While the FDA has approved very few American e-cigarette manufacturers, vapes are still available at gas stations across the country with entire shops dedicated to the products, many of which are from China.
While many of the products are technically illegal, the FDA currently has a hard time enforcing regulations for these products and states and retailers are unaware of the illicit nature.
“We estimate that more than half of the e-vapor category today is made up of illicit products,” Steve Callahan, managing director of Communications at Altria, an ESG lobbying organization, told The Center Square.
The FDA implemented a ban on most flavored vapes in 2020. The ban, however, only took U.S. made vapes off the markets, leaving Chinese manufacturers to fill the void.
Some vapes can contain fifty milligrams of nicotine as well as heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, nickel and lead, according to the National Institutes of Health.
According to Altria, three of the top five brands used by kids are illicit.
Altria is pushing for states to pass directories “requiring e-vapor manufacturers to register with the state and certify the products comply with federal regulation.”
Alaska and Oklahoma have already passed such legislation. Ten other states have introduced similar bills.
Altria says that state directories would require manufacturers to register with the state, clarify that their products are compliant with state and federal law, and face a fine if they violate those requirements.
The illicit vapes being sold by U.S. retailers are ready to use out of the box, which makes it easier for Chinese manufacturers to smuggle the products into the country, critics note.
“Chinese e-vapor companies shipping illicit e-vapor routinely ignore U.S. laws,” according to Altria.
One company, iMiracle Technology Co., is a major contributor to illicit vapes and has taken many back-alley actions to skirt U.S. customs, Altria says.
iMiracle “keeps changing names to avoid enforcement action at the border. From Elf Bar to Lost Mary to Funky Republic to EBDESIGN,” according to Altria.
“Eight Chinese companies are responsible for the majority of illicit e-vapor products sold in the U.S,” according to Altria.
IMiracle constitutes 22% of the market share.
Those manufacturers are all licensed by the Chinese Communist Party-owned China Tobacco.
“Part of the problem, as we have expressed in other contexts, is a pre-market review process yielding far too few authorized smoke-free options to meet adult consumer demand,” Altria said in a letter to the FDA.
The letter recommended 10 actions the FDA could take to address the illicit market. The recommendations include securing injunctions against the largest manufacturers, expanding the scope of import alerts, and collaboration with Customs and Border Protection.
“We recognize it is more difficult to bring injunction actions against foreign manufacturers,” Altria wrote. “But we believe most of the leading foreign manufacturers have corporate affiliates, directors, or officers based in the U.S., and many of these foreign manufacturers supply their products through U.S.-based distributors.”
