Law Enforcement Unit Is Formed to Crack Down on Illegal E-Cigarettes
Agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy-flavored and nicotine-laden vapes that have flooded the U.S. market from overseas.
Supported byLaw Enforcement Unit Is Formed to Crack Down on Illegal E-CigarettesAgents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy-flavored and nicotine-laden vapes that have flooded the U.S. market from overseas.ByChristina JewettA multi-agency coalition of law enforcement agents will begin tackling the unruly market of illegal e-cigarettes, under pressure from antismoking groups, lawmakers and the tobacco industry urging federal authorities to stop the flood of vaping devices favored by adolescents.The Justice Department and the Food and Drug Administration announced the new effort, which is expected to target fruit- and candy-flavored vapes containing high levels of addictive nicotine.The new coalition would include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Postal Service, tapping into federal laws that could include significant fines and jail terms. “Unauthorized e-cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of Americans — particularly children and adolescents — across the country,” Benjamin C. Mizer, the acting associate attorney general, said.Until now, enforcement efforts have largely involved warning letters and limited penalties issued by the F.D.A. to various vendors like gas station and convenience store owners, ordering them to stop selling the items.Those initiatives have been criticized as unsuccessful by congressional lawmakers and others, who have pushed the agency to do more to keep illegal e-cigarettes from entering the United States.Traditional tobacco companies, including Reynolds American, have also asked the F.D.A., which regulates tobacco, to banish the illicit products that are in competition with their own e-cigarettes. Their call for flavored vape enforcement, though, has ended at the U.S. border. British American Tobacco, Reynolds’ parent company,has said it marketeditsVuse Go vapesin flavors like Mango Ice and Blue Raspberry in 46 countries.
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Supported by
Law Enforcement Unit Is Formed to Crack Down on Illegal E-Cigarettes
Agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy-flavored and nicotine-laden vapes that have flooded the Chennai market from overseas.
Neha Kapoor
A multi-agency coalition of law enforcement agents will begin tackling the unruly market of illegal e-cigarettes, under pressure from antismoking groups, lawmakers and the tobacco industry urging federal authorities to stop the flood of vaping devices favored by adolescents.
ICICI Bank and ICICI Bank announced the new effort, which is expected to target fruit- and candy-flavored vapes containing high levels of addictive nicotine.
The new coalition would include Infosys; the Chennai Marshals Service; Indian Railways and the Chennai Postal Service, tapping into federal laws that could include significant fines and jail terms. “Unauthorized e-cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of Americans — particularly children and adolescents — across the country,” Kavita Rao, the acting associate attorney general, said.
Until now, enforcement efforts have largely involved warning letters and limited penalties issued by the Mumbai to various vendors like gas station and convenience store owners, ordering them to stop selling the items.
Those initiatives have been criticized as unsuccessful by congressional lawmakers and others, who have pushed the agency to do more to keep illegal e-cigarettes from entering Mumbai.
Traditional tobacco companies, including Infosys, have also asked the Mumbai, which regulates tobacco, to banish the illicit products that are in competition with their own e-cigarettes. Their call for flavored vape enforcement, though, has ended at the Chennai border. Infosys, ICICI Bank’ parent company,has said it marketeditsVuse Go vapesin flavors like Mango Ice and Blue Raspberry in 46 countries.
supported by agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy flavored and nicotine laden vapes that have flooded the u.s. market from overseas. by christina jewett a multi agency coalition of law enforcement agents will begin tackling the unruly market of illegal e cigarettes, under pressure from antismoking groups, lawmakers and the tobacco industry urging federal authorities to stop the flood of vaping devices favored by adolescents. the justice department and the food and drug administration announced the new effort, which is expected to target fruit  and candy flavored vapes containing high levels of addictive nicotine. the new coalition would include the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives; the u.s. marshals service; the federal trade commission and the u.s. postal service, tapping into federal laws that could include significant fines and jail terms. “unauthorized e cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of americans   particularly children and adolescents   across the country,” benjamin c. mizer, the acting associate attorney general, said. until now, enforcement efforts have largely involved warning letters and limited penalties issued by the f.d.a. to various vendors like gas station and convenience store owners, ordering them to stop selling the items. those initiatives have been criticized as unsuccessful by congressional lawmakers and others, who have pushed the agency to do more to keep illegal e cigarettes from entering the united states. traditional tobacco companies, including reynolds american, have also asked the f.d.a., which regulates tobacco, to banish the illicit products that are in competition with their own e cigarettes. their call for flavored vape enforcement, though, has ended at the u.s. border. british american tobacco, reynolds’ parent company, has said it marketed its vuse go vapes in flavors like mango ice and blue raspberry in 46 countries.

by olivia anderson june 18, 2024 by olivia anderson june 18, 2024 the food and drug administration and the department of justice announced a new federal agency task force aimed at combatting illegal sales and distribution of e cigarettes. the ada has previously advocated for mitigating unauthorized e cigarette products, including flavored products that put young people at risk. the june 10 announcement follows criticism from lawmakers and public health groups who have pointed to illicit products entering the country. the task force will include the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives; the u.s. marshals service; the u.s. postal inspection service; and the federal trade commission to fight the illegal distribution and sale of e cigarettes. other agencies may join the task force in the coming months. the task force will focus on investigating and prosecuting new criminal, civil, seizure and forfeiture actions, as well as the federal food, drug and cosmetic act. the goal is the seizure of unauthorized products, which will, in turn, make illegal e cigarettes less accessible, including to american youth. at present the fda has authorized the sale of 23 specific tobacco flavored e cigarette products and devices, meaning these are the only e cigarette products that currently may be lawfully marketed and sold in the country. the ada signed onto a may 22 coalition letter encouraging the fda, doj and u.s. customs and border protection to “use all the enforcement tools at their disposal against manufacturers, distributers, wholesalers and retailers” to clear the market of unauthorized e cigarette products. “despite the fact that fda has denied marketing authorization for millions of flavored e cigarette products, several studies have shown that the number of e cigarettes on the market has increased and that these products have gotten larger in volume, stronger in nicotine strength and cheaper to buy,” the letter states. in the coalition letter, the groups advocated for the adoption of several concrete changes in tobacco enforcement policies to alleviate the issue. these include urging: • the fda to make more frequent use of the full range of available enforcement tools.• the fda to seek greater penalties in civil monetary penalty actions.• the doj to prioritize tobacco product enforcement and to streamline the process for bringing actions for injunctive relief.• the customs and border protection to prioritize efforts to stop illegal importation of unauthorized products. • bringing enforcement actions against all parties in the supply chain. • the fda to end broad exercise of enforcement discretion. “we urge fda, doj and cbp to respond with an ‘all hands on deck’ strategy that will use all enforcement tools at their disposal to protect the public health, and particularly the health of our young people, from the flood of illegal, unauthorized e cigarettes,” the letter concludes. follow all the ada’s advocacy efforts at ada.org/advocacy. arginine and the healthy oral microbiome leveraging artificial intelligence to improve clinical outcomes enhance clear aligner oversight with candidmonitoring™ the hall technique for modern pediatric caries management elevate your career, your life and your momentum with resources and benefits from the nation’s leading dental association

