The Food and Drug Administration, in collaboration with the U.S. Customers and Border Protection, seized about 1.4 million units of unauthorized e-cigarette products with an estimated retail value of more than $18 million.
Products included Elf Bar, which is the most used brand among youth e-cigarette users, according to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey.
“The FDA is committed to continuing to stem the flow of illegal e-cigarettes into the United States,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. “Unscrupulous companies try everything they can to bring unauthorized, youth-appealing tobacco products into the country. The FDA will remain vigilant, and together with our federal partners, stop these imports before they make it into the hands of our nation’s youth.”
The seizures were part of a three-day joint operation, which resulted in the seizure of 41 shipments containing e-cigarettes, at a cargo examination site at the Los Angeles International Airport.
“The rise in illicit e-commerce demands that our agencies remain vigilant in intercepting shipments that could pose serious health risks to the public, including youth, while disrupting the supply chains that bring them to our borders,” said Troy Miller, senior official performing the duties of the commissioner for CBP.
The merchandise will be forfeited to the government and disposed of, according to the FDA. All shipments originated in China. To avoid duties and detection, many of these unauthorized e-cigarettes were intentionally mis-declared as various items such as toys or shoes and listed with incorrect values, the agency said.
In addition to Elf Bar, there were other flavored disposable e-cigarettes from EB Create products. Earlier this year, the manufacturer of Elf Bar began marketing the product under the names of EB Design and EB Create, the FDA said. Other seized brands included Lost Mary, Funky Republic, RELX Pod and IPLAY Max, according to the agency.
The FDA regularly addresses the importation of illegal e-cigarettes by placing certain firms on an FDA import alert red list, which allows the FDA to detain products without conducting a full inspection at the time of entry, the FDA said. In May, it placed brands like Elf Bar, Esco Bar and Eon Smoke on that red list.
The FDA has authorized 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices for sale through the premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) process. To date, it’s also issued more than 650 warning letters to companies for manufacturing, selling and/or distributing new tobacco products that lacked marketing authorization from the FDA.
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