The FDA authorized the sale of the pod-based Glas G2 vape device last week, making it the 10th available e-liquid-based vape device currently with an MGO (marketing granted order).
The agency also authorized the Blonde Tobacco-flavored pod for the device in 50mg/mL nicotine strength.
The G2 is the 1st vape product authorized by the FDA that uses built-in age-gating innovation, which must be turned on before the device can be used.
Glas Inc., an independent vape business located in LA, is the only vape company with an authorized product that is not either presently owned by or had an affiliation with the tobacco industry.
Logic, NJOY, and Vuse are all owned by major tobacco players, and Juul Laps was partially owned by the Altria Group from 2018 and 2023.
No FDA announcement or press release
The authorization wasn’t announced with an FDA press release. The Glas device was added to the agency’s authorized list of e-cigarettes. This is the first time when a vape product has earned marketing authorization without an FDA announcement.
On December 20, 2025, a PDF appeared in Google alerts showing the FDA had added the Glas device and multiple Glas pods to its authorized list, but the list wasn’t updated.
According to industry advocate Gregory Conley, who discovered the PDF, two of the flavors listed were neither menthol nor tobacco. The FDA attributed this mistake to a technical fault.
All Glas pod flavors aside from the authorized Blonde Tobacco stay under FDA review, Glas submitted (PMTAs) premarket tobacco product applications for the product in July 2021.
In December 2025, Juul Labs and its affiliate VMR Products filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), alleging that few Glas products infringe Juul patents. So, an ITC investigation is underway.
Will age-gating tech change the flavor game?
In a LinkedIn statement, Kevin Higgins (Glas Chief Operating and Financial Officer) said he remained “positive about the imminent path to authorization for the full suite of Glas G2 products, including our flavored and menthol pods.”
Many in the vape industry see age-gating innovation as the key to a future in which non-menthol/tobacco flavors can be sold with the permission of FDA.
Several manufacturers such as Juul Labs and other major tobacco companies have submitted PMTAs for next-gen products through various age-gating technologies.
Although, in its recently proposed industry guidance update, the FDA states that age-gating developments alone would probably not be sufficient to overcome the heightened concerns related to what it calls youth-appealing flavors.
In other words, manufacturers will still be needed to conduct randomized controlled trials or studies to prove that non-tobacco flavors work better than tobacco flavors to help in smoking cessation even if they install premium age-gating technology to prevent youngsters from using them.
The Glas G2 device, according to Glas CEO Sean Greenbaum, requires users to pair it with a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, download the app, upload a selfie and images of their driving license, and then operate the device while close to the phone.
Without the ability to legally sell non-tobacco/non-menthol flavors, age-gating innovation seems more like a burden than a benefit to the brand.
Consumers are less likely to go for a product that requires them to jump through hoops to activate when they can just select one of the other authorized tobacco or menthol products that work right out of the package.
And even if the FDA authorizes age-gated products in candy or fruit flavors, consumers already have access to thousands of unauthorized disposable vapes in every flavor possible.