K-STREET, 10,000 FEET: Inhaling the unknown: We don’t know what’s in the illicit vapes pushed in America by Mexican cartels and China

THE LOWDOWN:

• One industry facing a boom in innovation right now is the tobacco industry, which has taken to the production and promotion of electronic cigarettes;

• The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the cartels reportedly working with Chinese vape manufacturers to profit off of other geographic areas they control;

• These cartels have flooded the U.S. with illicit nicotine vapes.

Vices like nicotine and alcohol are heavily regulated due to their impacts on people’s lives that can lead to addiction or even worse fates. We have these regulations after years of research and real-world observations, and we have seen the innovations taking place in these industries. One industry facing a boom in innovation right now is the tobacco industry, which has taken to the production and promotion of e-cigarettes.

While many in public health acknowledge that e-cigarettes are a better alternative to smoking cigarettes, over the past four years, China has been illegally flooding the market with these devices in conflict with state and federal regulations. These products from China evade all regulation — meaning that no one knows what is in them, how they’re made and how they’re marketed. It’s no surprise that the leading brands kids say they use today come from China — and that they come with games built in or with kid-appealing flavors like “Rainbow Cotton Candy.” And the fact that no one knows what’s in them raises serious concerns about the health impact these devices are having on Americans.

What is also concerning about the widespread practice of Chinese companies selling illegal e-cigarettes is that we see a page taken from the playbook for manufacturing and distributing fentanyl. It has been widely reported in Mexico that the e-cigarette trade in that country is being run by groups like the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which already has a long history of profiting from the sale of other illegal tobacco products. These cartels — which produce deadly opioids, including fentanyl, at the behest of China — are now reportedly working with Chinese e-cigarette companies to manufacture illicit e-cigarettes.

The Sinaloa Cartel’s “Los Chapitos” is one of the cartels reportedly working with Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers to profit off of other geographic areas they control. Mexico outlawed e-cigarettes in December 2024 but, according to major Mexican national newspaper Milenio, the Sinaloa Cartel is circumventing this ban by contracting Chinese e-cigarette manufacturer iJoy and controlling the market through brutal and deadly enforcement.

These measures include forcing tobacco stores in Sinaloa-controlled areas to carry the illicit e-cigarettes under threat of store arson, physical harm, and even death. They are taking such a heavy enforcement status with these illegal tobacco products because they are increasingly becoming a highly-profitable portion of their portfolios.

According to reports, e-cigarettes “are becoming an increasingly significant part of Mexican cartels' business portfolios” with cartels “mandating business owners” in Mexico to sell Chinese e-cigarettes called iJoy Bar. iJoy Bar is a Chinese company started by Wang Xizhi, the “martial arts master” founder and billionaire who also serves as the vice president of the Electronic Cigarette Association of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce (ECCC).

The ECCC serves as a “bridge between enterprises in the (Chinese) domestic vaping industry and regulatory authorities” within the CCP. iJoy e-cigarettes aren’t only available in Mexico, but are being distributed and sold across the United States in flavors such as “Tropical Rainbow Blast.” In fact, recent law enforcement activity against major distributors Demand Vape, Safa Goods and Midwest Goods for selling illicit e-cigarettes (such as iJoy) has shed new light on the Chinese illicit e-cigarette distribution network in the United States that seems to mirror those of the cartel distribution networks in Mexico.

It’s not just illegal e-cigarettes that are flowing across the border though — Chinese tobacco companies have been smuggling illegal cigarettes into Latin America for years.

These illegal Chinese tobacco products face little to no regulation and pose a significant risk to Americans’ health and shows just to what lengths the cartels and China will go to in undercutting other nations’ laws.