China’s dangerous vapes were on display in Miami-Dade — it’s time to crack down | Opinion

This past weekend, thousands of unregulated, untested and unapproved flavored vape products were on display at the Alternative Products Expo in Wynwood. From now on, to keep our community safe, we must keep Chinese vapes out of Miami-Dade.

Right now, communities across the country, including right here in Miami-Dade, are being flooded with foreign e-cigarettes in kid-friendly flavors and packaging.

This is due to gaps in our federal regulatory system and lack of enforcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which the Biden administration did not prioritize or, worse, flat-out ignored.

There are millions of applications submitted to the FDA for e-cigarette products, yet only 34 have gained approval. With so few legitimate American-made products being authorized by the FDA, this has created a demand which has been filled by bad actors pushing illicit, unregulated products.

When you couple that with the FDA’s weak enforcement efforts, it creates a recipe for disaster that has only intensified over the last four years. While the Biden administration slept, dangerous vapes have crept into the hands of our children.

Today, 90 % of vapes are illegally imported from China, and Florida is No. 1 in the nation for illicit vape sales.

There is a sophisticated network of Chinese state-sponsored manufacturers at work aligned with Mexican cartels who exploit this trade to bankroll violent criminal enterprises, compromising our border security and making millions from preying on Florida’s children at the expense of their health and safety.

While youth smoking of traditional cigarettes is at a historic low, there is a swell in the use of illicit e-cigarettes among underage youth, according to the most recent National Youth Tobacco Survey.

The brands teens are most likely to be drawn to are the very ones that are unauthorized: Lost Mary, Geek Bar and Mr. Fog, to name a few, are packaged with cartoon characters and come in a variety of candy-like flavors.

Dangerous players also lurk. A Florida LLC is currently being sued in New York for illegal and fraudulent business practices that targeted underage users. Certainly, we can all agree that no company should market highly addictive, candy- and fruit-flavored nicotine products to underage consumers.

Many dangerous brands were proudly showcased right here in our own backyard during the Alternative Products Expo.

Thankfully, our Republican Florida lawmakers recognize the crisis and are stepping up to protect our children. Gov. Ron DeSantis last year signed into law House Bill 1007 to help ensure that vape manufacturers are required to register with the state and certify their products are compliant with both federal and Florida law. However, we need even more enforcement to stop predatory Chinese manufacturers from marketing their products to children without penalty.

As we kick off the “Golden Age of America,” protecting our next generation is a top priority for all Republicans.

I commend Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody who just communicated with new FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to take control of this epidemic on behalf of parents, children and our national security.

I believe under the new leadership of President Donald Trump, the FDA can stop the flow of this illicit market and put a stop to foreign actors and cartels exploiting communities across America.

We must take a stand against this criminal behavior and condemn those putting our children at risk.

Kevin Cooper is the chairman of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade.

This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 7:09 PM.