Federal Operation Seizes Nearly $34M in Illegal Vapor Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A joint operation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized more than 2 million units of unauthorized vapor products.
The operation occurred in Chicago in February and, according to federal authorities, the units had an estimated retail value of $33.8 million. The seizures were part of a joint federal operation to examine incoming shipments and prevent illegal e-cigarettes from entering the country.
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During this operation, the team uncovered shipments of various illegal e-cigarette products, almost all of which originated in China and were intended for shipment to various U.S. states. FDA and CBP personnel determined that, in an apparent attempt to evade duties and the review of products for import safety concerns, many of these unauthorized e-cigarette shipments contained vague product descriptions with incorrect values. Upon examining shipments, the team found several brands of unauthorized e-cigarettes, including Snoopy Smoke and Raz, according to a release on the operation.
"The FDA, working with our federal partners, can and will do more to stop the illegal importation and distribution of e-cigarette products in the United States," said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. "Seizures of illegal e-cigarettes keep products that haven't been authorized by the FDA out of the United States and out of the hands of our nation's youth."
In the lead up to this operation, the joint FDA and CBP team identified potentially violative incoming shipments and completed other investigative work. The team was also able to successfully implement several new internal efficiencies and procedures building off previous operations.
"We continue to see an increased number of shipments of vaping related products packaged and mislabeled to avoid detection," said Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products. "However, we have been successful at preventing these shipments from entering the U.S. supply chain — despite efforts to conceal the true identity of these unauthorized e-cigarette products."
Most shipments violated the FDA's Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act while some products were also seized for Intellectual Property Rights violations for unauthorized use of protected trademarks. All of the e-cigarette products seized in this operation lacked the mandatory premarket authorization orders from the FDA and therefore cannot be legally marketed or distributed in the United States, the agencies reported.
The FDA also sent for the first time import informational letters to 24 tobacco importers and entry filers responsible for importing these illegal e-cigarettes.
The FDA and CBP are members of a federal task force focused on e-cigarette enforcement. In July 2024, the two agencies announced it seized 53,700 unauthorized e-cigarette products valued at more than $1.08 million. The shipment was found at a Chicago port of entry and the unauthorized products were intended for a wholesaler based in Mississippi, Convenience Store News previously reported.
Additionally, the FDA and CBP announced in December 2023 that they seized approximately 1.4 million units of unauthorized e-cigarette products with an estimated retail value of more than $18 million. The seizures were part of a three-day joint operation, which resulted in the seizure of 41 shipments containing illegal e-cigarettes.