The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized $76 million worth of unauthorized e-cigarettes, the agencies announced on Tuesday, USA Today reports. The seizures stemmed from a July joint operation aimed at examining incoming shipments and preventing the e-cigarettes from entering the country, and involved about 3 million units of illegal e-cigarettes, according to the agency. “The FDA is on high alert and, in coordination with our federal partners, remains committed to stopping unauthorized e-cigarettes at our nation’s borders,” FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in the release. “These products too often end up in kids’ hands, and the newly formed federal task force is well positioned to collectively combat this unscrupulous activity.”
The FDA and Department of Justice announced the joint federal task force in June to "curb the distribution and sale of illegal e-cigarettes." In July, the FDA had threatened seizing products when it issued warning letters to online retailers selling unauthorized e-cigarette items under the brand names Geek Bar, Lost Mary and Bang. Months before the seizure of the e-cigarettes, the team reviewed shipping invoices, identified "potentially violative" incoming shipments and completed other investigative work, according to the FDA's release. While examining the shipments, which all originated in China, the team found various brands of illegal e-cigarettes, the agency said. To evade duties and detection, the unauthorized e-cigarettes were intentionally misbranded as actual vaping products, including from Geek Bar and others, the FDA said. The illegal e-cigarettes did not have any connections to the real vaping products and even contained incorrect values, according to the agency.
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