U.S. Officials Report Seizures of Illicit Chinese Vapes

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported on May 13 that it confiscated more than 18 million illegal vaping units valued at over $175 million. 1 million illicit vaping products from five distributors and six retailers across seven states, working with the Food and Drug Administration.

Chinese manufacturers shifted to direct international sales after a 2022 domestic ban on flavored vapes, according to Wired. The country's vaping sector reached an estimated $28 billion valuation by 2023, the Associated Press reported. Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom at the Reason Foundation, told a House Oversight Committee hearing in April 2025 that FDA regulatory bottlenecks had allowed illicit products to fill demand, with nearly 90 percent of e-cigarettes sold being illegal and mostly Chinese-made disposables.

Illicit vaping products have been found to contain formaldehyde, lead, and acrolein, substances the FDA described in a September 2025 statement as materials more commonly found in industrial textiles and pesticides. The DEA has investigated vape shops near military bases, many owned by foreign nationals targeting active-duty personnel.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole stated in September 2025 that illegal vape products pose hidden risks, especially to young people who often have no idea what chemicals they are inhaling. Former ATF Assistant Director Richard Marianos told the Daily Caller News Foundation that nearly all criminal vapes have ties to China through manufacturing or components.

He said many shops selling these products are licensed despite links to narcotics activity and called for tighter regulations and coordinated enforcement involving parents, teachers, and law enforcement. Republican South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson and other lawmakers sent a March 2025 letter urging the Trump administration to address the influx of unauthorized Chinese-made e-cigarettes.