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- electronic nicotine delivery devices
- tobacco industry
- surveillance and monitoring
- advertising and promotion
Stealth vaping (ie, the use of devices resembling everyday products to facilitate inconspicuous vaping) has proliferated in the face of smoke-free air laws that include electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).1–3 To this end, companies are modifying smartwatches, video games, toys and apparel to help conceal vaping when it is prohibited. For example, Vaprwear Gear’s backpacks and hoodies use a silicone tube designed to connect to an e-cigarette through their pockets or straps, hiding the device itself.4 These products may appeal to adolescents as they help conceal the use of e-cigarettes from their parents and teachers. In the spring of 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took measures to reduce stealth vaping among youths by issuing warning letters to numerous companies, including Vaprwear Gear, Vapewear, Wizman, EightCig, Ejuicepack, Vape Royalty, VapeCentric, Dukhan Store, VapeSourcing and Shenzhen Uwell Technology,4 expressing concern that they each marketed stealth vaping products to youths.
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Footnotes
Contributors Concept and design: AD. Drafting of the manuscript: AD and J-PA. Critical revision and final approval of manuscript: J-PA and AD. Obtained funding: J-PA. All authors are affiliated with Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Funding This project was partially supported by funds provided by The Regents of the University of California, Research Grants Programme Office, Tobacco-Related Diseases Research Programme, Grant Number No. T30IR0891. The opinions, findings and conclusions herein are those of the authors and not necessarily represent those of The Regents of the University of California, or any of its programmes.
Disclaimer The funding source had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.