Here are images of specific products cited by the U.S. FDA as targeting minors.
CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey’s office has issued a consumer alert about Chinese vape products that look like smartphones and other smart devices, which may be attractive to youth.
McCuskey’s office says these products hide the fact that they are vaping devices, making them harder for parents to detect. The Attorney General’s office also says Chinese vape products are flooding into the state and country through mislabeling and deception, noting reports that say about 90 percent of the Chinese vape products entering the United States go undetected.
McCuskey
“China is sending billions of dollars of vape products to the United States, but they intentionally mislabel these products to avoid FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) regulation,” McCuskey said. “We don’t know what’s in these products, so adults should be aware of that risk.
“The Chinese government has banned many of these products in its own country because of high nicotine concentration, flavoring, and marketing. But my biggest concern is that China is building vapes into games and smart devices to market these illegal Chinese products to our children.”
McCuskey and 27 other state attorneys general have urged the Trump administration to continue and to strengthen their efforts to crack down on China and others distributing these harmful products in the United States.
The Attorney General’s office says state and federal officials have found vaping devices to contain urine, methamphetamine and even heroin.
While his office works with the Trump administration on the issue, McCuskey still asks West Virginians to be vigilant.
“I’m a dad to two girls, so I understand parents’ constant worry,” McCuskey said. “We all want to protect our kids, and that job is harder when foreign actors directly target them.
I hope to inform the public of this danger while we work with the Trump Administration to stop the problem at its source.”
