Bipartisan Group Urges DOJ, DHS and FDA to Take Action on Vapes From China
Three congressional representatives sent a letter to the heads of the DOJ, DHS and the FDA, urging them to act against e-cigarette imports from China.
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Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sent the letter asking "the agencies to take decisive action against the influx of illicit electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes, that are being smuggled into the United States, particularly from the People’s Republic of China."
They asked the agencies to "strengthen their partnership," noting that in recent months they have seized "more than 628,000 illegal e-cigarette products originating from the PRC intended for distribution across the United States."
Rising levels of vaping in America's youth are a "growing concern," and "the mislabeling of e-cigarette shipments, evasion of customs, and attempts to bypass U.S. Customs and Border Protection" indicate China's desire to "turn a blind eye" to the public health crisis.
They said that China's importation of vapes was "illegal" and "violates FDA regulations," because "any ENDS product that has not received marketing authorization from the FDA is on the market unlawfully." Chinese vape manufacturers also "exploit regulatory loopholes" and "actively evade FDA oversight" when they export these "unapproved and hazardous" vaping devices.
"The large-scale smuggling of these illicit vaping products -- accounting for more than half of all vapes sold in the U.S. -- undermines American public health priorities and contributes to a significant increase in youth vaping," they said. "Youth vaping as a general matter is dangerous and directly harms consumers, including minors in particular, but the continued importation of these unapproved products, often through deceptive transshipment tactics, also violates U.S. trade laws."