FDA & CBP Seize $34M Illegal E-Cigarettes in Chicago
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), announced the seizure of nearly two million units of unauthorized e-cigarette products in Chicago, carrying an estimated retail value of $33.8 million. The operation, which took place in February of this year, aimed to intercept and prevent illegal e-cigarettes from entering the U.S. market.
During the joint examination of incoming shipments, authorities uncovered a variety of illegal e-cigarette products, with almost all originating from China and destined for various states across the U.S. Investigators noted that many of these unauthorized shipments featured vague product descriptions and incorrect valuations, in an apparent attempt to evade duties and scrutiny regarding import safety. Among the seized items were several brands of unauthorized e-cigarettes, including Snoopy Smoke and Raz.
“The FDA, working with our federal partners, can and will do more to stop the illegal importation and distribution of e-cigarette products in the United States,” stated FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. He emphasized that such seizures keep unauthorized products out of the country and away from American youth.
This operation is part of ongoing coordinated compliance and enforcement actions by federal agencies. The FDA and CBP team identified potentially violative shipments through investigative work leading up to the seizures and implemented new internal efficiencies building on previous operations. Bret Koplow, Ph.D., J.D., Acting Director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, highlighted the increasing attempts to mislabel shipments to avoid detection, but affirmed the agencies’ success in preventing these unauthorized products from reaching the U.S. supply chain.
Most of the seized shipments violated the FDA’s Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act because the products lacked the mandatory premarket authorization orders required to be legally marketed or distributed in the U.S. Some products were also seized for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violations due to unauthorized use of protected trademarks. Standard procedure dictates that such forfeited unauthorized tobacco products will be destroyed.
In a novel step, the FDA also issued import informational letters to 24 tobacco importers and entry filers responsible for these illegal e-cigarettes. These letters advise recipients that making false statements to the U.S. government is a federal crime and request information on measures taken to ensure future compliance with federal tobacco laws. Firms are expected to respond within 30 days.
This Chicago operation follows other significant joint FDA-CBP actions, including a $18 million seizure at Los Angeles International Airport in 2023, a $7 million seizure in Miami, and previous Chicago operations in 2024 that netted over $77 million in illegal e-cigarettes. Beyond seizures, the FDA has issued over 750 warning letters to firms for unauthorized tobacco product activities and filed civil money penalty complaints against numerous manufacturers and retailers.
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