For the first time since May, the Food and Drug Administration is set to have new leadership, as Dr. Heidi Overton undergoes her confirmation hearing following her nomination by President Donald Trump. However, no matter who the next FDA commissioner is, there’s no doubt America’s illicit vape crisis will loom large over their early priorities. More than 80% of vapes on the market are illicit products. But, with such a huge problem also comes great opportunities for Overton to make quick progress that appeals to both sides of the aisle.
Thanks to Chinese manufacturers and criminal cartel networks, the American vape market is flooded with illegal products, and little has been done to remedy this crisis. The FDA rests on a backlog of roughly 26 million pending product applications, yet only 48 e-cigarettes are currently authorized for sale. Of those 48, even fewer remain on the market due to a lack of sales, while other previously denied products still line store shelves. While China rakes in over $11 billion worth of illicit revenue, our American retailers and distributors are left playing a guessing game about which products can and cannot be sold.
Therein lies the core issue. When no one can say with confidence which products are good to go, the illicit vapes manufactured overseas and channeled through criminal networks become that much harder to pull from the shelves. Law enforcement has seen some wins in busting illegal drug shipments, but they don’t have the necessary bandwidth or clarity to close all the gaps in this black market. As a result, law-abiding retailers lose out financially to products that shouldn’t be available in the first place. American businesses shouldn’t be disadvantaged for following the law, while pop-up vape shops continue to take customers and funnel revenue back to China.
The fix here is straightforward: the FDA needs to finish its backlog of pending vape product reviews and publish a clear, searchable registry of approved and rejected individual vape products. With a fully transparent list, retailers could verify product compliance in a matter of seconds, state and federal law enforcement could identify illicit operators with greater efficiency, and consumers could know what it is they’re actually buying.
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This list isn’t something that would require new legislation or years of decision-making. In fact, the FDA issued guidance earlier this year in which they agreed to create this list of products. This creates a golden opportunity for Overton to simply make this list public and ensure the FDA prioritizes pending applications to both aid enforcement efforts and foster a legal market of products that sufficiently meets demand. Doing this would send a powerful message to businesses at home and adversaries abroad that America is serious about cleaning illicit vapes off our streets.
It’s time to let our foreign competitors know that the United States will no longer stand by as these untested and unregulated products flood our communities. Every day that passes without clarity is another day the illicit market continues to embed itself. Committing to clearing the extensive product backlog and creating a thorough registry is the key to putting a demonstrable dent in the flood of illegal vapes into our country. Overton can be the sea change we need in this fight against illicit vapes, and I’m hopeful she’ll take this opportunity to make a lasting impact.
Paul Teller, president of Teller Strategies, spent more than 15 years working for U.S. House and Senate conservatives and all four years in the Trump-Pence White House.