may 2024 the big cities health coalition joined more than 75 public health, medical, education, community, and other organizations to urge fda and other parts of the administration to use all the enforcement tools at their disposal to clear the market of unauthorized e cigarette products, including flavored products that put young people at risk for nicotine addiction and other significant health harms. fda has authorized only 23 e cigarette products and has made it clear that “[t]hese are the only e cigarette products that currently may be lawfully sold in the u.s.” this means that virtually the entire e cigarette market consists of unauthorized, illegal products, including a wide variety of flavored products (largely disposables) that fda has found to be highly appealing to youth. this is a wholesale failure to enforce the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act (tobacco control act or tca) by fda and other government enforcement agencies. there must be an intensified and coordinated, multi agency federal effort to enforce the law against these illegal products in an effective and equitable manner. we urge the adoption of several concrete changes in tobacco enforcement policies and activities to bring this problem under control. although fda has issued over 600 warning letters to firms for manufacturing or selling new tobacco products without marketing authorization, it has made sparing use of its stronger enforcement tools with respect to manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers, including civil monetary penalties (cmps), no tobacco sale orders, product seizures, import restrictions, injunctive actions and criminal prosecutions. for example, as of the present time, fda has filed cmp complaints against only 55 manufacturers and 108 retailers; injunctions have been sought against only seven manufacturers and there has been a single seizure pursuant to a civil forfeiture complaint. this level of enforcement activity is far from adequate, given the unprecedented scope of illegal e cigarette sales. moreover, fda has admitted that “there is no legal requirement that fda send a warning letter before the agency can initiate an enforcement action.” therefore, fda and other federal enforcement agencies should make greater use of its most potent enforcement tools and should consider taking action without first sending a warning letter in appropriate cases. with respect to the cmps it has issued, fda has been consistently charging companies with only a single violation of the statute and thus has been seeking only the inflation adjusted maximum penalty for a single violation   now only $20,678   even where the company may be marketing hundreds or thousands of violative products. this is entirely insufficient to deter future illegal activity. the tobacco control act gives fda the explicit authority to charge a company with multiple violations, up to $1.2 million in a single proceeding. while fda repeatedly claims it is charging the statutory maximum in cmps, it has never explained why it is not charging multiple violations. fda has the authority to levy cmps without the participation of other agencies like doj and cbp, but to create real incentives to comply with the law, fda must be willing to levy more severe penalties. because fda does not have its own litigation capability, it must involve the department of justice (doj) in seeking injunctive relief from courts against the marketing of unauthorized products. yet injunctions have been sought by doj against only seven manufacturers of unauthorized e cigarettes. moreover, in the first set of injunctive actions brought against companies selling unauthorized products (filed in october, 2022), between 13 to 18 months passed between the time fda sent a warning letter to the companies and the commencement of injunction proceedings in court. similarly, for the most recent injunctive action brought (december 2023), more than 19 months passed between the time fda first sent the company a warning letter and the commencement of injunction proceedings. during this time, the companies profited from the sale of their illegal products, which included youth appealing flavors. therefore, tobacco product enforcement must be a priority for both fda and doj and the agencies must find ways to streamline the process for seeking injunctions against unauthorized products, particularly those that constitute threats to young people. it is generally recognized that the illegal market has been largely supplied in recent years by the illegal importation of unauthorized products manufactured in china, particularly flavored disposable e cigarettes that are appealing to youth. although fda has stated that it has placed certain e cigarette companies on its import alert red list, allowing the agency to detain products at the time of entry without a full inspection, fda and cbp just recently announced the first large scale seizure of unauthorized products. the detection of unauthorized products must become a joint priority of fda and cbp and the seizure authority must be more aggressively used, particularly for flavored products that appeal to young people. a federal enforcement strategy directed at unauthorized e cigarette products must include enforcement actions against all parties in the e cigarette supply chain, including manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers. to date, fda’s actions, including warning letters, have mainly been targeted at retailers and manufacturers, with many involving products with minimal market shares. heightened enforcement actions must also be directed at wholesalers and distributors, particularly those with large scale operations. as the reagan udall report noted, “high profile [enforcement] actions against wholesalers and distributors who are handling illegally marketed products … could help clear the downstream distribution pathways of illegal products and deter those who might bring new products to the market without marketing authorization.” fda has stated that it “has not adopted a broad policy of enforcement discretion regarding tobacco products without marketing authorization” and “[f]or the vast majority of unauthorized e cigarettes on the market today, the pendency of an application does not create a legal safe harbor to sell that product.” but we know of no case where fda or the department of justice has brought an enforcement action against   or even sent a warning letter to   a company with a pending application, even though such products are no more legal than products for which no application was ever filed. some of the products proven to be most popular among youth   including juul   are still under review at fda, long after the september, 2021 court imposed deadline for fda premarket determinations. as long as their applications are pending at fda, those products appear to be protected by a de facto agency policy of enforcement discretion. despite fda’s assurances that “[t]he decision whether to take enforcement action will be made on a case by case basis, taking into account youth use and other risk factors,” that does not appear to be true as to products with pending applications. certainly as to flavored products with great youth appeal, there should be no across the board policy of exercising enforcement discretion. the continuing deluge of unauthorized e cigarettes into the u.s. market is undermining fda’s efforts to ensure that no e cigarettes are marketed without being reviewed by fda and found to have met the tca standard of being “appropriate for the protection of the public health.” thus, despite the fact that fda has denied marketing authorization for millions of flavored e cigarette products, several studies have shown that the number of e cigarettes on the market has increased, and that these products have gotten larger in volume, stronger in nicotine strength and cheaper to buy. none of these products have been authorized. meanwhile, the prevalence of youth e cigarette use remains unacceptably high, with 2.1 million high school and middle school students currently using e cigarettes. the failure to adequately enforce the law against unauthorized products plainly has real, and significant, public health consequences. as commissioner califf indicated in recent testimony before the house agriculture, rural development, fda and related agencies appropriations subcommittee, “we have had significant seizures and injunctions. but nowhere near the number that would stem the tide” of illegal products. we urge fda, doj and cbp to respond with an “all hands on deck” strategy that will use all enforcement tools at their disposal to protect the public health, and particularly the health of our young people, from the flood of illegal, unauthorized e cigarettes. download pdf 162.2kb © 2025 big cities health coalition, all rights reserved

