By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Mandatory destruction of rejected imports will sharply limit re-entry paths for illicit vapes and synthetic-nicotine products.
- The bill expands FDA/HHS power beyond tobacco, covering any unsafe FDA-regulated import deemed a public-health risk.
- Washington is signaling a sustained crackdown on gray-market nicotine supply chains and port-shopping loopholes.
Florida Senator Rick Scott has introduced the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act, legislation that would empower federal authorities to destroy products regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that are considered unsafe — including all unauthorized vaping products — and to prevent rejected shipments from being rerouted back into the United States through other ports.
Announced on December 1, the bill seeks to address long-standing enforcement challenges related to “port shopping,” where importers try to re-import goods that FDA has already refused at a previous port. Under the proposal, the Secretary of Health and Human Services would have the authority to order the destruction of any refused FDA-regulated item that poses “a significant public health concern,” removing options for re-importation or redistribution.
Rep. Clay Higgins is leading companion legislation in the House of Representatives. The proposal reflects similar policy efforts already gaining momentum in Congress. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed the END Illicit Chinese Tobacco Act, which created an enforcement framework allowing the FDA to destroy seized illegal and counterfeit tobacco products, including unauthorized e-cigarettes.
Scott’s bill expands that approach, giving the authority for mandatory destruction to cover not just tobacco but also any regulated product — contaminated foods, misbranded medical goods, adulterated cosmetics, and imported nicotine or vape products that break federal standards.
Advocates argue that the measure would close a significant operational gap. Current law allows the FDA to refuse a shipment but does not always mandate its destruction. In practice, rejected goods — including unauthorized disposable vapes and mislabeled nicotine e-liquid — have sometimes been redirected to other entry points or held by brokers hoping to re-route them with new manifests.
Scott described the legislation as a national safety measure aimed at bolstering the U.S. supply chain and stopping repeated efforts by what he calls “bad actors” to introduce hazardous products into American commerce.
“Americans should never be put at risk because bad actors, especially from companies in Communist China or other adversarial nations, continuously attempt to sneak dangerous and contaminated food and other products back into our country after being rejected,” Scott said. “My bill makes clear that if the FDA says a product is too hazardous for American families, it will not be allowed back into our markets under any circumstances.”
He added that the legislation “gives federal authorities the tools they need to destroy these shipments quickly and keep our supply chain and families safe.” For the nicotine industry, the bill signals continued bipartisan pressure on federal agencies to aggressively police unauthorized disposable vapes and synthetic-nicotine imports — an area where seizures have sharply increased.
The bill’s requirement that FDA-refused goods be destroyed, not redirected, could significantly tighten U.S. entry controls and reduce the volume of availability of unauthorized vaping and other nicotine products cycling through secondary ports.
The bill also reinforces a broader congressional trend: expanding the FDA’s enforcement reach against imported nicotine products rather than focusing solely on domestic compliance. If enacted, it would establish the most extensive mandatory-destruction authority the agency has had to date.
The House version introduced by Higgins maintains the same core provisions and proposes amendments to sections of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to explicitly criminalize the re-introduction of destroyed goods without authorization. Although the bill has not yet been scheduled for markup, it is expected to attract interest from committees responsible for trade, supply-chain security, and public health.
For nicotine manufacturers, distributors, and retailers navigating a more enforcement-focused environment, Scott’s proposal indicates that Washington is moving to close gaps that have allowed unauthorized disposable vapes, counterfeit nicotine products, and misdeclared imports to enter or re-enter the U.S. market.
