Illegal E-cigarettes Account For As High As 85% in The United States: Trump Team Initiates Reforms, Aiming To Reshape FDA Regulation

According to a report by the US newspaper News on November 25th,
The scale of the illegal e-cigarette market in the US is continuously expanding. According to various estimates, currently, among the e-cigarette devices sold in the US, as much as 85% have not been authorized by the FDA and are in an illegal state. In the first year of Trump's second term, this issue was listed as a key area for governance, and the federal level is promoting stronger law enforcement and regulatory reforms.
The article points out that the tobacco products center of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long had a backlog of authorizations, with many products waiting for several years without obtaining approval, and the supply of legal alternatives is insufficient, leading to the rapid expansion of unregulated products in the market. Multiple law enforcement actions have shown that the illegally seized e-cigarettes mainly come from China and attract minors with game screens, sweet flavors, etc.
Recently, the US Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services jointly seized illegal e-cigarette products worth $86.5 million, raising concerns about regulatory loopholes. According to reports, critics believe that the Biden administration failed to promptly authorize more legal low-harm nicotine alternatives and did not adequately curb large-scale illegal imports from overseas, exacerbating the expansion of the black market. They accused the former head of the FDA tobacco center of not establishing an effective law enforcement system and making it difficult for retailers to determine which products are illegal.
In the context of continuous regulatory backlog, the FDA was required to review and approve applications within 180 days according to the law, but in reality, it has never reached this standard, resulting in millions of adult consumers lacking legal alternatives. A think tank report pointed out that if the FDA could accelerate the approval process, diversified compliant products would help "squeeze out the black market space and protect teenagers".
Currently, the Trump administration and Congress are promoting reforms, including strengthening law enforcement inspections, accelerating the approval of legal products, etc. The new FDA director stated that he will promote modernized regulatory methods and increase law enforcement frequency to deal with the large-scale illegal e-cigarette market that has already become a scale.