spokeswoman said vaping products were a "relatively small category overall" for the company, and that it expects to sell through related merchandise in the next few months.

The announcement comes months after Walmart phased out the sale of fruit- and dessert-flavoured e-cigarettes at its stores and raised the minimum age for tobacco purchases to 21.

At least eight people have died so far from vaping-related illnesses in the United States, and health officials say they believe there have been more than 500 reports of lung illnesses related to e-cigarette use. The Trump administration said last week that it plans to ban nearly all flavored vaping products on the market.

The US' largest retailer said yesterday that it will complete its exit from e-cigarettes after selling through current inventory. Photo / AP

E-cigarettes have ballooned into a multibillion-dollar industry. The products, which are typically marketed as a way to quit smoking traditional cigarettes, have gained popularity among teenagers. After years of steady decline, the number of middle and high school students using tobacco products increased between 2017 and 2018, largely because of the growing popularity of e-cigarettes. More than 20 percent of high school students said they used e-cigarettes last year, up from 12 per cent the year before, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The largest players in the market include Juul Labs, a San Francisco-based company that sold more than $1 billion worth of vaping products last year, and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company's Vuse.

The e-cigarette industry was quick to strike back against the retailer's decision. "The fact that Walmart is reducing access for adult smokers to regulated vapor products while continuing to sell combustible cigarettes is irresponsible," Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association, said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, US senators including Democrat Richard Durbin and Republican Lisa Murkowski urged the Food and Drug Administration to "immediately remove" all cartridge-based e-cigarettes from the market.

"Make no mistake: none of the e-cigarettes, including cartridge based e-cigarettes, currently on the market have gone through the FDA approval process," they wrote in a letter to federal regulators. "They are hooking our children on nicotine at alarming rates."