Middlemen help Chinese vapes get into US

Importers, customs brokers focus of raids

- EMMA RUMNEY KAYLEE KANG TOM POLANSEK

From an office a 15-minute drive from Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport, one small firm helped import millions of unauthorised Chinese-made vapes last year alone, forming a key link in the supply chain feeding US demand for illegal e-cigarettes.

In a little over four years, the firm, a customs brokerage run by a man named Jay Kim, became a go-to broker for the Chinese vape industry. The firm worked on 60% of all shipments of vapes and vape parts from China to the US in 2024 registered by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a Reuters analysis.

“A lot of them have FDA authorisation,” Mr Kim said in an interview in his office in April, referring to the vape shipments his firm handled.

However, FDA data on imports into the US of FDA-regulated goods such as tobacco products or medicines showed the products Mr Kim's firm helped bring into the United States included unauthorised brands like Lost Mary and Geek Bar.

The FDA has declared those brands illegal to import or sell, warning their array of fruit and candy flavours may appeal to children. The agency says nicotine can harm developing brains, and impact attention, learning and mood in young people, who can get hooked more easily on the addictive chemical.

A Lost Mary spokesperson said it had no connection or contact with Mr Kim's firm, and flavours play a key role in helping adult users quit smoking. The maker of Geek Bar did not respond to a request for comment.

The Chinese city of Shenzhen is the biggest source of vapes, both legal and illegal, coming into the United States. In 2024, China exported more than 26 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) in vapes to the US, according to Chinese customs data. But US customs figures show only $333 million in Chinese vapes were officially received in the US that same year.