By Mike O’Pake
I have spent decades putting together cases against criminal networks that hide in plain sight. These days the first clue of a deeper problem is not what you might expect. When investigators discover illicit flavored Chinese vapes in a shady vape shop, experience tells us we have stumbled onto a far larger criminal enterprise. That is why I urge the General Assembly to pass House Bill 1425, which would create a Nicotine Electronic Cigarette Directory for Pennsylvania.
Why a directory matters
Pennsylvania already maintains a cigarette directory that lets retailers, agents, and law-enforcement officers verify legal brands at a glance. HB 1425 simply extends that common-sense approach to electronic nicotine products. Manufacturers would have to certify every device they intend to sell, the Department of Revenue would post an online list, and any product not on that list would be contraband, subject to seizure and prosecution.
From a prosecutor’s perspective, that clarity is gold. It ends the shell game where traffickers flash forged “compliance” letters or claim ignorance about federal rules. An officer could check a brand against the state directory in real time. If the product is missing, we may have probable cause to dig deeper. When we do, we almost always uncover something much more troubling.
Vape shop busts in Murrysville and Canonsburg show how illicit vapes on the store shelves are sold along illegal drugs in the back room.
The trafficking pipeline behind the candy flavors
Most illegal disposables trace back to the same logistics chain we see in narcotics cases: Chinese factories near Shenzhen, cartel-controlled freight forwarders in Mexico, and cash couriers who wash the proceeds through underground banking networks. A single container of flavored vapes can net millions of dollars on Pennsylvania streets while carrying none of the federal sentencing weight that hard drugs do. That low-risk, high-margin profile makes illicit vapes ideal seed money for fentanyl labs and weapons purchases.
HB 1425 closes the enforcement gap
The federal government requires a marketing order for every nicotine product, yet the FDA has limited boots on the ground. Local jurisdictions shoulder the bulk of inspections, and we need a fast way to separate legal from illegal goods. HB 1425 supplies three critical advantages:
- Real-time verification. Retailers and police alike can confirm legality before a sale ever occurs.
- Automatic penalties. Products that skip the directory would be treated like untaxed tobacco, allowing civil forfeiture and felony charges without an expert witness on federal regulations.
- Shared intelligence. The directory gives state revenue agents and county detectives a common data set, letting us map supply chains across county lines instead of working case by case.
Protecting youth and honest businesses
Legitimate Pennsylvania vape shops that carry FDA-authorized products have nothing to fear from HB 1425. The bill levels the playing field by eliminating the bad actors who undercut lawful retailers with candy-flavored disposables that skirt every rule. Parents benefit too. When a teenager manages to buy a cotton-candy vape after school, it should be a guarantee that the device at least meets federal safety standards. Right now, that certainty does not exist.
A modest step with outsized impact
Vape shops and their lobbyists will oppose this legislation to defend their illicit enterprise, and plead poverty if they can’t continue unscrupulous business practices. My response is simple: if a manufacturer cannot operate within the law, they should not be operating within our communities. HB 1425 does not raise taxes or ban flavors; it asks for transparency and accountability, something every lawful business already provides.
I spent a career prosecuting criminals and protecting Pennsylvania streets. Give me clear statutes, bright-line rules, and I can dismantle syndicates before their pipeline poisons another neighborhood. House Bill 1425 offers exactly that clarity.
I urge every representative to vote yes and help law enforcement cut off the cartels’ easiest paycheck before it turns into the next tragedy on Main Street.
Michael O’Pake is the Schuylkill County District Attorney.
