(NewsNation) – After years of struggling to capture a market illegal e-cigarettes Driven in large part by Chinese manufacturers, federal agents dealt a blow to a booming but unauthorized market.

Agents of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection seized 1.4 million devices worth $18 million from a Chinese manufacturer behind the Elf Bar brand, announced this week. Many of the devices were disguised to look like toys or shoes, the FDA said.

The attack occurred in July, according to the Associated Press. The FDA announced the success of the joint federal operation on Thursdaynoting that the devices will be forfeited to the government and disposed of.

The operation represents the first known success of its kind since the FDA began targeting manufacturers and distributors of illegal e-cigarette products.

What is the Illegal Vape Market?

So far the FDA has only approved 23 Tobacco-flavored e-cigarette products and devices – This means these are the only e-cigarette products that retailers can legally sell in the US

More than 90% of all e-cigarette products are made in China. Reuters reportedand British American Tobacco argued that the FDA needs to do more to crack down on products like Elf Bars that have “overrun” the U.S. market.

A spokesman for Heavens Gifts, Elf Bar’s parent company, told Reuters it was “trying our best to remain compliant” in the United States.

Despite attempts to intercept shipments and crack down on retailers who continue to stock the colorful devices and candy flavors, they remain popular, particularly among young people.

More than one in four respondents 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey reported daily use of e-cigarettes, with Elf Bars, along with Esco Bars and Breeze, among the top-selling brands of disposable products in the United States. Products from all three brands are sold illegally in the United States

Although the FDA would like to lower these numbers, they reflect a decline in high school students who reported using e-cigarette products in the previous year.

Why does it matter?

The FDA has been vocal about its concerns about unauthorized e-cigarette products for children.

Fruity flavors in particular are the most popular among young people, followed by sweets, desserts or other sweets, mint and menthol varieties. In early 2020, the FDA limited the flavors in reusable cartridge products like Juul to menthol and tobacco — flavors that tend to be more popular among adults.

However, these restrictions did not apply to disposable vaping products because reusable devices were more popular among underage users at the time. According to the FDA survey, disposable devices are now more popular among young people.

Manufacturers also quickly created new loopholes, including the introduction of synthetic nictotine, which is not subject to traditional regulations.

In a game of regulatory Whac-A-Mole, the FDA in 2022 Officially, all companies were asked to withdraw their e-cigarettes from the market and submit FDA applications, but new products continue to come to market.

“Unscrupulous companies are trying everything they can to bring illegal, youth-friendly tobacco products into the country,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf said in an official statement. “The FDA will remain vigilant and work with our federal partners to stop these imports before they end up in the hands of our nation’s youth.”

What is being done to stop it?

So far, the agency has struggled to get a firm grip on the illegal market, despite taking several measures to crack down on traders and retailers.

The FDA in May identified China-based Shenzhen Innokin Technology Co. Ltd as a leading supplier of popular disposable e-cigarette products – Breeze Smoke, LLC and Esco Bars.

It also targeted Elf Bar earlier this summer when it ordered authorities to seize incoming shipments of the product and another of its brand names, EBDesigns.

The company was apparently able to evade these efforts, at least temporarily, by changing its name. the Associated Press reported. Newer vaping devices were given the name EBCreate and listed by various manufacturers.

The FDA turned its attention to stores in the U.S., warning nearly 200 retailers in June to stop selling unauthorized e-cigarette products. It followed in September Filing Civil Penalty Complaints against 22 retailers who are accused of continuing to sell Elf Bar/EB Design products.

Following the FDA’s recent successful operation, Brian King, director of the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, urged those attempting to smuggle illegal e-cigarettes into the U.S. to be “on guard.”

“Federal authorities are up to their antics and will not hesitate to take action,” King said. “The significant value of these seized products is also a sobering reminder to these criminals that their time and money would be better spent adhering to the law.”

This month, the FDA announced the application had been submitted Complaints about civil monetary penalties against 36 manufacturers and 67 retailers and shipped more than 650 warnings to companies that lacked market approval from the authorities.