WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport teamed up with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to seize counterfeit e-cigarettes.
The team seized 33,681 units of e-cigarettes worth about $719,453. In December 2020, CBP seized 42 separate shipments arriving from China destined to various Texas counties. The shipments included individual disposable flavored e-cigarette cartridges resembling the Puff Bar brand, including Puff XXL and Puff Flow.
'Many counterfeit, unapproved or unauthorized products are likely produced in unregulated facilities with unverified ingredients posing a serious health concern to consumers. It is especially alarming when these types of counterfeit and unauthorized products find their way into the hands of children as studies indicate,' said CBP Port Director Timothy Lemaux.
Last year, the FDA had ordered Cool Clouds Distribution Inc. to remove their flavored disposable e-cigarettes and youth-appealing e-liquid products from the market because they do not have the required pre-market authorization.
'Protecting American consumers from illicit and especially harmful tobacco products, such as counterfeit or flavored e-cigarettes, is of utmost importance to the FDA,' said Judy McMeekin, Pharm.D., FDA Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. 'We will continue to investigate and remove from the marketplace products that pose a particular danger to the public health.'
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