GAO report: DOJ struggles to curb illegal e-cigarettes

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviewed Department of Justice (DOJ) efforts to combat unauthorized e-cigarettes.

The findings:

• Three DOJ entities have key roles in e-cigarette enforcement – the Civil Division, U.S. Attorneys’ Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The attorney general last year directed ATF to shift resources away from its alcohol and tobacco enforcement programs, but it has continued to maintain the list of e-cigarette sellers not in compliance with statutory requirements.
• DOJ can pursue various enforcement actions to stop the manufacture, distribution, and sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009. The first prohibits the distribution of e-cigarette products that are adulterated or misbranded in interstate commerce. The second prohibits the sale and delivery of e-cigarettes that fail to comply with excise tax, shipping, and age verification requirements. DOJ may also pursue prosecutions under other criminal laws (e.g., laws related to conspiracy, wire fraud, and trafficking in counterfeit goods).

The numbers: DOJ took 88 civil and criminal enforcement actions related to e-cigarettes under these laws in FY 2022-2025.

• The largest number (60) were in FY 2025, primarily due to an increase in the number of entities placed on DOJ’s list of noncompliant e-cigarette delivery sellers.

Why it’s important: Large numbers of unauthorized e-cigarette products continue to be for sale in the U.S. The report suggests DOJ enforcement efforts lag far behind the scope of the problem.

• DOJ officials said the number of e-cigarette enforcement activities is small relative to their other responsibilities.
• Most DOJ enforcement actions (50 out of 88) were to add the names of remote e-cigarette sellers to a list of unauthorized businesses. The second-most common (20 out of 88) were injunctions to stop legal violations.
• A large seizure in 2024 equated to about 4% of China’s e-cigarette exports to the U.S. in a single month.
• The overwhelming majority of illicit vapes are sold in physical locations like gas stations, convenience stores, and vape shops, so there is also a mismatch between DOJ’s efforts and the actual retail landscape.

Read more: GAO report shows gap between scale of illegal vapes and enforcement