Fontem Ventures to Restrict Online Sales of Blu

Following the recent FDA efforts to crack down on teen vaping, Fontem Ventures, the manufacturer of blu e-cigarettes, is planning to tighten its online sales procedures.

Diane Caruana

November 19, 2018

In response to a warning by FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to prove that teen vaping can be prevented, Fontem Ventures, a unit of tobacco company Imperial Brands, said it will be raising the minimum age requirements to buy pods on its website to 21 across the US.

Fontem Ventures will raise the minimum age requirements to buy pods on its website to 21 across the US.

Fontem Ventures will also require its online retail partners to use age verification technology. The manufacturer pointed out that these requirements will apply even for sales to consumers living in states with lower age limits.

Similarly, following a meeting with FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb which took place last month, tobacco company Altria, said that whilst waiting for the agency’s verdict, it would stop selling the following items; MarkTen Elite pod-based products, Apex by MarkTen pod-based products, All favored variants of MarkTen and Green Smoke “cig-a-like products” except tobacco, menthol and mint varieties.

Plummeting tobacco shares

Following these efforts, tobacco shares have been plummeting considerably. Last week, shares in BAT, the sixth-biggest company in the FTSE 100 and maker of Lucky Strike, Dunhill, Rothmans and Benson & Hedges, fell by 10.6%, equating to a drop from £76bn market value to £68bn. While the share price of Imperial Brands, maker of Lambert & Butler, Davidoff, Gauloises and John Player Special, has dropped by over 3%, which equates to £600m.

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