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THE RISE OF COUNTERFEIT VAPES
Are flavour bans and stringent regulations fuelling the vaping black market ? And what does that mean for vapers and business owners ?
Words : Jordan Millar
As the vape industry has sky-rocketed over the last few years , so too has the market for illegal and dangerous counterfeit products .
In 2020 alone , US Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) intercepted over 26,500 vape shipments , valued at almost $ 1.3 billion , that failed to meet federal standards and copyright laws . While genuine brands offer adult smokers the chance to improve their health , a scourge of counterfeit sellers are putting consumers ’ lives on the line to make a quick buck . Flavour bans and endless tax hikes only worsen the problem say experts , with more and more vapers being forced into the waiting hands of the black market . Nancy Loucas of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates ( CAPHRA ) said : “ Banning any product is not the answer , nor is applying blanket cigarette rules to all emerging products . “ Bans encourage the black market and don ’ t allow for proper consumer protection .” Clive Bates , Director of The counterfactual , also commented on the relationship between overbearing prohibition and increased illegal trade , stressing that black market behaviour is ‘ unintended and unwelcome .’ He said : “ The fact that no one imposing these bans has taken this into account is the same kind of dumb failure that has led us into the war on drugs .” The US , in particular , has seen a spike in illicit products , with widespread antivape policy encouraging people to turn to underground sellers or return to more harmful tobacco cigarettes . Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) officers recently seized a shipment of illegal vape products at O ’ Hare International Airport in Chicago . Over 77,000 vape pens , worth an estimated $ 1.55 million , were in transit from Shenzhen , China , to a distribution company in Georgia .
The devices featured imagery from popular TV show ‘ Rick and Morty ’, but after consulting Warner Bros . Entertainment INC , it was revealed the products were fake . Shane Campbell , port director for
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