When President Donald Trump pledged to “save vaping again” on the campaign trail, he was standing up for businesses and consumers looking for alternatives to cigarettes. That promise builds on the policy he championed in his first term — one that struck a balance between keeping vaping products available for adults while addressing concerns about youth access.

Back then, his Food and Drug Administration took a targeted approach: restricting flavors in pod-based vape systems while preserving access to open-tank systems for adult smokers seeking an off-ramp from traditional cigarettes. It was a policy rooted in common sense: supporting American entrepreneurs while ensuring that vaping remained a tool for harm reduction, not a gateway for youth addiction.

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As Trump begins his second term, there’s a real risk that his promise to vapers and small businesses will be misinterpreted — or worse, hijacked by bad actors pushing policies that serve their own interests. Some lobbying organizations are already making noise about “saving the industry,” but they’re conspicuously vague about what that actually means.

Let’s be clear about what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean giving free rein to Chinese smugglers flooding our country with illegal, disposable vapes. It doesn’t mean allowing illicit factories in Shenzhen to dictate the future of vaping in America. And it certainly doesn’t mean undermining American small businesses in favor of an unchecked black market.

For the past four years, China’s underground vape industry ran wild. Shenzhen-based factories ramped up production, flooding the U.S. market with billions of illegal, disposable vapes — many of them landing behind the counters of convenience stores across the country. Walk into any gas station and you’ll see brands such as GEEK and Elf Bar. These products aren’t authorized by the FDA, aren’t manufactured in facilities inspected to ensure cleanliness and consistency, and don’t contribute to the new golden age of American innovation. They’re being smuggled in, plain and simple.

This isn’t just a regulatory failure — it’s a national security and public health risk. No one is ensuring that these products meet safety standards or that they do not contain dangerous contaminants. What we do know is that these smuggled vapes are evading our laws, avoiding accountability, and siphoning billions of dollars out of the U.S. economy while putting consumers at risk.

Trump’s “America First” agenda was never about putting Chinese smugglers first. And the good news is, he doesn’t have to choose between cracking down on illegal imports and protecting American small businesses. He can do both.

The path forward is the same one he started in his first term:

• Make FDA regulatory pathways easier to navigate so that law-abiding manufacturers of all sizes can participate in the regulated marketplace.
• Ensure that all e-cigarettes sold in the United States have been evaluated by the FDA, including flavored products.
• Strengthen efforts to prevent youth access to and appeal of e-cigarettes using new technologies.
• Improve public education about vaping and other safer alternatives to cigarettes as a harm reduction tool for adult smokers.

TARIFFS DON’T LIVE UP TO TRUMP’S HYPE

By reaffirming and fully implementing this framework, Trump can truly save the vaping industry, not for China but for America. This approach protects American small businesses, gives adult smokers access to safer alternatives, displaces Chinese flavored products in favor of ones made in America, and maintains the law-and-order principles that define the president’s leadership.

Let’s stop muddying the waters. Illegal vapes from China don’t deserve a place in America’s market, and they certainly don’t deserve Trump’s protection. It’s time to clear them off the shelves and refocus on what really matters—American innovation, American freedoms, and American lives.

David Mansdoerfer served as a Senior Executive at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the first Trump administration.