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Combatting Illicit Markets Through Effective Enforcement

A thriving underground market in tobacco and nicotine products is a serious threat to both effective regulation and public health.

Along with fundamental reform of the pathways for authorized products to reach the market, we're advocating for the Food Drug and Administration (FDA), other federal agencies and the states to combat the illicit market through rigorous enforcement of existing laws.

Altria has led the industry for decades in advocating for strong enforcement tools to prevent the growth of illicit markets, including our active support for the federal Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act and the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, as well as for extensive licensing and other requirements that are now well-embedded at the state and local levels.

Did you Know?

Based on their own knowledge and observations,

83% of health care professionals;
81% of policy professionals;
75% of adult cigarette smokers 21+; and
74% of general population adults 21+

believe that a prohibition approach is likely to lead to the growth of the illegal market for tobacco products.*

View Survey Results

But, the regulatory system in the U.S. is being overwhelmed by foreign manufacturers flooding the U.S. with flagrantly illegal products lacking any FDA oversight. In response, in 2024 Altria:

 

  • Undertook marketplace research confirming the scale and scope of the illicit vapor market and shared that research publicly.1
  • Communicated extensively with the FDA and other federal agencies on the need for a comprehensive enforcement plan focused on using the agency’s most powerful enforcement tools against the marketplace actors most responsible for building the illicit market.2
  • Engaged with Congress on the urgent need for effective enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act, including support for legislative solutions to improve enforcement.
  • Supported the implementation of federal legislation enacted in 2022 that gave the FDA full authority over synthetic nicotine products, a phenomenon that emerged with the express intent to avoid FDA regulation.
  • Advocated for closing other major loopholes in the regulatory system, including the lack of any registration requirement for foreign manufacturers.
  • Supported enactment of state legislation requiring all vapor manufacturers to verify compliance with the Tobacco Control Act enabling states to publish directories of products for legal sale.

 

Letters to FDA

California’s Flavor Ban Leads to Large Illicit Market

Altria released a new study that found overwhelming evidence of a large, illicit marketplace of flavored e-vapor and menthol cigarette products in California following enactment of a 2022 ban on flavors in the state. The study affirms that prohibition-based policies do not work and lead to significant unintended consequences.

Momentum towards effective enforcement accelerated significantly in 2024. Among other things, Congress held multiple hearings focused on the urgent need for enforcement; the FDA and the Department of Justice announced the formation of a multi-agency task force focused on enforcement against illicit vapor manufacturers; the FDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) announced significant reforms to prevent the importation of flagrantly illegal products; Customs announced multiple major seizures of illicit products at the border; and multiple states either enacted enforcement-focused legislation or undertook major enforcement actions against illicit market actors.3

*Altria Client Services THR Engagement Survey fielded nationwide from October 31, 2023 through November 20, 2023 among n=1,503 general population adults 21+ (MOE +/- 2.3%), n=271 adults 21+ who vape (MOE +/- 5.9%), n=406 adults 21+ who smoke cigarettes (MOE +/- 4.8%), n=405 Black adults 21+ who smoke cigarettes (MOE +/- 4.8%), n=400 Hispanic adults 21+ who smoke cigarettes (MOE +/- 4.8%), n=501 primary care physicians (MOE +/- 4.3%), n=300 other health care providers (MOE +/- 5.6%), n=274 dentists (MOE +/- 5.8%), n=102 psychiatrists (MOE +/- 9.7%), and n=300 policy professionals (MOE +/- 5.6%). Results have been weighted by age, gender, and tobacco product usage to match current US population data. Prohibition - an approach that focuses on ending all tobacco use by banning products or flavors, requiring the removal of nicotine in tobacco products, or imposing high taxes to make buying tobacco products cost prohibitive.

1 California Empty Packs Survey, Q2 2023

2 Letter to the Center for Tobacco Products, Altria Client Services, April 5, 2024

3 See, e.g., Sabah Meddings, "The $22 Billion Vape Industry is About to Get Even Messier," Bloomberg, Feb. 3, 2025.