Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) on Monday introduced legislation aimed at preventing the re-importation of products deemed hazardous by the Food and Drug Administration. The proposal seeks to streamline the destruction process for illegal vaping products, unsafe medical items and contaminated food, Scott said in a statement.
The Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act would expand the authority of the secretary of Health and Human Services to destroy FDA-regulated products found to pose significant public health risks.
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) is sponsoring the House version of the bill.
“Americans should never be put at risk because bad actors, especially from companies in China or other adversarial nations, continuously attempt to sneak dangerous and contaminated food and other products back into our country after being rejected,” Scott said in a statement. He said the bill would ensure that any product the FDA deems hazardous “will not be allowed back into our markets under any circumstances.”
Scott said the measure is intended to strengthen public‐health protections, hold importers accountable and close the gap on “port shopping,” in which importers attempt reentry of dangerous goods at a different location.
A similar measure was recently passed as part of the fiscal 2026 agriculture appropriations bill, giving the FDA authority to destroy adulterated or counterfeit tobacco products, including unauthorized e-cigarettes from China
In November, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that the Ensuring the Necessary Destruction (END) of Illicit Chinese Tobacco Act had passed the Senate and was signed into law.
To date the FDA has authorized 39 e-cigarette products. These are the only e-cigarette products that currently may be legally marketed and sold in the United States.
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