Guerra: Texas Steps Up to Eliminate Illicit Chinese Vapes

By law, every tobacco product sold in the U.S. is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet, millions of unregulated vapes are being smuggled into the country illegally by Chinese companies who are blatantly ignoring U.S. laws and regulations.

For years, China has been flooding communities across the United States – including in Texas – with illicit vape products. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently increased their efforts to stop this activity and in July last year seized 2 million illegal vapes worth $34 million in one month alone. As part of this effort, in Laredo, Texas, law enforcement uncovered a “25-foot-deep tunnel leading to what appeared to be a concealed room behind the business.”

These illegal products are clearly designed to attract kids. These products come in a variety of fruity and candy flavors and some even have kid-appealing built-in video games built into the screens. And make no mistake – they are clearly marketed to kids as I’ve seen advertisements for vapor products with trendy toys like LaBuBu dolls. What’s more, they’re designed to look like school supplies, phones, watches and hoodies. President Trump’s former Director of National Drug Policy pointed out that China “know[s] exactly what they’re doing. They’re wiping out an entire generation.”

These illicit vape products account for around two thirds of the U.S. market, generating at least $5 billion every year for Chinese manufacturers, revenue that studies have found goes straight into the coffers of the CCP. Many of these vapes contain chemicals and metals that are not just illegal in the U.S., but are also illegal for domestic sale in China.

While past lax enforcement at the federal and state level has, unfortunately, allowed these illicit vapes to flourish, Texas is now fighting back after passing Senate Bill 2024. This new law, which went into effect in September, bans the marketing and sale of these illicit Chinese vapes and increases penalties for those that fail to comply. For businesses that previously sold these products, this new law provides clarity, and for law enforcement, it provides the tools needed to help keep them off our streets and out of the hands of our children.

SB 2024 also adds real teeth to the law, making it a Class A misdemeanor – punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine – to sell illicit vapes, adding a new level of accountability to meet the rising threat.

Then in October, Governor Abbott took it a step further and bolstered law enforcement efforts by issuing an order to the Texas Department of Public Safety directing the agency to increase surveillance and enforcement at vape and smoke shops selling illicit products.

These common-sense measures provide a fair and level playing field for every legitimate business establishment to do their part in ending the circulation of China’s dangerous illegal vape trade.

Texas parents, teachers, and business owners alike deserve to know that local law enforcement and leaders in their communities are doing everything possible to keep these illegal foreign products out of the hands of children.

SB 2024 provides law enforcement the tools we need to hold bad actors accountable, helping ensure that goal is met while protecting Texans from dangerous vapes while cutting off a financial windfall for our main global adversary that has been undermining the health and safety of our future generations for too long.

Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by J.E. “Eddie” Guerra, who has served as sheriff of Hidalgo County since 2014. The column appears in the Rio Grande Guardian with the permission of the author.