The Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice announced a new partnership Monday to tackle the increasing sales of illegal electronic cigarettes, a multibillion-dollar industry that continues to circumvent federal oversight.
“Enforcement against illegal e-cigarettes is a multipronged issue that necessitates a multipronged response,” Brian King, director for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a press statement.
The FDA will partner with several agencies within the DOJ, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Marshals Service, and the U.S. Postal Service.
“Unauthorized e-cigarettes and vaping products continue to jeopardize the health of Americans, particularly children and adolescents, across the country,” said Benjamin Mizer, acting associate attorney general for the DOJ. “The establishment of this task force makes clear that vigorous enforcement of the tobacco laws is a government-wide priority.”
The 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey found a substantial drop in the use of vaping products among high school students, from 5.3 million to 2.1 million in 2019. One in 10 high schoolers and one in 20 middle schoolers, however, reported using e-cigarettes.
Although the FDA has authorized nearly two dozen tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products, thousands of unauthorized vaping products continue to enter the U.S., largely from China.
As of January, nearly 12,000 vaping products were being sold in the U.S., up 27% since June 2023.
King said the new task force “will bring the collective resources and experience of the federal government to bear on this pressing public health issue.”
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In December, the FDA, in partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, seized more than $18 million in unauthorized e-cigarettes from a cargo shipment processed at the Los Angeles International Airport. The shipment contained significant amounts of Elf Bar products, a brand popular with high school and middle school vapers.
The DOJ added in the press statement that it will also pursue criminal and civil enforcement actions under laws requiring online sellers of tobacco products to register with the ATF and verify the age of the purchaser at the point of sale and point of delivery.