Lawmaker Letter Warns of CCP Targeting US Military with Illegal Vapes, Calls for Action

With the CCP strategically threatening our public health and undermining our national security through the sale of dangerous, illegal vapes, 71 Republican lawmakers are calling for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to prevent the ongoing threat to American communities.

In a letter obtained by the Washington Reporter, the lawmakers emphasized the need for the government to act and the potential threats that these illegal vapes can cause:

“Our communities are being flooded with dangerous and illegal vaping products, poisoning our youth who often have no idea what chemicals they are inhaling,” Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) said. “Make no mistake, this is a strategic and conscious effort by the CCP to threaten our public health and undermine our national security. It must be stopped.”

Approval of products from the FDA is critical in order to prevent the spread of these dangerous products. Most are unaware of what products are legal or illegal, with recent data showing that around 86% of all e-cigarette sales are actually illegal.

However, the problems are even larger than FDA approval, as it has been reported that these vapes are routinely sold near schools and military installations. The DEA has recently investigated shops near military installations, finding that many were owned and operated by foreign nationals who were suspected of deliberately targeting military personnel. 

Now, it’s going past an addiction problem. The letter cites the emergence of Chinese ‘smart vapes’ that pose a grave risk to cybersecurity. These devices have the ability to connect to webcams, microphones, personal data, and networks. If these vapes get into sensitive military data, it will go straight to the CCP under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law, which requires companies to cooperate fully with state intelligence services.

There’s broad support nationwide to stop these CCP-disposable vapes, and the time to act is now. Rep. Rudy Yakym (R., Ind.) emphasized to the Reporter, “The Chinese Communist Party has never acted in America’s best interests. Just as they enabled the flow of fentanyl across our borders, devastating American families and communities, they are now using similar tactics to infiltrate our schools, military installations, and youth through the distribution of illegal and dangerous ‘smart vapes,’” he said.