I am a mother of four who has spent more than 25 years delivering babies and caring for women across Virginia. Through my work with a nonprofit group advocating for healthy children, I spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to truly protect children, not just at birth, but throughout their lives. So when I learned about a new synthetic chemical quietly making its way into vapes made in China that are marketed to our children, I could not stay quiet about it. As a mother and a doctor, I was unsettled.To set the scene for parents who are unaware of the current illegal Chinese Communist Party vaping market, these products are not being made for adults. The vapes flooding in from Chinese manufacturers come in cotton candy, watermelon, and gummy bear flavors. They are packaged in bright colors with cartoonish designs. Some of them even have video games built right into the device, so a child can play while they vape. It’s a deliberate marketing strategy that’s been working. These products are engineered to feel fun and harmless to a child. And once I learned about a new chemical that evades Food and Drug Administration regulations, it made the whole picture a lot more troubling.