Key points:
- The FDA is cracking down on “port shopping,” a tactic used by importers to reroute unauthorized Chinese vaping products through multiple U.S. ports to avoid detection.
- A national security report warns black market vape sales could reach $200 billion annually by 2030, largely fueled by disposables.
- Vape industry stakeholders say FDA policy failures — particularly the ban on flavored pods but not disposables — created the illicit market the agency now seeks to control.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is escalating efforts to block the flow of unauthorized vaping products from China, targeting a long-running loophole known as “port shopping.”
As regulators shift into enforcement mode, vape shop owners and harm reduction advocates warn the crackdown may harm small businesses — and reinforce the market dominance of Big Tobacco.
Driving the news:
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said last week that the agency is focusing on importers who exploit customs gaps by rerouting denied shipments of flavored disposable vapes through alternative U.S. ports — a practice known as port shopping. Once a shipment is denied at one entry point, it’s often reshipped to another port in hopes of clearing inspection.
“When I came into office, what I learned is that we were just sending them back to the manufacturer, who would put them on a ship, and they would go to the next U.S. port, something called port shopping,” Makary told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “They’re laughing at us because the FDA can only get through two to five percent of products that come into our ports, so basically 100% of the stuff was getting in. It was a porous border. So we’re taking action to look at confiscating and destroying these products.”
According to Makary, the agency is now prioritizing the seizure and destruction of illicit shipments rather than simply returning them to foreign exporters.
Why it matters:
An overwhelming share of flavored disposable vapes used in the U.S. are made in Shenzhen, China — many of them marketed under the brands Elf Bar, Lost Mary, and EBDesign. Though technically unauthorized, the products remain widely available in convenience stores and vape shops, largely due to inconsistent enforcement.
A report from Polaris National Security estimates that by 2030, black market sales of unauthorized disposable vapes could reach $200 billion annually, driven by rising demand, low prices, and regulatory chaos.
How we got here:
In 2020, the FDA banned flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (like JUUL pods), citing youth appeal, but exempted disposables — unintentionally creating a booming gray market for single-use flavored vapes.
The result: FDA has denied over 99% of flavored vape premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs), mostly from small U.S. firms, while Big Tobacco brands like NJOY (owned by Altria) continue to dominate the legal market.
“This enforcement campaign would be unnecessary if the FDA had authorized legitimate flavored products through its PMTA process,” said Amanda Wheeler in late-2022, as then president of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association. “Instead, they created a vacuum — and China filled it.”
The bottom line:
While the FDA’s crackdown on port shopping may reduce illicit imports in the short term, industry advocates argue it’s a Band-Aid on a wound the agency helped create. Without meaningful PMTA reform and flavor authorizations for legitimate small businesses, adult vapers may be left with fewer options, boost black markets — or turn back to combustible cigarettes.
