New York parents are being warned that illegal vaping devices disguised as school supplies — including highlighters, USB drives and ballpoint pens — are being peddled just in time for fall.
The devices are being sold on the Internet and black market and come from overseas, according to the New York Association of Convenience Stores.
“These predatory overseas products are clearly targeted to kids and intentionally manufactured to look like school supplies to evade detection from teachers and parents,” said NYACS President Kent Sopris in a release.
Some of the items peddle vapes in kid-friendly flavors, including mango, strawberry banana and blueberry ice.
The organization is urging parents and teachers to be on the lookout to prevent the dangerous devices from getting into the hands of children.
Stefan Bjes, a patrol sergeant who has served with a police department in Chicago’s suburbs for more than 19 years and who also served as a school resource officer, warned these illegal and unregulated devices are “driving the youth vaping epidemic.
“Disposable vapes in kid-enticing flavors are illegal in the United States, yet are still widely available and criminally trafficked in stores nationwide,” he told Fox News.
According to Bjes, the vapes are coming in from China and are “completely unregulated.
“Since they are unregulated, they could contain dangerous substances that can cause long-term damage to users,” he said.
“There is no way of knowing their nicotine content or what else may be in them. We know the Chinese manufacturers of these illegal disposable vapes are also making and trafficking fentanyl to the United States.”
A recent CDC study found that in 2022, more than 2.5 million middle and high schoolers reported current or past e-cigarette use.
The sales of e-cigarettes spiked by nearly 50% between 2020 and 2022, according to the CDC.
“Parents everywhere should remain diligent to ensure their children aren’t using these dangerous illegal vapes and that their local authorities are taking action to get them off store shelves,” Bjes added.
