This recent seizure at a Alhambra, Calif., warehouse is the first time the FDA and DOJ had seized tobacco products in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service, which resulted in the seizure of the 45,000 unauthorized e-cigarettes estimated to be worth at approximately $703,000, the FDA said.

The date of the seizure was not disclosed, but one report said it happened earlier this month.

The FDA “will continue to take appropriate action across the entire supply chain against unauthorized tobacco products and against those manufacturing, distributing, importing or selling unauthorized e-cigarette products,” said Atencio.

“Especially those most appealing to youth,” she added.

Tobacco and e-cigarette use among teens rose slightly in 2022 after three years of decline, according to the American Lung Association’s annual State of Tobacco Control report. To date, the Food and Drug Administration has only granted marketing authorization to 23 tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices that may be lawfully sold in the United States.

The illegal e-cigarettes obtained are believed to be owned by multiple California-based distributors, according to the FDA. The products were mostly flavored, disposable e-cigarette products that included “youth-appealing brands” such as Puff Bar/Puff, Elf Bar/EB Design, Esco Bar, Kuz, Smok and Pixi.

The FDA’s director of the Center for Tobacco Products, Brian King, said “the writing is on the wall for those in the tobacco product supply chain who fail to heed the law,” adding that the FDA “has been unequivocally clear” on their commitment “to using the full scope of our enforcement tool,” including seizures, “to hold those who peddle unauthorized e-cigarettes accountable.”

Initially, the seizure’s intended target were products by a California distributor called MDM Group that did business as the website Eliquidstop.com. But it seems the illegal e-cigaratte products may have also been owned by other companies.

A warning letter was issued by the FDA to MDM Group company official Bryant Teongnoi in May last year “for offering unauthorized, flavored e-cigarette products for sale or distribution.” But in January of this year, a follow-up inspection at MDM facilities confirmed the company was still commercially marketing illegal products.

Despite tighter marketing regulations and studies that indicates health concerns, data released last summer by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that overall e-cigarette monthly unit sales increased nearly 50% from 2020 to 2022.

As of April, the FDA said they have issued — and also filed civil money penalty complaints against more than 50 e-cigarette manufacturers and more than 100 retailers — nearly 670 warning letters to firms for manufacturing or distributing illegal e-cigarette products, and had issued more than 550 warning letters to retailers for the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes.

On Monday, the American Lung Association praised the seizure on social media while urging the federal government to continue cracking down on the unauthorized products, saying how for too long “distributors have acted without regard for the law. This industry has been repeatedly warned but these bad actors have continued.”

“This type of action must be the first of many aimed at vigorously enforcing the Tobacco Control Act and protecting from illegal and dangerous tobacco products,” Erika Sward, assistant vice president of Nationwide Advocacy, said.

In December last year, federal agents had seized more than 1.4 million illegal vaping products valued at $18 million being smuggled into the United States from China. That came the same month that the World Health Organization said “urgent action” was needed to address a significant increase in e-cigarette use by minors.