Bipartisan Effort Targets Illicit Chinese Vapes

(AURN News) — Despite intense political polarization in the United States, a major public health concern is bringing Democrats and Republicans together: the rise of illicit Chinese vapes entering the U.S. market.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is partnering with Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, to advance legislation aimed at curbing the import of illegal and potentially dangerous vaping products.
Cornyn’s Ensuring the Necessary Destruction (END) of Illicit Chinese Tobacco Act would grant the Food and Drug Administration new authority to destroy imported illicit vapes and tobacco products. The bill recently passed the Senate.
“This legislation would crack down on China’s counterfeit cash cow that’s corroding our nation’s health and extend the FDA’s destruction authority to these dangerous imported tobacco products,” Cornyn said in a statement.
Rep. Van Duyne says illicit vapes pose serious health and safety risks to Americans.
“These dangerous and counterfeit products have been flooding into our country from places like China. The END Act will give federal agencies the tools that they need to destroy these counterfeit or misbranded goods before they reach our shelves,” she said.
Democrats including Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., and Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., are also supporting efforts to curb the dangers illicit vapes pose to young adults and children.