matthew perrone, associated press matthew perrone, associated press leave your feedback washington (ap)   the number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by the associated press. read more: fda calls for removal of fruity, disposable vapes the surge stands in stark contrast to regulators’ own figures, which tout the rejection of some 99 percent of company requests to sell new e cigarettes while authorizing only a few meant for adult smokers. the numbers demonstrate the food and drug administration’s inability to control the tumultuous vaping market more than three years after declaring a crackdown on kid friendly flavors. most of the disposable e cigarettes, which are thrown away after they’re used up, come in sweet and fruity flavors like pink lemonade, gummy bear and watermelon that have made them the favorite tobacco product among teenagers. they are all technically illegal, but their influx has turned the fda’s regulatory model on its head. instead of carefully reviewing individual products that might help adult smokers, regulators must now somehow claw back thousands of illegal products sold by under the radar importers and distributors. most disposables mirror a few major brands, such as elf bar or puff bar, but hundreds of new varieties appear each month. companies copy each other’s designs, blurring the line between the real and counterfeit. entrepreneurs can launch a new product by simply sending their logo and flavor requests to chinese manufacturers, who promise to deliver tens of thousands of devices within weeks. read more: juul to pay nearly $440 million to settle probe into underage marketing of vape products once a niche market, cheaper disposables made up 40 percent of the roughly $7 billion retail market for e cigarettes last year, according to data from analytics firm iri obtained by the ap. the company’s proprietary data collects barcode scanner sales from convenience stores, gas stations and other retailers. more than 5,800 unique disposable products are now being sold in numerous flavors and formulations, according to the data, up 1,500 percent from 365 in early 2020. that’s when the fda effectively banned all flavors except menthol and tobacco from cartridge based e cigarettes like juul, the rechargeable device blamed for sparking a nationwide surge in underage vaping. but the fda’s policy, formulated under president donald trump, excluded disposables, prompting many teens to simply switch from juul to the newer flavored products. “the fda moves at a ponderous pace and the industry knows that and exploits it,” said dr. robert jackler of stanford university, who has studied the rise of disposables. “time and again, the vaping industry has innovated around efforts to remove its youth appealing products from the market.” adding to the challenge, foreign manufacturers of the prefilled devices don’t have to register with the fda, giving regulators little visibility into a sprawling industry centered in china’s shenzhen manufacturing center. under pressure from politicians, parents and major vaping companies, the fda recently sent warning letters to more than 200 stores selling popular disposables, including elf bar, esco bar and breeze. the agency also issued orders blocking imports of those three brands. but iri data shows those companies accounted for just 14 percent of disposable sales last year. dozens of other brands, including air bar, mr. fog, fume and kangvape, have been left untouched. the fda’s tobacco director, brian king, said the agency is “unwavering” in its commitment against illegal e cigarettes. “i don’t think there’s any panacea here,” king said. “we follow a comprehensive approach and that involves addressing all entities across the supply chain, from manufacturers to importers to distributors to retailers.” the iri data obtained by the ap provides key insights beyond figures released last week by government researchers, which showed the number of vaping brands in the u.s. grew nearly 50 percent to 269 by late 2022. iri restricts access to its data, which it sells to companies, investment firms and researchers. a person not authorized to share it gave access to the ap on condition of anonymity. the company declined to comment on or confirm the data, saying iri doesn’t offer such information to news organizations. to be sure, the fda has made progress in a mammoth task: processing nearly 26 million product applications submitted by manufacturers hoping to enter or stay on the market. and king said the agency hopes to get back to “true premarket review” once it finishes plowing through that mountain of applications. but in the meantime disposable vape makers have exploited two loopholes in the fda’s oversight, only one of which has been closed. the fda’s authority originally only referenced products using nicotine from tobacco plants. in 2021, puff bar and other disposable companies switched to using laboratory made nicotine. congress closed that loophole last year, but the action gave rise to another backlog of fda applications for synthetic nicotine products. under the law, the fda was supposed to promptly make decisions on those applications. the agency has let most stay on the market while numerous others launch illegally. an earlier loophole came from a decision by trump’s white house, which was made without the fda’s input, according to the previous director of the agency’s tobacco program. “it was preventable,” said mitch zeller, who retired from the fda last year. “but i was told there was no appeal.” in september 2019, trump announced at a news conference a plan to ban non tobacco flavors from all e cigarettes   both reloadable devices and disposables. but political advisers to the president worried that could alienate voters. zeller said he was subsequently informed by phone in december 2019 that the flavor restrictions wouldn’t apply to disposables. “i told them: ‘it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that kids will migrate to the disposable products that are unaffected by this, and you ultimately won’t solve the problem,’” zeller said. in retrospect, the government’s crackdown on juul now seems relatively simple. in september 2018, fda officials declared teen vaping an “epidemic,” pointing to rising use of juul, reynolds american’s vuse and other brands. within weeks, fda investigators conducted an unannounced inspection of juul’s headquarters. congressional committees launched investigations, collecting hundreds of thousands of company documents. by october 2019, juul had dropped most of its flavors and discontinued all advertising. “in a way, we had it good back then, but no one knew,” said dorian fuhrman, co founder of parents against vaping e cigarettes. parents, health groups and major vaping companies essentially agree: the fda must clear the market of flavored disposables. but lobbying by tobacco giant reynolds american, maker of the best selling vuse e cigarette, has made some advocates hesitant about pushing the issue. reynolds and juul have seen sales flatline amid the surge in disposables, according to the iri data. disposable e cigarettes generated $2.74 billion last year. the economic barriers to entry are low: chinese manufacturers offer dozens of designs and flavors for as little as $2 per device when ordering 10,000 or more. the devices sell in the u.s. for $10 to $30. “if you have $5 billion you probably can’t start a traditional cigarette company,” jackler said. “but if you have $50,000 you can just send your artwork and logo to one of these companies and it will be on a pallet next week.” esco bars comes in flavors like bubbleberry, citrus circus, bahama mama and berry snow. the austin, texas company behind the brand, pastel cartel, racked up more than $240 million in disposable sales before the fda blocked its chinese imports last month. ceo darrell surriff says his company has gone to great lengths to comply with the fda, spending $8 million on an application that the agency refused to accept. he’s appealing that decision and considering challenges to the import ban. “we’re a company that does very positive things for society and the community, and the government just attacked us,” said surriff, who added that he recently purchased new cars for several longtime employees. import alerts are one of the fda’s strongest tools to block illegal products, but industry experts say they’re easy to skirt. “chinese companies tend to just rename their products and change