Photo courtesy of New York City Mayor’s Office
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said last Wednesday that more than 1,200 pounds of illegal vaping products were being removed from New York City for disposal.
The products were seized through the government’s Operation Padlock and are being sent to ENP Environmental (Grafton, Ohio), the New York City Police Department’s long-term DNA evidence destruction vendor.
The mayor’s office said in a statement that tobacco and vape products sold illegally and untaxed are subject to forfeiture and may ultimately be destroyed by the city.
Through Operation Padlock to Protect, Adams said, “We have already closed more than 1,200 unlicensed smoking establishments, seized an estimated $80 million worth of illegal products, and sold thousands of illegal e-cigarettes. It was confiscated.”
Operation Save the Padlock will conduct a joint operation involving testing and follow-up testing in neighborhoods across New York City’s five boroughs.
Once an illegal business is ordered to close, officers from the local New York City Police Department monitor the business to ensure compliance and report any violations of the closure order to the sheriff’s office.
In July 2023, New York City filed a federal lawsuit against several companies selling illegal flavored e-cigarettes. In April, the mayor’s office announced a second lawsuit against 11 local wholesalers, which has now been transferred to federal court. Both lawsuits target distributors for their involvement in the illegal sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes, and both lawsuits are ongoing, according to the mayor’s office.
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