New York Senator Schumer warns about dangerous counterfeit vape pods from China

Dangerous vape products are flooding the US market warns New York Senator Chuck Schumer. These products are counterfeit vape pods that are compatible with the popular Juul e-cigarette devices. Juul e-cigarette devices can be bought everywhere in the US from drugstores to gas stations. Juul says its products are helping adults to quit smoking cigarettes but at the same time the company is also heavily marketing its products to young people who never smoked before and become addicted to vaping.

HARD TO DIFFERENTIATE THE REAL FROM THE FAKE

Counterfeit Juul vape pods manufactured in China have been invading the US market. Counterfeit are sometimes difficult to differentiate from real products and while the content of the real Juul vape pods is regulated, the content of the counterfeit is obviously not and can contain higher amount of nicotine or dangerous chemicals. Therefore Juul users might be at risk of vaping toxic products without knowing it. Additionally Chinese counterfeiters are not only copying popular Juul flavors such as Mango but also creating flavor branded with names that are appealing to children such as “juice box”, “candy cane” or “silky strawberry”. Such branding is illegal in the US.

Vaping is especially popular among high school students with almost 30% of them vaping on regular basis according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also found that 80% of children vape users use the candy-like flavors. This trend is alarming and some citieslike San Francisco are considering completely banning e-cigarrettes.

Senator Schumer asks the government to crack down on illegal importations of the product. He asked the regulators to turn their attention to internet sales where there is no age restriction to order vapes. He also wants the US Customs and Protection to do a better job at the border to prevent smugglers to get the products in the country and the FDA to work with shop owners to prevent fake products to be sold in stores.