The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized a shipment of 53,700 unauthorized e-cigarette products valued at more than $1.08 million. FDA collaborated on the joint operation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which is part of the recently announced federal multi-agency task force to address the illegal distribution and sale of e-cigarettes.

“FDA will continue to use the full scope of our enforcement tools—including product seizures—to hold bad actors throughout the tobacco product supply chain accountable,” said Brian King, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). “This action demonstrates how collaboration across the federal government is critical to combat the importation of unauthorized e-cigarettes into the United States.”

The shipment was seized at the Chicago port of entry, but the actual products were intended for a wholesaler based in Mississippi, FDA said.

The seized shipment, which arrived in the United States from China, included 179 boxes of unauthorized e-cigarettes that were mislabeled as other items. When FDA and CBP examined the products, they determined the shipment violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and accordingly initiated seizure procedures.

In addition to product seizures, to date, FDA has issued 680 warning letters to firms for manufacturing, selling, and/or distributing illegal unauthorized new tobacco products, issued more than 600 warning letters to retailers for the sale of unauthorized tobacco products, and filed civil money penalty complaints against 60 manufacturers and more than 140 retailers for distribution and/or sale of unauthorized tobacco products.