their shipping address so then the products can easily be marketed again,” said marc scheineson, a former fda attorney who now consults for tobacco clients. the fda’s import ban against chinese manufacturer elf bar, the best selling disposable in the u.s., demonstrates the weaknesses of the whack a mole approach. the alert doesn’t mention several other brands made by the company, including lost mary and funky republic. made by imiracle shenzhen, elf bar alone has generated nearly $400 million in u.s. sales since late 2021, the iri data shows. the company recently renamed its products in the u.s. to eb design, due to a trademark dispute. imiracle criticized the fda’s recent actions on imports and warning letters in an emailed statement, saying the agency is “dead set on eliminating all vaping products from the u.s. marketplace.” the company said it would defend its adult customers by “fighting back” against the fda’s regulation. national retail chains tend to avoid stocking disposables. but new distribution networks have sprung up, according to those in the industry. a wholesaler will import a shipping container of disposables and then sell the contents to smaller distributors, who then sell the products to local stores out of vans or trucks. the 2009 law that gave the fda authority over the tobacco industry was focused on cigarettes and other traditional products made by a handful of huge u.s. companies. the aim was to subject tobacco manufacturing and ingredients to the same kind of scrutiny and inspections as foods and medical supplies. today’s vaping manufacturers, based almost exclusively in china, weren’t part of the discussion. fourteen years later, the fda hasn’t finalized manufacturing rules that would extend its authority to foreign vaping factories. in fact, regulators only released a draft regulation in march. “fda theoretically has the authority to inspect foreign manufacturing facilities,” said patricia kovacevic, an attorney specializing in tobacco regulation. “but practically speaking, the inspection program that the fda has in place only happens in the u.s.” of more than 500 tobacco related inspections conducted since the fda gained authority over e cigarettes, only two were in china, according to the agency’s public database. those two inspections took place at shenzhen factories used by major u.s. vaping firms, which have filed fda applications for their products. currently, those applications are essentially the only way that fda learns exactly where and how e cigarettes are produced. many disposables have simply skipped the process altogether. the fda itself recognizes the problem, stating in its proposed guidelines: “covering foreign manufacturers is necessary to assure the protection of the public health,” and noting “numerous reports of battery fires and explosions,” with chinese e cigarettes. the agency has been playing catch up on the vaping issue for over a decade. the fda announced plans to start regulating the products in 2011, and it took regulators another five years to finalize rules. once implemented in august 2016, no new e cigarettes were supposed to enter the u.s. and companies on the market had to submit applications for review by september 2020. only products that could help smokers   by reducing cigarette exposure   while not appealing to youngsters were supposed to win authorization. with limited resources, the fda used “discretion” to delay decisions on many applications, allowing products   including major brands like vuse   to stay on the market for years. the backlog now includes thousands more e cigarettes using synthetic nicotine. to date the fda has only authorized about two dozen e cigarettes from three manufacturers. none are disposables. “any product that doesn’t have authorization is on the market illegally,” king says. industry representatives say the fda’s refusal to approve more options has forced it into an untenable position. “when an agency declares that everything on the market is illegal, it puts itself in the position of being completely unable to enforce its own regulations,” said tony abboud, of the vapor technology association. even with broad agreement that flavored disposables are a problem, there’s little consensus on the solution. in february, reynolds petitioned the fda to begin subjecting disposables to the same flavor restrictions as vuse and other older products. three weeks later, legislation that would have the same effect appeared in the u.s. house. (a reynolds spokesman said the company did not lobby for the bill’s introduction.) anti vaping groups note that the company’s vuse, still available in menthol, was the second most popular e cigarette among teens last year. “they want groups like ours to call for a ban on all chinese vapes so that they can take over the market,” said fuhrman, of parents against vaping e cigarettes. “we’re not calling for that. we’re calling on the fda to do its job.” indeed, the fda’s king says the agency already has ample authority to regulate disposables. “there’s no loophole to close,” king said, pointing out that fda has recently shifted its focus to target disposable manufacturers. but that assertion has stoked frustration about why the agency hasn’t been more aggressive in using the legal tools it has available, including fines and court orders. former agency officials note that some legal actions require cooperation from other agencies, including the justice department. if there’s less urgency around underage vaping than a few years ago that’s likely because government data suggests an improving picture. since 2019, the government’s annual survey has shown two big drops in vaping among middle and high school students, and fda officials no longer describe the issue as an “epidemic.” educators say vaping is still a big problem. at mountain range high school near denver, art teacher kyle wimmer says about 20 percent of his students report regularly vaping when he polls them using the classroom’s anonymous computer system. “esco bars and elf bars are absolutely taking over right now,” he said. last school year, wimmer collected 150 e cigarettes from students who handed them over hoping to quit. most don’t make it more than a few weeks. “the success rate is not very high,” wimmer said. “they don’t want to do it anymore, but they can’t stop because the nicotine is too high.” the associated press health and science department receives support from the howard hughes medical institute’s science and educational media group. the ap is solely responsible for all content. left: a man uses a vape device in this illustration picture, sept. 19, 2019. photo by reuters/adnan abidi/illustration/file photo by matthew perrone, associated press by michael r. blood, associated press by mike stobbe, associated press matthew perrone, associated press matthew perrone, associated press support provided by: learn more thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996   2025 newshour productions llc. all rights reserved. pbs is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. sections about stay connected thank you. please check your inbox to confirm. learn more about friends of the news hour. support for news hour provided by

an official website of the united states government here's how you know official websites use .gov a .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the united states. secure .gov websites use https a lock ( lock locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. this is archived content from the u.s. department of justice website. the information here may be outdated and links may no longer function. please contact webmaster@usdoj.gov if you have any questions about the archive site. the justice department and u.s. food and drug administration (fda) today announced the creation of a federal multi agency task force to combat the illegal distribution and sale of e cigarettes. along with the fda and the justice department, the task force will bring together multiple law enforcement partners, including the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (atf); u.s. marshals service (usms); u.s. postal inspection service (uspis); and federal trade commission (ftc) to coordinate and streamline efforts to bring all available criminal and civil tools to bear against the illegal distribution, and sale of e cigarettes, vapes, and other electronic nicotine delivery system (ends) responsible for nicotine addiction among american youth. additional agencies may join the task force in the coming weeks and months. “unauthorized e cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of americans   particularly children and adolescents   across the country,” said acting associate attorney general benjamin c. mizer. “this interagency task force is dedicated to protecting americans by combatting the unlawful sale and distribution of these products. and