WASHINGTON, DC – The Justice Department and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a nationwide enforcement operation that resulted in the seizure of over 2.1 million unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes from five distributors and six retailers across seven states.
According to federal court filings, the companies involved had previously been warned by the FDA that their electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products required premarket authorization before being legally sold. Undercover purchases and inspections revealed that despite these warnings, the companies continued distributing unapproved vaping products.
The seizures were executed by the U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and other law enforcement agencies with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and FDA.
“These dangerous and unauthorized vapes are often smuggled in from China to be sold near schools and military bases, putting our kids and service members directly at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This is a national security issue, and this month’s raids are just the beginning.”
The DOJ also filed civil injunctions to block future sales by the companies and their owners, including:
- Florida: Tampa Vapor, Rainbow Food Mart, Marathon/Food Center, Blvd Smoke Shop, and UGAS/Circle K
- California: Smoke House Sunset
- Georgia: Strictly E-Cig
- New Jersey: Center Point Distributors and Gorilla Vapes
- Arizona: Vaportech Wholesale
- Illinois: Midwest Goods Inc.
- North Carolina: Dream Distro LLC
Each case was filed in federal court in the corresponding jurisdiction. Seized products were found to be adulterated or misbranded under federal law.
ENDS products must receive FDA marketing authorization before being sold in interstate commerce. In each of these cases, courts issued seizure warrants for unapproved products that violated those rules.
The operation was led by the Justice Department’s Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch, with support from U.S. Attorneys in affected districts and counsel from the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services.
