The United States cannot stop the flood of illegal Chinese vape products while simultaneously choking off the legal American alternatives that could replace them. That is why Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was right to acknowledge before Congress that if the U.S. wants to get illegal Chinese vape products off the market, there must be legal, regulated American-made alternatives available for adults trying to move away from cigarettes.

Millions of Americans still smoke, and many are looking for alternatives through products such as vape devices. But when legal products spend years trapped in regulatory limbo, the government effectively hands the market to illicit foreign manufacturers more than willing to fill the void. That is exactly how dangerous, unregulated Chinese products have flooded stores and online marketplaces across the country.