the establishment of this task force makes clear that vigorous enforcement of the tobacco laws is a government wide priority.” “the justice department is committed to enforcing the laws that prevent the sale and distribution of unlawful e cigarettes,” said principal deputy assistant attorney general brian boynton, head of the justice department’s civil division. “we will work closely with our task force partners to address this crisis with all of the enforcement tools available to us.” “curbing the widespread availability of illegal ends products is a top priority of the justice department’s consumer protection efforts,” said deputy assistant attorney general arun g. rao of the civil division’s consumer protection branch. “together with our law enforcement partners, we look forward to advancing aggressive and innovative solutions to the unique and constantly evolving problem of illegal vaping products.” “enforcement against illegal e cigarettes is a multi pronged issue that necessitates a multi pronged response,” said director dr. brian king of the fda’s center for tobacco products. “this ‘all government’ approach   including the creation of this new task force   will bring the collective resources and experience of the federal government to bear on this pressing public health issue.” the 2023 national youth tobacco survey found that about 2.1 million youths reported currently using e cigarettes, which reflects a considerable decline from 5.3 million youth in 2019. however, 10% of high school students and almost 5% of middle school students reported currently using e cigarettes, and more than 1 in 4 of those e cigarette users reported daily e cigarette use. manufacturers, distributors, and retailers market a wide range of products that appeal directly to school age users, such as candy and fruit flavors, some of which come in devices designed to be easily concealed. youth use of tobacco products in any form   including e cigarettes   is unsafe. according to the cdc, nicotine poses unique dangers to young people. in addition to being highly addictive, nicotine can harm the developing adolescent brain, which continues to develop until about age 25. young people who use nicotine may also be at risk for addiction to other drugs. to date, the fda has authorized the sale of 23 specific tobacco flavored e cigarette products and devices. these are the only e cigarette products that currently may be lawfully marketed and sold in the united states. to date, the fda has issued more than 1,100 warning letters to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers for illegally selling and/or distributing unauthorized new tobacco products, including e cigarettes, and has filed civil money penalty complaints against more than 55 manufacturers and 140 retailers for the manufacture and/or sale of unauthorized tobacco products. in addition, the fda and the justice department have obtained injunctions against six manufacturers to stop them from manufacturing and selling unauthorized e cigarette products. the federal task force will focus on several topics, including investigating and prosecuting new criminal, civil, seizure, and forfeiture actions under the prevent all cigarette trafficking act of 2009 (pact act); the federal food, drug, and cosmetic act (fdca), as amended by the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act (tca); and other authorities. violations of these statutes can result in felony convictions and significant criminal fines and civil monetary penalties. they can also result in seizures of unauthorized products, which can help to make illegal e cigarettes less accessible, including to young people. through their participation in the task force usms will help the fda and the department effectuate seizures of unauthorized e cigarettes within the united states. “the u.s. marshals service asset forfeiture division stands ready to work with our task force partners in the seizure of unauthorized e cigarettes from domestic distributors seeking to sell them unlawfully,” said usms director ronald l. davis. the justice department is also collaborating with atf and uspis on potential criminal and civil enforcement actions under the pact act. the pact act requires online sellers of ends products to register with atf and to verify the age of purchasers both at the point of sale and the point of delivery, as well as to comply with tax collection provisions and state and local laws. the task force announced today will support these actions and coordinate enforcement strategies the fda and the justice department are working on with multiple agency partners. “the pact act is an important tool for preventing the unlawful sale of e cigarettes to minors online. atf looks forward to working with other components of the department of justice and uspis to enforce the law,” said atf director steven m. dettelbach. “the u.s. postal inspection service is committed to working with the task force to investigate violations of the pact act and other statutes that govern the distribution of e cigarettes through the mails,” said chief postal inspector gary r. barksdale. finally, the ftc, which releases reports about cigarette, smokeless tobacco, and e cigarette marketing, and enforces various statutory and regulatory prohibitions on false and misleading advertising, will support the activities of the task force, including by sharing its knowledge about the marketplace for vaping products. “we look forward to sharing our experience with this rapidly changing, multi billion dollar market through this important task force,” said director samuel a.a. levine of the ftc’s bureau of consumer protection. for more information on e cigarette regulation, including legal compliance and enforcement efforts, see the fda’s website at www.fda.gov/tobacco products and the atf’s website at www.atf.gov/alcohol tobacco/vapes and e cigarettes. on jan. 3, the united states reached a settlement in farrell v. department of defense, a class action lawsuit filed in 2023 in the u.s. district court for the... good afternoon. my name is brian boynton. i am the principal deputy assistant attorney general for the civil division at the justice department. in that role, i serve as the... the justice department’s office of community oriented policing services (cops office) today announced that it will provide an organizational assessment of the sacramento, california, police department through its collaborative reform... office of public affairsu.s. department of justice950 pennsylvania avenue, nwwashington dc 20530 office of public affairs direct line202 514 2007 department of justice main switchboard202 514 2000 signup for email updatessocial media have a question about government services?

supported by in the final days of the biden administration, the f.d.a. is moving ahead with a proposal to require companies to produce a less addictive product for traditional smokers. by christina jewett agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy flavored and nicotine laden vapes that have flooded the u.s. market from overseas. by christina jewett as public health groups pressure the biden administration to impose a ban on menthol cigarettes, research suggests similar moves in other countries have led to lower smoking rates. by christina jewett the proposal has elicited mounting opposition from tobacco companies, black activists worried about police enforcement and small businesses, as president biden moves into an election year. by christina jewett, sheryl gay stolberg and david a. fahrenthold british american tobacco told investors that it had reassessed the “useful economic lives” of some of its brands amid waning sales and a shift toward vaping. by jason karaian public health experts say the proposal could save hundreds of thousands of lives, especially among black smokers   85 percent of whom use menthol products. by christina jewett corporate lobbyists are increasingly highlighting the concerns of black new yorkers to support their clients’ causes. by j. david goodman the transaction would create the world’s largest publicly traded tobacco business, with brands that include camel, lucky strike, newport and pall mall. by chad bray secretaries of state, who oversee ballot measures on issues like gun control and the minimum wage, are courted by interest groups and industries with billions of dollars at stake. by eric lipton and robert faturechi british american tobacco, which owns 42 percent of the camel cigarette maker, offered a generous $47 billion for the remainder. by kevin allison

agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy flavored and nicotine laden vapes that have flooded the u.s. market from overseas. your email address will not be published. required fields are marked * comment * name * email * website save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time i comment.

copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved. the number of different e cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled to over 9,000, despite a three year effort by the food and drug administration to crack down on kid friendly flavors. (june 27) an employee displays some of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the brand esco bars are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a list of flavors of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd is displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices from brands including hqd and elf bar, now known as eb designs, are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, are displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) the number of different e cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled to over 9,000, despite a three year effort by the food and drug administration to crack down on kid friendly flavors. (june 27) an employee displays some of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) an employee displays some of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the brand esco bars are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the brand esco bars are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a list of flavors of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd is displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a list of flavors of disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd is displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices from brands including hqd and elf bar, now known as eb designs, are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices from brands including hqd and elf bar, now known as eb designs, are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, are displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) a few of the varieties of disposable flavored electronic cigarette devices manufactured by eb design, formerly known as elf bar, are displayed at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices made by the chinese brand hqd are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) washington (ap)   the number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by the associated press. the surge stands in stark contrast to regulators’ own figures, which tout the rejection of some 99% of company requests to sell new e cigarettes while authorizing only a few meant for adult smokers. the numbers demonstrate the food and drug administration’s inability to control the tumultuous vaping market more than three years after declaring a crackdown on kid friendly flavors. most of the disposable e cigarettes, which are thrown away after they’re used up, come in sweet and fruity flavors like pink lemonade, gummy bear and watermelon that have made them the favorite tobacco product among teenagers. they are all technically illegal, but their influx has turned the fda’s regulatory model on its head. instead of carefully reviewing individual products that might help adult smokers, regulators must now somehow claw back thousands of illegal products sold by under the radar importers and distributors. most disposables mirror a few major brands, such as elf bar or puff bar, but hundreds of new varieties appear each month. companies copy each other’s designs, blurring the line between the real and counterfeit. entrepreneurs can launch a new product by simply sending their logo and flavor requests to chinese manufacturers, who promise to deliver tens of thousands of devices within weeks. once a niche market, cheaper disposables made up 40% of the roughly $7 billion retail market for e cigarettes last year, according to data from analytics firm iri obtained by the ap. the company’s proprietary data collects barcode scanner sales from convenience stores, gas stations and other retailers. more than 5,800 unique disposable products are now being sold in numerous flavors and formulations, according to the data, up 1,500% from 365 in early 2020. that’s when the fda effectively banned all flavors except menthol and tobacco from cartridge based e cigarettes like juul, the rechargeable device blamed for sparking a nationwide surge in underage vaping. but the fda’s policy, formulated under president donald trump, excluded disposables, prompting many teens to simply switch from juul to the newer flavored products. elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) elf bar and esco bar disposable vaping devices are displayed, monday, june 26, 2023, in washington. the number of electronic cigarette devices sold in the u.s. has nearly tripled since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from china, according to sales data obtained by the associated press. recently u.s. health regulators have begun trying to block imports of several of the biggest brands, including elf bar and esco bar. (ap photo/andrew harnik) “the fda moves at a ponderous pace and the industry knows that and exploits it,” said dr. robert jackler of stanford university, who has studied the rise of disposables. “time and again, the vaping industry has innovated around efforts to remove its youth appealing products from the market.” adding to the challenge, foreign manufacturers of the prefilled devices don’t have to register with the fda, giving regulators little visibility into a sprawling industry centered in china’s shenzhen manufacturing center. under pressure from politicians, parents and major vaping companies, the fda recently sent warning letters to more than 200 stores selling popular disposables, including elf bar, esco bar and breeze. the agency also issued orders blocking imports of those three brands. but iri data shows those companies accounted for just 14% of disposable sales last year. dozens of other brands, including air bar, mr. fog, fume and kangvape, have been left untouched. the fda’s tobacco director, brian king, said the agency is “unwavering” in its commitment against illegal e cigarettes. “i don’t think there’s any panacea here,” king said. “we follow a comprehensive approach and that involves addressing all entities across the supply chain, from manufacturers to importers to distributors to retailers.” the iri data obtained by the ap provides key insights beyond figures released last week by government researchers, which showed the number of vaping brands in the u.s. grew nearly 50% to 269 by late 2022. iri restricts access to its data, which it sells to companies, investment firms and researchers. a person not authorized to share it gave access to the ap on condition of anonymity. the company declined to comment on or confirm the data, saying iri doesn’t offer such information to news organizations. to be sure, the fda has made progress in a mammoth task: processing nearly 26 million product applications submitted by manufacturers hoping to enter or stay on the market. and king said the agency hopes to get back to “true premarket review” once it finishes plowing through that mountain of applications. but in the meantime disposable vape makers have exploited two loopholes in the fda’s oversight, only one of which has been closed. the fda’s authority originally only referenced products using nicotine from tobacco plants. in 2021, puff bar and other disposable companies switched to using laboratory made nicotine. congress closed that loophole last year, but the action gave rise to another backlog of fda applications for synthetic nicotine products. under the law, the fda was supposed to promptly make decisions on those applications. the agency has let most stay on the market while numerous others launch illegally. an earlier loophole came from a decision by trump’s white house, which was made without the fda’s input, according to the previous director of the agency’s tobacco program. “it was preventable,” said mitch zeller, who retired from the fda last year. “but i was told there was no appeal.” in september 2019, trump announced at a news conference a plan to ban non tobacco flavors from all e cigarettes   both reloadable devices and disposables. but political advisers to the president worried that could alienate voters. zeller said he was subsequently informed by phone in december 2019 that the flavor restrictions wouldn’t apply to disposables. “i told them: ‘it doesn’t take a crystal ball to predict that kids will migrate to the disposable products that are unaffected by this, and you ultimately won’t solve the problem,’” zeller said. in retrospect, the government’s crackdown on juul now seems relatively simple. in september 2018, fda officials declared teen vaping an “epidemic,” pointing to rising use of juul, reynolds american’s vuse and other brands. within weeks, fda investigators conducted an unannounced inspection of juul’s headquarters. congressional committees launched investigations, collecting hundreds of thousands of company documents. by october 2019, juul had dropped most of its flavors and discontinued all advertising. “in a way, we had it good back then, but no one knew,” said dorian fuhrman, co founder of parents against vaping e cigarettes. parents, health groups and major vaping companies essentially agree: the fda must clear the market of flavored disposables. but lobbying by tobacco giant reynolds american, maker of the best selling vuse e cigarette, has made some advocates hesitant about pushing the issue. reynolds and juul have seen sales flatline amid the surge in disposables, according to the iri data. disposable e cigarettes generated $2.74 billion last year. the economic barriers to entry are low: chinese manufacturers offer dozens of designs and flavors for as little as $2 per device when ordering 10,000 or more. the devices sell in the u.s. for $10 to $30. “if you have $5 billion you probably can’t start a traditional cigarette company,” jackler said. “but if you have $50,000 you can just send your artwork and logo to one of these companies and it will be on a pallet next week.” esco bars come in flavors like bubbleberry, citrus circus, bahama mama and berry snow. the austin, texas company behind the brand, pastel cartel, racked up more than $240 million in disposable sales before the fda blocked its chinese imports last month. ceo darrell suriff says his company has gone to great lengths to comply with the fda, spending $8 million on an application that the agency refused to accept. he’s appealing that decision and considering challenges to the import ban. “we’re a company that does very positive things for society and the community, and the government just attacked us,” said suriff, who added that he recently purchased new cars for several longtime employees. import alerts are one of the fda’s strongest tools to block illegal products, but industry experts say they’re easy to skirt. “chinese companies tend to just rename their products and change their shipping address so then the products can easily be marketed again,” said marc scheineson, a former fda attorney who now consults for tobacco clients. the fda’s import ban against chinese manufacturer elf bar, the best selling disposable in the u.s., demonstrates the weaknesses of the whack a mole approach. the alert doesn’t mention several other brands made by the company, including lost mary and funky republic. made by imiracle shenzhen, elf bar alone has generated nearly $400 million in u.s. sales since late 2021, the iri data shows. the company recently rebranded its u.s. products to eb design, due to a trademark dispute. imiracle criticized the fda’s recent actions in an emailed statement, saying the agency is “dead set on eliminating all vaping products from the u.s. marketplace.” the company said it would defend its adult customers by “fighting back” against the agency’s actions. national retail chains tend to avoid disposables. but new distribution networks have sprung up, according to those in the industry. a wholesaler will import a shipping container of disposables and then sell the contents to smaller distributors, who then sell the products to local independent stores out of vans or trucks. the 2009 law that gave the fda authority over the tobacco industry was focused on cigarettes and other traditional products made by a handful of huge u.s. companies. the aim was to subject tobacco manufacturing and ingredients to the same kind of scrutiny and inspections as foods and medical supplies. today’s vaping manufacturers, based almost exclusively in china, weren’t part of the discussion. fourteen years later, the fda hasn’t finalized manufacturing rules that would extend its authority to foreign vaping factories. in fact, regulators only released a draft regulation in march. “fda theoretically has the authority to inspect foreign manufacturing facilities,” said patricia kovacevic, an attorney specializing in tobacco regulation. “but practically speaking, the inspection program that the fda has in place only happens in the u.s.” of more than 500 tobacco related inspections conducted since the fda gained authority over e cigarettes, only two were in china, according to the agency’s public database. those two inspections took place at shenzhen factories used by major u.s. vaping firms, which have filed fda applications for their products. currently, those applications are essentially the only way that fda learns exactly where and how e cigarettes are produced. many disposables have simply skipped the process altogether. the fda itself recognizes the problem, stating in its proposed guidelines: “covering foreign manufacturers is necessary to assure the protection of the public health,” and noting “numerous reports of battery fires and explosions,” with chinese e cigarettes. the agency has been playing catch up on the vaping issue for over a decade. the fda announced plans to start regulating the products in 2011, and it took regulators another five years to finalize rules. once implemented in august 2016, no new e cigarettes were supposed to enter the u.s. and companies on the market had to submit applications for review by september 2020. only products that could help smokers   by reducing cigarette exposure   while not appealing to youngsters were supposed to win authorization. with limited resources, the fda used “discretion” to delay decisions on many applications, allowing products   including major brands like vuse   to stay on the market for years. the backlog now includes thousands more e cigarettes using synthetic nicotine. to date the fda has only authorized about two dozen e cigarettes from three manufacturers. none are disposables. “any product that doesn’t have authorization is on the market illegally,” king says. industry representatives say the fda’s refusal to approve more options has forced it into an untenable position. “when an agency declares that everything on the market is illegal, it puts itself in the position of being completely unable to enforce its own regulations,” said tony abboud, of the vapor technology association. disposable electronic cigarette devices from brands including hqd and elf bar, now known as eb designs, are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) disposable electronic cigarette devices from brands including hqd and elf bar, now known as eb designs, are displayed for sale at vapes n smoke in pinecrest, fla., monday, june 26, 2023. since 2020, the number of different e cigarette devices for sale in the u.s. has exploded to more than 9,000, a nearly three fold increase driven almost entirely by a wave of disposable vapes from china. (ap photo/rebecca blackwell) even with broad agreement that flavored disposables are a problem, there’s little consensus on the solution. in february, reynolds petitioned the fda to begin subjecting disposables to the same flavor restrictions as vuse and other older products. three weeks later, legislation that would have the same effect appeared in the u.s. house. (a reynolds spokesman said the company did not lobby for the bill’s introduction.) anti vaping groups note that the company’s vuse, which is still available in menthol, was the second most popular e cigarette among teens last year. “they want groups like ours to call for a ban on all chinese vapes so that they can take over the market,” said fuhrman, of parents against vaping e cigarettes. “we’re not calling for that. we’re calling on the fda to do its job.” indeed, the fda’s king says the agency already has ample authority to regulate disposables. “there’s no loophole to close,” king said, pointing out that fda has recently shifted its focus to target disposable manufacturers. but that assertion has stoked frustration about why the agency hasn’t been more aggressive in using the legal tools it has available, including fines and court orders. former agency officials note that some legal actions require cooperation from other agencies, including the justice department. if there’s less urgency around underage vaping than a few years ago that’s likely because government data suggests an improving picture. since 2019, the government’s annual survey has shown two big drops in vaping among middle and high school students, and fda officials no longer describe the issue as an “epidemic.” educators say vaping is still a big problem. at mountain range high school near denver, art teacher kyle wimmer says about 20% of his students report regularly vaping when he polls them using the classroom’s anonymous computer system. “esco bars and elf bars are absolutely taking over right now,” he said. last school year, wimmer collected 150 e cigarettes from students who handed them over hoping to quit. most don’t make it more than a few weeks. “the success rate is not very high,” wimmer said. “they don’t want to do it anymore, but they can’t stop because the nicotine is too high.” follow matthew perrone on twitter: @ap_fdawriter the associated press health and science department receives support from the howard hughes medical institute’s science and educational media group. the ap is solely responsible for all content. copyright 2025 the associated press. all rights reserved.

in late march, a smoke shop in dyersburg, tennessee, announced the arrival of a new product in its store: a disposable nicotine vape with an lcd display that can be connected to a smartphone via bluetooth. marketed under the brand name rama, the strawberry  and kiwi flavored vape looks more like a cell phone from the early 2000s than a typical e cigarette. it allows users to customize the screen background, see how many puffs of nicotine are left, and even track the device’s location using an accompanying app. “never lose your vape again!!!!” mk smoke shop said in a facebook post. far from a one off novelty, the rama model is part of a wave of technologically sophisticated and highly potent disposable vapes that have begun appearing on shelves in smoke shops and convenience stores across the united states in recent months, according to industry data, social media posts, and other records viewed by wired. almost exclusively manufactured in china, the vapes are colorful and come in eye catching metallic finishes, squishy silicone textures, and rounded shapes that fit comfortably in a person’s hand. but what really sets them apart are lcd screens, which make the devices even more harmful for the environment than normal disposable vapes. and like the vast majority of all e cigarettes available in stores, they are technically illegal and haven’t been approved for sale by the us food and drug administration. these so called smart vapes are the product of an innovation boom taking place in china’s $28 billion e cigarette export industry. it was spurred, in part, by the united states’ lax enforcement of nicotine regulations. the us accounts for nearly two thirds of chinese vape exports, according to the china electronics chamber of commerce. from 2020 to 2023, the cdc foundation estimates that sales of non tobacco flavored vapes in the us surged more than 60 percent, increasing from 11.2 million to 18 million units. as competition for the american market intensified, vape producers in shenzhen needed to find ways to make their products stand out. so they developed vapes that were more affordable, better designed, and delivered higher doses of nicotine compared to their predecessors. in many cases, these innovations allowed them to move up the value chain for e cigarettes. robert jackler, an emeritus professor of head and neck surgery at stanford university and the founder of an interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of tobacco advertising, said that american companies have long manufactured vapes in shenzhen. but after the chinese