Border Security Alliance responds to FDA red alert on illicit vapes, doubles down on call for stronger, comprehensive enforcement to save lives

PHOENIX – Border Security Alliance President Jobe Dickinson issued the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration’s red alert covering several illicit vape products manufactured in China, South Korea, and their U.S. importers, and reiterating the need for tougher enforcement across the board. This move by the FDA enables local, state, and federal officials to prevent the importation of products named in the red alert and remove them from store shelves.

"The FDA loophole that is allowing disposable, foreign-made vapes in youth-enticing flavors to pour into the United States is endangering kids’ lives. Shady manufacturers are exploiting the FDA’s lax enforcement and confusion among state and local authorities to get illicit vapes, many of which have been found to contain fentanyl, into the hands of children and teens.

"Today’s action by the FDA is an important step, but more must be done to keep kids safe. Federal, state, and local authorities must crack down on these products coming over the border and get them off the shelves. Too many parents have already lost children to the fentanyl epidemic. The FDA is out of excuses. It must act immediately and decisively to prevent disposable, foreign-made, flavored vapes from reaching kids by closing the loophole and enforcing the red alert. With the growing threat of fentanyl-laced vapes turning up in communities across the country, there has never been a more urgent time to act."