Illegal vapes were the target of an organized federal raid that halted the importation of $76 million worth of counterfeit e-cigarettes. Over 3 million e-cigs were seized, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The joint operation started in June. Over several months, they studied shipment invoices and questionable patterns regarding imports. The shipments were predominately from China. Eventually, the appropriate ships were investigated and raided, which resulted in the enormous haul of illegal vapes pulled off the cargoes before ever hitting the streets.
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Only 23 e-cigarette products are currently legal and authorized for sale in the U.S., all of which are tobacco-flavored. But officials report there are more than 11,500 different devices available, even despite the various seizures of illegal vapes that have occurred over the past few years. The problem is, that unauthorized disposable vapes aren’t subject to regulated U.S. commercial manufacturing practices, potentially exposing consumers to unknown health risks—like liters of vape juice flooding the lungs.
FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said the organization remains on “high alert.”
“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,” he said in a statement.
Brian King, the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, had an incredible parting shot in the release towards the assailants: “The $76 million these bad actors just put in the dumpster should be a sobering reminder that their time and money would be better spent complying with the law.”