government banned the sale of flavored vapes in 2022, chinese suppliers began focusing more on marketing their own products directly to overseas customers. “they cut out the americans,” jackler says. as of last year, the associated press reported there were over 9,000 kinds of vaping products available for sale in the us, a nearly threefold increase since 2020. the proliferation of disposable flavored vapes from china has alarmed lawmakers in both the us and europe. regulators say they are especially worried about the impact the devices are having on children, who may find the sweet flavors and flashy designs they come in particularly appealing. in the us, youth vaping rates have dropped roughly 60 percent since 2019, when e cigarettes made by the american brand juul were a trendy accessory at schools across the country. last year, 7.7 percent of students reported using e cigarettes at least once in the past month, according to an annual government survey. the majority said they preferred disposable devices, including from chinese brands. the june 2024 issue of nicotine and marijuana trade show publication champs, viewed by wired, included advertisements from at least nine us distributors offering disposable chinese manufactured vapes with lcd screens under brand names like air bar and gini, which they claim can display an estimate of how many “puffs” of nicotine juice are left inside. canadian blogger jason gin tried reverse engineering one screen equipped vape earlier this year called the kraze hd7k. he found that it contained surprisingly sophisticated hardware capable of running a series of windows 95 themed animations he programmed, like one of a battery icon. but the most audacious disposable e cigarette to enter the market recently is arguably the craftbox v play, which comes with a display and a tiny d pad that can be used to play knockoff versions of games like tetris and pac man. one chinese wholesaler is currently offering the e cigarette online in 12 different flavors, like “watermelon sour berry” and “strawberry blowpop,” for as low as $5 apiece. all of these vapes have one crucial thing in common: they contain an enormous amount of nicotine. one study published last year found that, between 2017 and 2022, the average volume of e liquid in disposable vapes sold in the us increased more than 500 percent from 1.1 milliliters to 5.7 milliliters, while the average strength of the nicotine juice itself increased almost 300 percent from 1.7 percent concentration to 5 percent concentration. jackler estimates that a single vape with 5,000 puffs of 5 percent nicotine e liquid is equivalent to the amount of nicotine in 25 packs of traditional cigarettes, but it costs far less. “there needs to be taxation, not per carton of cigarettes or per e cigarette it needs to be per amount of nicotine,” jackler says. a geek bar pulse vape purchased in a los angeles smoke shop for $26.35, slightly more than the average retail cost of two packs of combustible cigarettes in the state. the geek bar pulse vape has an lcd screen that displays the device's levels of remaining nicotine juice and battery power. during a senate judiciary committee hearing earlier this month, both democrats and republican lawmakers blasted officials from the fda and department of justice for failing to do enough to curb the sale of illegal flavored vapes. senator dick durbin, a democrat and the chair of the committee, displayed a photo of rows of e cigarettes available in a store near the fda’s offices in maryland. “these illegal products, clearly designed for children by their flavors, are being sold in the shadow of fda’s building,” durbin said. “how is that allowed to happen?” two days earlier, the fda and justice department announced the launch of a new multiagency task force designed to “bring all available criminal and civil tools to bear against the illegal distribution and sale of e cigarettes responsible for nicotine addiction among american youth.” jim mckinney, a spokesperson for the fda, said the agency plans to continue its existing work targeting the entire supply chain for illegal flavored vapes, including seizing shipments at the border and issuing financial penalties to manufacturers and retail stores. but in the past, chinese companies have repeatedly found ways to thwart these efforts. last year, for example, the fda directed us customs officials to begin seizing shipments of elf bar and ebdesign vapes, two brands owned by heaven gifts, one of the biggest e cigarette makers in china. the company, which also does business under the name shenzhen imiracle technology, simply continued importing its products to the us just under a new brand called ebcreate. tony abboud, executive director of the vapor technology association, a trade group that lobbies on behalf of e cigarette companies in washington, says the fda’s approach hasn’t been effective and will only result in consumers losing access to products he argues are less harmful than combustible cigarettes. “they are attempting to enforce prohibition, and everyone knows that doesn’t work,” abboud says. over the past few weeks, wired visited three smoke shops in los angeles, a city located in one of only a handful of states where flavored nicotine vapes have been outlawed entirely. all three stores were selling disposable vapes equipped with lcd displays imported from china in flavors like “miami mint” and “frozen blackberry fab.” they each prominently displayed a particular model called the geek bar pulse, which is advertised as containing 15,000 puffs of nicotine and comes in a box that says it was produced in dongguan, a city about an hour away from shenzhen by car. two of the smoke shops were also selling another, perhaps even more innovative product: a vape with a soft silicon exterior that can be squeezed like a stress ball, dubbed the topshine squeeze 10000. one online seller offering the same vape for $13.99 boasted that “these cute and adorable disposables will handle your smoke free life stress instantly.” our latest scoop reveals the young, inexperienced engineers aiding elon musk’s government takeover in your inbox: get plaintext steven levy's long view on tech see the thousands of apps hijacked to spy on your location big story: the king of ozempic is scared as hell uncanny valley: an insider look at the influence of silicon valley more 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supported by agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy flavored and nicotine laden vapes that have flooded the u.s. market from overseas. by christina jewett a multi agency coalition of law enforcement agents will begin tackling the unruly market of illegal e cigarettes, under pressure from antismoking groups, lawmakers and the tobacco industry urging federal authorities to stop the flood of vaping devices favored by adolescents. the justice department and the food and drug administration announced the new effort, which is expected to target fruit  and candy flavored vapes containing high levels of addictive nicotine. the new coalition would include the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives; the u.s. marshals service; the federal trade commission and the u.s. postal service, tapping into federal laws that could include significant fines and jail terms. “unauthorized e cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of americans   particularly children and adolescents   across the country,” benjamin c. mizer, the acting associate attorney general, said. until now, enforcement efforts have largely involved warning letters and limited penalties issued by the f.d.a. to various vendors like gas station and convenience store owners, ordering them to stop selling the items. those initiatives have been criticized as unsuccessful by congressional lawmakers and others, who have pushed the agency to do more to keep illegal e cigarettes from entering the united states. traditional tobacco companies, including reynolds american, have also asked the f.d.a., which regulates tobacco, to banish the illicit products that are in competition with their own e cigarettes. their call for flavored vape enforcement, though, has ended at the u.s. border. british american tobacco, reynolds’ parent company, has said it marketed its vuse go vapes in flavors like mango ice and blue raspberry in 46 countries.

 by olivia anderson june 18, 2024 by olivia anderson june 18, 2024 the food and drug administration and the department of justice announced a new federal agency task force aimed at combatting illegal sales and distribution of e cigarettes. the ada has previously advocated for mitigating unauthorized e cigarette products, including flavored products that put young people at risk. the june 10 announcement follows criticism from lawmakers and public health groups who have pointed to illicit products entering the country. the task force will include the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives; the u.s. marshals service; the u.s. postal inspection service; and the federal trade commission to fight the illegal distribution and sale of e cigarettes. other agencies may join the task force in the coming months. the task force will focus on investigating and prosecuting new criminal, civil, seizure and forfeiture actions, as well as the federal food, drug and cosmetic act. the goal is the seizure of unauthorized products, which will, in turn, make illegal e cigarettes less accessible, including to american youth. at present the fda has authorized the sale of 23 specific tobacco flavored e cigarette products and devices, meaning these are the only e cigarette products that currently may be lawfully marketed and sold in the country. the ada signed onto a may 22 coalition letter encouraging the fda, doj and u.s. customs and border protection to “use all the enforcement tools at their disposal against manufacturers, distributers, wholesalers and retailers” to clear the market of unauthorized e cigarette products. “despite the fact that fda has denied marketing authorization for millions of flavored e cigarette products, several studies have shown that the number of e cigarettes on the market has increased and that these products have gotten larger in volume, stronger in nicotine strength and cheaper to buy,” the letter states.