E-cigarettes sit on a table on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024. Senate President Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, brought bags of the vapes confiscated from students to show senators. (File photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette)
As the South Carolina General Assembly reconvened this week, lawmakers did so in the wake of a major joint state and federal law enforcement operation that exposed the scale of illicit activity taking place in smoke shops across the state.
“Operation Ganjapreneur” resulted in the seizure of large quantities of illegal THC products and the arrest of multiple individuals on narcotics-related charges. More importantly, it revealed how
openly and routinely illegal products are being sold in communities across South Carolina, often with little consequence for retailers.
The operation underscored a troubling reality: many of the unregulated products sold in smoke shops are tied to broader illicit supply chains that strain law enforcement resources and pose real threats to public safety.
While federal law already prohibits many of these products, gaps in state law have limited the ability of local officers to act.
That enforcement gap has allowed an illicit vape market to flourish in plain sight.
Flavored disposable vapes are mass produced overseas, smuggled into the United States, and sold openly despite clear federal prohibitions. The result is a growing public health and safety crisis that state and local law enforcement currently lack the authority to fully address.
Roughly 90% of disposable vapes sold in the United States are manufactured in China, where they are banned for domestic sale. Many have been explicitly denied authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Yet anyone can walk into smoke shops across South Carolina and find rows of these illegal devices, marketed openly and aggressively to kids. This is not accidental. It is a business model built around exploiting enforcement loopholes.
The consequences are increasingly visible in communities across the state.
Nearly half of South Carolina teenagers now report using disposable vapes. Parents, teachers, and school administrators see the impact every day in classrooms, hallways, and parking lots.
Devices are disguised as pens, USB drives, toys, or school supplies. Flavors like cotton candy, bubblegum, and pink lemonade are designed to hook young users early. These products are sold with no testing, no oversight, and no accountability.
Despite these realities, enforcement remains limited. Federal agencies cannot police every storefront, and current state law does not clearly empower local law enforcement to remove illegal vapes from shelves or hold retailers accountable.
Without explicit authority, officers’ hands are tied, allowing bad actors to continue operating with near impunity.
Congress has recognized the scope of the problem and responded by allocating $200 million in federal funding specifically for illicit vape enforcement. Those resources are intended to support
states that align their laws with federal standards and partner in coordinated enforcement efforts.
For South Carolina to fully access those funds and participate in meaningful enforcement operations, state law must change.
Legislation currently under consideration, Senate Bill 287, would close this gap. The bill aligns state authority with federal law and gives the attorney general, as well as state and local law enforcement, the tools they need to identify illegal products, remove them from store shelves, and hold retailers accountable.
It passed the South Carolina Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support and rests on the floor of the House.
Opposition from some smoke shop operators has focused on claims of unfairness or economic harm. But that argument ignores a basic question: Why should any business be allowed to profit
from selling products that violate federal law and deliberately target children?
Enforcement does not punish lawful retailers. It protects communities, supports legitimate businesses, and restores order to a market that has spiraled out of control.
South Carolina now faces a clear choice. It can continue to allow illegal vapes to flood its communities, putting kids at risk and leaving law enforcement powerless. Or it can act decisively, align state law with federal standards through S.287, and shut down an illicit pipeline that has operated unchecked for far too long.
