Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, arrives for a news conference after casting his ballot at a polling station inside Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School in the Queens borough of New York, on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
New York City has emerged as a national hotspot for the illegal vape trade inside its local markets and bodegas. The Adams administration seized more than 1,200 pounds of illicit vape products worth over $80 million, so much that the city had to pay to destroy them because warehouses were overflowing. The city also sued nine major national distributors, including one based in Buffalo, accused of shipping Chinese-made, candy-flavored vapes into New York neighborhoods and targeting teenagers.
"We are facing an epidemic of e-cigarette and vape use among young people, and we will not stand by while manufacturers and wholesalers supply our city with illegal, harmful products that target our most vulnerable New Yorkers — children," a spokesperson for Mayor Adams told the New York Post last year.
But with a new administration taking over, officials warn that now is not the time to scale back. China’s vape industry is estimated at $28 billion, and despite federal restrictions, government data indicates that two-thirds of its products reach U.S. consumers. More than 80 percent of vapes sold nationwide are illicit and not authorized for sale.
Congress has allocated millions to combat illegal vape products in the U.S. (iStock)
Mamdani has pledged to cut fees and fines on small businesses by 50 percent, and late in the campaign secured the endorsement of the United Bodegas of America, a group whose member stores have repeatedly been cited for violating federal and state vape bans.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pressure-mounts-on-mamdani-to-continue-the-fight-on-illicit-chinese-vapes-flooding-nyc