Feds Seize More Than 600K Illegal Vapes

Federal agents seized hundreds of thousands of illegal vaping products in raids across the country on Wednesday as the Trump administration moved to crack down on devices that are regularly used by teens in the US.

• Attorney General Pam Bondi, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other top federal officials traveled to Illinois to tout the seizures, which included more than 600,000 illegal products taken from a distributor outside of Chicago, officials said. They stood outside a warehouse flanked by colorful boxes of vapes in fruity flavors that officials say are being illegally sold at stores nationwide, the AP reports.

• "They're targeting children, young adults, college students and even members of our military," Bondi said. It's the latest attempt by law enforcement to staunch the flow of unauthorized vapes that have flooded into the US in kid-friendly flavors, often from China. Their influx has forced the FDA to try to eliminate thousands of illegal products sold by under-the-radar importers and distributors. The operation also targeted THC-infused vapes and products containing the illegal compound 7-OH, which has opioid-like effects, NBC News reports.
• Agents with the ATF, the FDA, and the US Marshals Service also seized illegal products from distributors and retailers in North Carolina, Arizona, New Jersey, Georgia, and Florida, federal officials said. The Justice Department also filed civil actions Wednesday seeking to halt illegal business practices happening at five distributors and five retailers. That follows undercover buys of illegal products that ATF agents carried out at distributors across the country last month, according to authorities.

• Bondi said the Justice Department would also not rule out bringing criminal charges, if warranted. "Make no mistake. Chinese companies are making billions of dollars off of these products," she said. "They're peddling them into our country."
• Vaping among teens skyrocketed in 2019, when more than a quarter reported using vapes daily, the AP reports. But use has declined in recent years, with fewer adolescents reporting vaping in 2024 than at any point in the last decade. Officials attributed that drop in part to more aggressive enforcement against retailers and manufacturers.
• The Vapor Technology Association blasted the FDA and federal officials, arguing the actions threaten to bankrupt thousands of small businesses, cost tens of thousands of jobs, and erase billions in tax revenue.
• In April, the Supreme Court upheld the FDA's refusal to approve flavored vapes. During his campaign last year, President Trump vowed to "save" vaping, saying he had "saved Flavored Vaping in 2019" and would do so again.