Illicit Chinese vape companies are reportedly exploiting legal loopholes by substituting nicotine with an unregulated synthetic compound, 6-methyl nicotine (6MN), to continue selling flavored disposable vapes to children. Edgar Domenech, former Deputy Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), stated that these companies are creating confusion by altering product ingredients while maintaining familiar branding and flavors.
Domenech explained that by changing the active ingredient from nicotine to 6MN, marketed under brand names like Nixodine and Metatine, manufacturers aim to place their products outside the purview of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "The FDA doesn’t have oversight, but it’s the same product. It’s a disposable vape product with flavors targeting our kids and our youth with unknown chemicals," Domenech said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
While nicotine is a regulated and well-understood addictive substance, 6MN is an "unknown variable" that has not been sufficiently studied, according to Domenech. He expressed concern that these products, manufactured illegally in China, are being marketed to young people with unknown long-term health consequences. The flavors, which often mimic candies, fruits, and desserts, are particularly appealing to minors.
"They’re targeting our youth with flavors," Domenech said. "Whether it’s fruity flavors, candy-type flavors, dessert flavors. They’re targeting our kids to go ahead and ingest these products with unknown consequences because we don’t know what’s in them to begin with."
The former ATF official highlighted that organized crime groups are reportedly