Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging them to work with the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency to prevent illegal vaping products from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from entering the United States. More than half of all vaping products sold in the United States are e-cigarettes and related accessories, which are imported from the PRC. The congressman was joined by Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) in sending the letter.
The lawmakers emphasized to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf the degree to which PRC vaping products directly contribute to youth vaping by skirting a national import ban. The letter requests that the FDA commissioner provide a response by March 1, 2024. This comes two months after the lawmakers and other members of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent their initial letter to the FDA and the Department of Justice on the harmful effects of vaping on Dec. 7, 2023.
“Illegal vaping products from the PRC now make up more than half of all vaping products sold in the United States and contribute significantly to underage vaping rates,” the letter states. “We also learned from the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) that many illegal vaping products shipped from the PRC are intentionally declared or manifested incorrectly. The packages are often mislabeled as consumer electronic goods such as flashlights, LED lights, or alarm clocks, making it difficult for CBP to efficiently find and seize illegal vaping products. For that reason, we encourage you to keep the interagency ‘red list’ of illegal vaping products subject to seizure as up to date as possible.”
