A retired Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Agent (DEA) is urging the Trump administration’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to modernize its approach to nicotine products, in a video campaign obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.
Aaron Graham, a DEA veteran, is featured in a video from Regulate Smarter, in which he dealt firsthand with major cartel investigations, including during a stint in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“We have a very deadly set of consequences headed our way with a lack of awareness,” Graham warned. “And when we fail to act in a timely manner, we have significant consequences. So these vapes are being made by rogue operators. They’re not scientists. They’re not professionals. They’re making products — we don’t know what’s in them. And my fear is we’re going to find out what’s in them at the first autopsy.”
Graham wants the Trump administration to continue its work to stem the flow of the illicit nicotine products that have been flooding American markets; experts caution that these vapes are usually tied directly to China, and that they are particularly dangerous because they are marketed directly towards children in America.
For Graham, any delay in cracking down on the illegal vapes does not simply maintain the status quo; it actually actively enables greater harm to public health, consumer safety, and law enforcement efforts.
This video is the latest in Regulate Smarter’s campaign, “Smarter Regulation Now”; the campaign has focused on both law enforcement measures to target the flood of vapes and a science-based authorization pathway.
