Page 2 - Adressing Black-Market Vapor Products: A Toolkit for Law Enforcement and Community Leaders

h e U . S . I m m i g r a t i o n a n d C u s t o m s E n f o r c e m e n t ’ s H o m e l a n d S e c u r i t y I n v e s t i g a t i o n s - l e d N a t i o n a l I n t e l l e c t u a l
P r o p e r t y R i g h t s C o o r d i n a t i o n C e n t e r ( N I P R C C / I P R C e n t e r ) , i n c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h i n d u s t r y p a r t n e r s , h e a l t h
c a r e o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d l a w e n f o r c e m e n t , i n v e s t i g a t e s I n t e l l e c t u a l P r o p e r t y T h e f t t o c o n t a i n t h e p r o b l e m a n d
h o l d p e r p e t r a t o r s r e s p o n s i b l e .

T h e I P R C e n t e r i s n o w t e a m i n g u p w i t h t h e N a t i o n a l C r i m e P r e v e n t i o n C o u n c i l ( N C P C ) t o r a i s e a w a r e n e s s o n t h e
p u b l i c h e a l t h c o n s e q u e n c e s o f c o u n t e r f e i t a n d o t h e r b l a c k - m a r k e t v a p o r p r o d u c t s a n d p r o v i d e r e s o u r c e s t o l a w
e n f o r c e m e n t a n d a d u l t c o m m u n i t y l e a d e r s t o f i g h t b a c k a g a i n s t s e l l e r s o f t h e s e i l l i c i t p r o d u c t s .

A n e m e r g i n g c o n c e r n a c r o s s t h e c o u n t r y , b l a c k - m a r k e t v a p o r p r o d u c t s p r e s e n t m a n y i s s u e s i m p a c t i n g o u r l o c a l
c o m m u n i t i e s . F i r s t a n d f o r e m o s t , t h e y u n d e r m i n e t o b a c c o - c o n t r o l m e a s u r e s t o a d d r e s s u n d e r a g e u s e o f t o b a c c o
a n d n i c o t i n e p r o d u c t s . B e c a u s e t h e s e i l l i c i t p r o d u c t s o f t e n a r e s o l d o n l i n e w i t h l i t t l e t o n o a g e - v e r i f i c a t i o n o r
t h r o u g h s o c i a l s o u r c i n g o u t s i d e o f t r a d i t i o n a l r e t a i l c h a n n e l s , t h e y a r e e a s i e r f o r y o u t h t o a c c e s s . M o r e o v e r , t h e s e
p r o d u c t s m a y p r e s e n t a d d i t i o n a l h e a l t h a n d s a f e t y r i s k s f o r a d u l t c o n s u m e r s , g i v e n t h e u n k n o w n c h e m i c a l s a n d
s u b s t a n c e s t h e y m a y c o n t a i n , t h e p o o r m a n n e r i n w h i c h t h e y a r e m a n u f a c t u r e d , a n d t h e a b i l i t y f o r u s e r s t o a d d
i l l i c i t s u b s t a n c e s l i k e t e t r a h y d r o c a n n a b i n o l ( T H C ) . T h e y a l s o c o n t r i b u t e t o a n d f a c i l i t a t e o t h e r c r i m i n a l a c t i v i t y
t h a t t h r e a t e n s o u r e c o n o m y , p u b l i c h e a l t h , a n d c o m m u n i t y s a f e t y , a s w e l l a s v i o l a t e t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y
r i g h t s o f U . S . c o m p a n i e s .

W e i n v i t e o r g a n i z a t i o n s w i t h a v e s t e d i n t e r e s t i n p u b l i c h e a l t h a n d
[T]o the extent that such
[T]o the extent that such
c o m b a t t i n g i l l e g a l a c t i v i t y t o m a k e t h i s t o o l k i t t h e i r o w n a n d s h a r e i t i n
products are sold through
products are sold through
t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s . T o g e t h e r , w e c a n a d d r e s s t h e g r o w i n g b l a c k m a r k e t o f
nontraditional retail channels,
nontraditional retail channels,
v a p o r p r o d u c t s t h a t i s i m p a c t i n g o u r n e i g h b o r h o o d s a n d u n d e r c u t t i n g o u r
such as social sources or online
such as social sources or online
l a w s a n d b r o a d e r p u b l i c h e a l t h a n d s a f e t y o b j e c t i v e s .
commercial marketplaces that
commercial marketplaces that
A l l b e s t w i s h e s f o r a s a f e a n d h e a l t h y y e a r ,
do not include age-verification
do not include age-verification
requirements, they pose an
requirements, they pose an
increased risk of being
increased risk of being
A n n M . H a r k i n s
accessed by minors.*
accessed by minors.*
P r e s i d e n t a n d C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r
N a t i o n a l C r i m e P r e v e n t i o n C o u n c i l
*FDA, Guidance for Industry: Enforcement Priorities for Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) and Other Deemed
Products on the Market Without Premarket Authorization (Revised)” (April 2020).