Javier Palomarez, USHBC President & CEO, Responds to Senator Durbin’s Report on Illicit Vapes
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, April 15, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / -- After requesting the report in 2024, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a multi-agency review focusing on the DOJ and FDA’s efforts to combat illicit vaping products that are targeting and harming American children. The report found a clear lack of meaningful action as it relates to both taking illicit products off the shelf, as well as implementing a system to more rapidly approve safer, responsible smoking alternatives for adults.
Following the revelations of the FDA and DOJ’s failure to address the issues, the United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC) is calling for immediate and coordinated federal action. Javier Palomarez, President & CEO of the USHBC, issued the following statement:
“The findings in this report confirm what we have been raising for some time. While millions of illegal, kid-centric vaping products, primarily from China, were seized in 2025, millions more continue to flood the market, targeting our children, while the FDA and DOJ have failed to act with the urgency and coordination this crisis demands.
“Of over 6,000 different products being sold illicitly, the government has only taken action against 88 of them, or 1.5%. When enforcement only reaches a fraction of these illicit products, it allows foreign-made, illegal vapes to continue entering and spreading across our communities unchecked. Adding fuel to the fire, the DOJ’s Consumer Protection Bureau, created exactly for issues like this, was disbanded late last year.”
Palomarez continued:
“At the same time, legitimate American businesses are left competing against a wave of unlawful products that ignore safety standards and regulations, do not meet federal regulatory standards and are untaxed. This is a coordinated scheme that targets America’s youth with illegal, kid-friendly products, while skirting the regulations and systems to which American businesses are bound. For such an economic and public health issue, we need a coordinated federal response that strengthens enforcement, restores accountability, and stops the flow of illegal vaping products.
“These products are designed to target America’s children, clear and simple. We believe in preserving a fair marketplace, one where enforcement is not just promised but delivered. That requires a greater level of intent, coordination, and sustained action that matches the protections American families and businesses deserve and are counting on.”
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About the USHBC
Javier Palomarez is the President & CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC). The USHBC is a leading voice for the small business community. A 501(c)6 non-profit organization, the USHBC focuses on the success of American small businesses by ensuring they have a voice in the national dialogue. The USHBC is a nonpartisan organization.
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