Now that the dust is settling after the mayoral election and Zohran Mamdani is organizing his transition, it’s essential that he maintains the progress the Adams administration made in protecting New York City’s children from an emerging and growing problem that continues to threaten these youngsters.
New York is the capital of illicit tobacco trafficking in the United States. I should know — I was the sheriff of the City of New York under Mayor Mike Bloomberg, where I created the enforcement strategy that targeted illegal cigarette and tobacco sales across the five boroughs. Back then, we were focused on the massive profits driving cigarette smuggling, which undercut honest retailers and deprived the city of millions in tax revenue.
While high taxes and bans have long incentivized cigarette smuggling, an even more sinister threat has taken root in recent years: Illicit, Chinese-made vapes that are targeting our kids. These brightly colored, candy-flavored devices are shipped illegally into our neighborhoods, and marketed directly to teens — undoing decades of progress we’ve made in curbing youth nicotine use.
The scale of this illicit market is staggering. In China alone, the vape industry is estimated to be worth $28 billion, and despite a federal ban that’s been in place for more than five years, roughly two-thirds of those products find their way to American consumers. More than 80% of the nicotine vape market is made of illicit products that are not authorized for sale.
Recent federal and local stings have exposed just how dangerous some of these “smoke shops” really are. Behind the counters, investigators have found drugs, kratom, 7-OH, nitrous oxide, guns, and evidence of money laundering. What looks like a neighborhood convenience store can actually be a hub of criminal activity — a front for importing and distributing illegal vapes and much worse.
To its credit, the Adams administration has treated this problem with the seriousness it deserves. The city has seized more than 1,200 pounds of illegal vape products worth more than $80 million. The haul was so large the city had to pay for their destruction just to clear the warehouse space.
City lawyers also sued nine major national distributors — including a major supplier located in Buffalo — that have direct ties to Chinese manufacturers flooding our neighborhoods with candy- and fruit-flavored vapes aimed at teenagers.
The incoming Mamdani administration must make it a priority to continue, and even expand, these efforts. This is not a matter of overpolicing, it’s about public health and fairness. During the campaign, Mamdani argued that NYPD officers are being asked to do too much outside of their core responsibilities. There is nothing more important than protecting our children.
The first concrete step should be to secure additional enforcement resources from recently reallocated federal funding.
Under the recently passed continuing resolution to end the government shutdown, $200 million in FDA user fees will be directed to increase enforcement of the illicit vape market. This funding should be routed to state and local enforcement who are fighting on the front lines of this battle. New York City should move to secure a portion of this funding and deploy it at the community level where it is needed most.
While there has been a lot of focus on illegal marijuana dispensaries, we must scrutinize all smoke shops. Many of these retailers are nothing more than retail storefronts for cartels and organized crime. Meanwhile, the law-abiding small businesses that play by the rules are punished when illicit operators get a free pass.
Legal outlets lose customers, the city loses tax revenue, and communities lose faith. To let the bad actors operate unchecked sends a message of helplessness — that the system can’t protect kids or honest businesses.
The progress made under the Adams administration to combat the scourge of illicit vapes should be a foundation, not a finish line. The incoming mayor and his team should treat the crackdown on illegal flavored disposable vapes as a visible, sustained, and high-priority pillar of their public-health agenda.
Because when it comes to protecting our children and our neighborhoods, now is not the time to ease up. It’s time to double down.
Domenech served as the 117th sheriff of New York City. He was formerly chief operating officer of the DOJ’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. He is a special advisor to the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network.
