Contraband and Vaping: A Complex Reality

Contraband operates much like water; it seeks the path of least resistance. Close off one route, and it merely shifts elsewhere. This is a truth familiar to anyone who’s worked at a port of entry. It seems, however, that a group of U.S. senators is overlooking this lesson.

Earlier this month, the FDA did something unprecedented. After years of research, they approved four vaping products from Glas Inc., a company based in Inglewood, California. This included two flavors that don’t contain tobacco. To achieve this approval, Glas had to navigate the FDA’s extensive premarket review, implementing stringent age verification measures—think ID checks, Bluetooth connections to registered phones, and random biometric scans—all designed to keep the devices out of minors’ hands.

Just days later, ten senators pushed for the agency to reverse its decision and remove these products from the market.

Such instincts are understandable. No one wants to see teenagers using vape products. Yet, anyone seasoned in smuggling and law enforcement can tell where this path leads—and it’s not where those senators might believe it leads.

The truth is straightforward: Americans seeking flavored vapes won’t be deterred by a letter from Washington. The primary concern is whether they’ll purchase a regulated product that the FDA oversees or an unregulated one smuggled in from overseas. Currently, the smugglers appear to be winning decisively.

The FDA estimates that most vapes sold in the U.S. are illegal, particularly those from China. About 80% of e-cigarette exports from China enter the U.S. without any FDA approval, with those exports exceeding $10 billion in 2025. Though around 6,000 vape products fill American shelves, only about 40 meet legal standards.

The black market is thriving, predominantly fueled by Chinese exports that are heavily flavored and easily accessible—even to minors, the very demographic that everyone is trying to protect. Recently, Customs and Border Protection captured over $175 million worth of these illegal devices in just one operation. The motivation for smugglers is clear: a single seizure of three million vapes represented only around four percent of a month’s exports from China.

Now, picture what happens if Washington decides to remove the few legal, age-gated products from the market. The demand doesn’t just ghost away. Instead, it diverts to disposable products made in Shenzhen, often featuring cartoon characters on the packaging, lacking any ID checks, and without any accountability.

We don’t even have to speculate about this situation; Massachusetts serves as a case study. When the state enacted a ban on flavored tobacco and vapes, sales didn’t disappear—they merely transferred across state lines.

Cigarette sales in neighboring New Hampshire jumped by 22% the following year. Massachusetts saw a significant rise in smuggling, climbing from twelfth to fourth place in terms of inbound illegal activities. The state’s own task force witnessed illegal vape seizures quadrupling over two years, resulting in a roughly 20% dip in tobacco tax revenue. Consumption levels hardly changed; they simply went underground and shifted out of the state.

This pattern isn’t new in American history. We’ve attempted to ban a popular product before, during Prohibition from 1920 to 1933. That didn’t put an end to drinking; instead, it cultivated organized crime and ultimately led to its repeal. Lawmakers recognized that a legally regulated product is preferable to one that’s banned and handled by criminals.

The senators advocating a ban on flavored vapes are looking at the equation all wrong. The real threat facing American children isn’t a California company that complies with FDA regulations; it’s the surge of anonymous, unregulated disposables pouring in from China, disregarding all safety measures. If the FDA’s decision gets overturned, it won’t stop that influx. Instead, it would eliminate the only legal option available and provide smugglers with a guaranteed customer base.

Interestingly, youth vaping has already fallen to its lowest level in over a decade, resting at around 5% of students—down significantly from years past—without any new flavor bans being enacted. The trend that’s causing concern is already moving in a favorable direction.

If the government is genuinely focused on curbing illegal vape products and protecting minors, the strategy should be to crack down on the illegal market while allowing the legal one to thrive. Surrendering control to illicit markets isn’t regulation; it’s giving up.