FDA, CBP intercept $76m of illegal e-cigarettes

A major crackdown by the federal authorities in the US has resulted in the seizure of millions of illegal e-cigarette devices entering the country from overseas.

The FDA, working with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) netted around 3m vapes with an estimated retail value of $76m in the operation. All of them originated from China and some of them were direct counterfeits of brand-name e-cigarettes including Geek Bar devices.

In an attempt to evade duties and detection, most of the unauthorized products were intentionally mis-declared as items with no connection to vaping products and with incorrect values, according to the regulator.

"The FDA is on high alert and, in coordination with our federal partners, remains committed to stopping unauthorised e-cigarettes at our nation’s borders,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf.

The regulator has previously warned that illegal e-cigarettes have been linked to overheating, fires and explosions from dodgy batteries, lung injuries, and seizures and other neurological symptoms.

In June, the FDA and the Department of Justice announced a joint federal task force to curb the distribution and sale of illegal e-cigarettes. That also brought together the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the US Marshals Service (USMS), the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

"These products too often end up in kids’ hands, and the newly formed federal task force is well positioned to collectively combat this unscrupulous activity," said Califf.

The 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found that about 2.1m US youths reported currently using e-cigarettes, a fall of 5.3 million young people since 2019, but 10 per cent of high school students and almost five per cent of middle school students said they were using them. More than one in four of them reported daily e-cigarette use.

According to the FDA, manufacturers, distributors and retailers market a wide range of products that appeal directly to school-age users, such as candy and fruit flavours, some of which come in devices designed to be easily concealed.

In June, the regulator said it had issued more than 1,100 warning letters to companies for illegally selling unauthorised nicotine products and has filed civil money penalty complaints against more than 55 manufacturers and 140 retailers.