In a move that is both welcome and long overdue, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently announced the seizure of nearly $34 million worth of unauthorized e-cigarettes during a coordinated operation at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. The scale and scope of this joint action – nearly 1.4 million units of illegal products – signals a critical shift: enforcement against the illicit vapor market is no longer just theoretical.
This follows an announcement by the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) that it has ramped up its enforcement game, issuing dozens of warning letters and imposing civil money penalties on retailers found to be selling unauthorized disposable vapes. These include brands like Elf Bar, Esco Bar, and Lost Mary, which have dominated the illicit vaping market.
These actions mark a pivotal escalation in the fight against illicit vapor products. But they also highlight the limits of enforcement operations that rely more on muscle than on modern technology, as well as highlighting the importance of another often-overlooked ingredient: political will.
The FDA and CBP’s joint port seizure is commendable. It demonstrates a coordinated, large-scale effort to shut down a pipeline of illicit products, many of which are manufactured in China under the auspices of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration and exported specifically for illegal sale in the US. These brands are not only unauthorized, but are, in many cases, explicitly banned for import into the US and subject to import alerts.
Yet, despite thousands of warning letters, multiple import bans, and high-profile seizures, the US still finds itself in a troubling position: according to industry experts, more than two thirds of the $11.7 billion US vapor market is illicit – dominated by flavored disposables that skirt regulation and law enforcement.
However, there is one notable and encouraging shift: public officials are finally speaking out. In recent months, political leaders have begun to voice frustration with the status quo. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, in a press release, stated that ‘seizures of illegal e-cigarettes keep products that haven’t been authorized by the FDA out of the United States and out of the hands of our nation’s youth’, and in interviews has reiterated that ‘Chinese smugglers are laughing at us and we are going to stop it.’ Furthermore, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy, Jr, at a recent US Senate Committee Hearing regarding CTP operations, reiterated the stance of the US government stating: ‘we are going to wipe out illicit vapes off the market’.
These statements are an important shift in America’s battle against illicit vapor products, and they will continue to reverberate across the entirety of US enforcement operations. Strong political will address this issue is the foundation of any effective enforcement regime.
As noted in my previous analysis of the UK’s new vaping duty stamp program (TSTN May 2025), enforcement alone cannot solve an illicit trade problem – especially in an age when illicit products are sophisticated, fast-moving, and often disguised with seemingly legitimate authentication labels.
In fact, many of the products seized or targeted in recent operations feature QR codes, scratch-off verification codes, and holographic seals. These are not cheap knock-offs. They are professionally packaged, consumer-ready goods – illicit in every legal sense yet dressed in the trappings of legitimacy.
This creates a critical problem: retailers, consumers, and even some enforcement officials may not be able to tell what’s legal and what’s not. Without a centralized product registry or public-facing verification system tied to PMTA (Premarket Tobacco Product Application) approval status, even the best-trained border agents and inspectors are flying partially blind.
To capitalize on this enforcement momentum and effectively dismantle the illicit vape market, the US must go beyond reactive seizures and embrace proactive, tech-enabled enforcement. Based on global best practices – and our firm’s direct experience across multiple regulatory regimes – five imperatives stand out:
1.Establish a centralized product registry linked to PMTAs – every authorized vapor product should be tied to a verifiable digital registry accessible to law enforcement, retailers, and consumers. If a product isn’t in the system, it’s not legal – period.
2.Make tech the backbone of vape enforcement – just as the UK is coupling its new vape tax with a digital stamp program, the US should require serialized identifiers or machine-readable codes on all authorized products, enforceable at both the point of entry and point of sale to quickly verify PMTA status.
3.Deploy real-time product verification tools – a public-facing app or scanning tool could allow anyone to verify whether a product’s QR code or security seal is valid and tied to a PMTA-approved product. This would empower retailers to self-police and help consumers avoid being duped.
4.Ban authentication labels on unauthorized products – security providers must not issue authentication markings to products that are not legally authorized for sale. Doing so misleads consumers and facilitates illicit trade. Enforcement agencies should pursue civil or criminal penalties for companies that continue this practice.
5.Strengthen the federal taskforce already established under the Department of Justice (DOJ) – the US already established a multi-agency federal enforcement taskforce, headed by the DOJ, FDA and CBP, of which the aforementioned seizure is one result.
Yet, various other fragmented enforcement operations at state level, by attorney generals, and state and local law enforcement, need to be integrated into the taskforce to increase enforcement effectiveness. A unified taskforce combining, federal, state and local efforts focused solely on vapor enforcement – with investigative authority and digital intelligence capabilities – is essential.
The recent FDA/CBP actions, and the increasingly vocal stance of public officials, are signs that Washington is beginning to grasp the scale – and urgency – of the illicit vapor problem. But unless these efforts are paired with a modern digital infrastructure – one that can track, verify, and flag illicit products in real time – they risk becoming yet another episode in a long-running game of enforcement ‘whack-a-mole’.
The US has an opportunity to learn from past missteps and global innovations. By modernizing enforcement, bolstering political resolve, and building out a product-level traceability system, regulators can finally turn the tide on a rampant illicit market operating in plain sight.
Now is the time to move from sporadic seizures to strategic suppression. And the only way to do that is by putting technology – and the political will to use it – at the heart of vapor enforcement.
Sven Bergmann is the CEO of Venture Global Consulting Group and advises brand owners, technology providers and governments on anticounterfeit strategies, programs and technologies. Send your comments to sbergmann@vgcg.com.
