The United States is flooded with Chinese vapes
At the end of March, a smoke shop in Dyersburg, Tennessee, announced the arrival of a new product in its store: a disposable nicotine vape with an LCD screen that can be connected to a smartphone via Bluetooth. Marketed under the RAMA brand, the strawberry and kiwi flavored vape looks more like a cell phone from the early 2000s than a classic e-cigarette. It allows users to customize the screen background, see how many nicotine puffs are left, and even track the device’s location using a companion app. “NEVER LOSE YOUR VAPE AGAIN!!!! » said Mk Smoke Shop in a Facebook post.
Far from being a one-off novelty, the RAMA model is part of a wave of technologically sophisticated and highly potent disposable vapes that have begun appearing on the shelves of smoke shops and convenience stores across the United States in recent months, according to industry data, social networks. media publications and other records accessed by WIRED.
Made almost exclusively in China, the vapes are colorful and come in eye-catching metallic finishes, soft silicone textures, and rounded shapes that fit comfortably in a person’s hand. But what really sets them apart are the LCD screens, which make the devices even more harmful to the environment than normal disposable vapes. And like the vast majority of all e-cigarettes available in stores, they are technically illegal and have not been approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
These so-called smart vapes are the product of an ongoing innovation boom in China’s $28 billion e-cigarette export industry. This was driven, in part, by the United States’ lax enforcement of nicotine regulations. The United States accounts for nearly two-thirds of China’s vape exports, according to the China Chamber of Electronic Commerce. From 2020 to 2023, the CDC Foundation estimates that sales of tobacco-free vapes in the United States jumped more than 60%, from 11.2 million to 18 million units.
As competition for the US market intensified, Shenzhen vape producers had to find ways to make their products stand out. They have therefore developed vapes that are more affordable, better designed and delivering higher doses of nicotine than their predecessors. In many cases, these innovations have allowed them to move up the e-cigarette value chain.
Robert Jackler, professor emeritus of head and neck surgery at Stanford University and founder of an interdisciplinary research group studying the impacts of tobacco advertising, said U.S. companies have long made vapes at Shenzhen. But after the Chinese government banned the sale of flavored vapes in 2022, Chinese suppliers began to focus more on marketing their own products directly to overseas customers.
“They eliminated the Americans,” Jackler said. Last year, the Associated Press reported that there were more than 9,000 types of vaping products available for sale in the United States, a nearly threefold increase since 2020.
The proliferation of disposable flavored vapes from China has alarmed U.S. and European lawmakers. Regulators say they are particularly concerned about the impact these devices have on children, who may find the sweet flavors and flashy designs they offer particularly appealing.
Related Posts
-
Panda All-you-can-eat Asian Buffet opens Summit Square
No Comments | Jun 26, 2024 -
The Kardashians and Gwyneth Paltrow swear by Chinese medicine. Here’s how to get the benefits at home
No Comments | Jun 20, 2024 -
An idea to fight against the invasive Asian carp: eat them
No Comments | Jul 31, 2024 -
With 283 Michelin-recommended restaurants and 13,000 cheap and friendly food stalls, Singapore is made for gastro-tourists | Activities
No Comments | Jul 8, 2024