How ‘Sour Raspberry Gummy Bear’ — and Other Chinese Vapes — Made Fools of American Lawmakers

Just look at Oklahoma. Two thousand six hundred and eighty-five of these are from a single Chinese company called Shenzhen Runfree Technology Co, Ltd, which sells flavors like “Pineapple Coconut Milk Ice,” “Strawberry Ice Cream” and “Sour Raspberry Gummy Bear.” According to the Oklahoma registry, these flavors are not just legal but FDA-authorized, which it should be noted they most definitely are not. If they were to, it wouldn’t be for selling Shenzhen Runfree’s products, since those are on the legal registry, alongside vapes made by Shenzhen Kuke, Shenzhen Han Vapor, Shenzhen Wuge, and Shenszhen Daotong Electronic.. And these registry laws tend to come with one big issue, which would linger even if enforcement was perfect: They allow the sale of many non-authorized flavored disposable vapes made by American companies. Trump’s HHS Secretary Alex Azar told the press in September of 2019, “The Trump administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities.” Marty Makary, a Johns Hopkins surgeon who at the time was a Fox News contributor, told Dana Perino, “We got behind the 8-ball on opioids; this administration does not want to cater to special interests.