As a three-decade law enforcement veteran, including over 20 years as the sheriff of Jefferson Davis Parish, I have witnessed the ingenuity and resourcefulness of international criminals and gangs. They adapt quickly to new laws, often faster than the system can respond. That is exactly what has happened with the illicit Chinese vape market.
Just because a product is sold at a convenience store or gas station doesn't make it safe. Unregulated and illicit Chinese disposable vapes are sold in neighborhood stores across the country, where their presence can give consumers a false sense of legitimacy despite regulators' efforts to crack down on illegal nicotine products.
Despite the crackdown, manufacturers are adapting by exploiting a loophole that may prove more dangerous than the original products. Edgar Domenech, the former deputy director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, is warning Americans that Chinese organized crime groups are changing the ingredients of their products to evade law enforcement and keep illicit vapes on store shelves. By swapping nicotine for a synthetic substitute, they are claiming their products fall outside the reach of regulators.
One of those substitutes is 6-methyl nicotine. In rodent studies, it acted on the brain's nicotine receptors more powerfully than nicotine itself and was more toxic. When researchers at Yale School of Medicine and Duke Health tested products containing it, they found the substance was not listed on the ingredient labels.
Thankfully, Louisiana recognized the problem and closed the loophole. In August, Act 920 went into effect. The law builds on Louisiana's existing vape directory, which was needed to thwart the inflow of illegal nicotine vapes and keep them out of the hands of Louisiana kids. In 2023, our state ranked third in the nation for high school vaping, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.
The new law defines nicotine analogues, substances like 6-methyl nicotine, and bans the sale of products that contain them. The definition covers substances chemically similar to nicotine and anything that has, or is represented to have, a similar or greater effect on the central nervous system. It is a critical step forward for the health of Louisianans. Manufacturers can no longer change the recipe of their dangerous cocktails and evade the law.
The directory already makes it illegal to sell covered vaping products that are not listed with the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Act 920 makes illegally sold products contraband that the state can seize and destroy at the seller's expense. It also targets the supply chain, requiring wholesalers to verify that retailers hold valid permits and barring manufacturers from shipping directly to Louisiana stores and consumers.
Louisiana has written the model other states should follow. Now it has to show them how to enforce it.
Louisiana's ATC has shown what it can do with the right partners. Last year, Operation Vape Out II, run with State Police and the Fire Marshal, seized more than 13,000 items from New Orleans-area retailers, including illegal vapes and other contraband.
Now Louisiana needs to bring that same intensity to Act 920. Checking for illegal, chemically cloned nicotine analogues should become a standard part of compliance inspections, with suspect products tested when necessary. Enforcement should also follow illegal products up the supply chain, targeting the distributors and suppliers responsible for putting them on store shelves.
The cost of falling short is easy to see. In April, an investigation by Brusly police and ATC led to the arrest of a local smoke shop owner accused of selling a vape to one teenager and alcohol to another. It began after a mother reported that someone at the store had sold alcohol to her son. Parents shouldn't have to be the ones who set enforcement in motion. Regular inspections should catch shops like that first.
Louisiana lawmakers wrote a law designed to stay ahead of illegal manufacturers. Now the state has an opportunity to show the rest of the country what comes next: clear rules, consistent enforcement and real consequences for those who break them.
The loophole is closed. It's time to make sure it stays that way.