NYS sues 9 vape companies, claiming illegal marketing to minors
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced she filed a federal lawsuit alleging that nine vape companies illegally market products such as flavored e-cigarettes to underage customers.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, states that popular brands such as Candy King, Fifty Bar and Fruity Pebbles are packaged to appeal to teenagers, using colorful labels accompanied by social media and influencer campaigns.
E-cigarette consumers in New York must be at least 21 years old.
The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and penalties, public statements from the defendants about the dangers of flavored vapes and a court order banning those companies from selling in New York.
âThe vaping industry is taking a page out of Big Tobaccoâs playbook: theyâre making nicotine seem cool, getting kids hooked, and creating a massive public health crisis in the process,â James said in a statement. âFor too long, these companies have disregarded our laws in order to profit off of our young people, but we will not risk the health and safety of our kids.”
The companies named as defendants include Puff Bar, MYLE Vape, Pod Juice, Mi-One Brands, Happy Distro, Demand Vape, EVO Brands, PVG2, Magellan Technology, Midwest Goods, Safa Goods and Price Point Distributors, and Price Point principals Weis Khwaja, Hamza Jalili and Mohammad Jalili.
Jim McCarthy, spokesman for American Vapor Manufacturers, a Prescott, Arizona, trade group, disputed James’ allegations and said the industry had worked closely with federal health officials to advocate for laws banning vape sales to minors. He said vaping is a safe alternative to nicotine smoking.
âItâs outrageous that Letitia James is squandering taxpayer resources and money to try to deprive Americans of these life-saving products,â McCarthy said in a phone interview Thursday.
âVape shops around the country ⌠have done a better job of preventing those underage sales than any other category of retailer,” he said. “The vape companies ⌠want nothing more than to sell to adults Those are our customers and thatâs who weâre trying to help.â
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration website states that e-cigarettes generally carry lower risks than conventional nicotine cigarettes but are not entirely risk-free.
The FDA advises non-smokers, including both adults and adolescents, not to use e-cigarettes because they contain harmful chemicals and highly addictive nicotine.
FDA officials reported in September that teen vaping had reached a 10-year low, calling the milestone “a monumental public health win.”
In court papers, James said products marketed under names such as âStrawberry Donut,â âBanana Taffy,â âBaja Slushieâ and âOMG Blow Popâ often are sold with “technological gimmicks” such as games and wireless devices “to make sure that once a child picks up that device, it is extraordinarily difficult to put it down.”
The lawsuit added: “A significant part of this crisis is attributable to each defendantâs illegal and/or fraudulent commercial and marketing conduct, which, among other things, has targeted underage users and created broad misapprehensions about the legality and safety of the Flavored E-Cigarettes they distribute in massive quantities within New York.”
In a statement included in a state news release about the lawsuit, Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, said the dangers posed by vaping are “far-reaching when dangerous levels of nicotine are consumed at a vulnerable age.
“These dangerous products are being callously marketed as âcandy-likeâ materials distorting the harmful effects the drug has on human development,” he said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced she filed a federal lawsuit alleging that nine vape companies illegally market products such as flavored e-cigarettes to underage customers.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Manhattan federal court, states that popular brands such as Candy King, Fifty Bar and Fruity Pebbles are packaged to appeal to teenagers, using colorful labels accompanied by social media and influencer campaigns.
E-cigarette consumers in New York must be at least 21 years old.
The state is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and penalties, public statements from the defendants about the dangers of flavored vapes and a court order banning those companies from selling in New York.
âThe vaping industry is taking a page out of Big Tobaccoâs playbook: theyâre making nicotine seem cool, getting kids hooked, and creating a massive public health crisis in the process,â James said in a statement. âFor too long, these companies have disregarded our laws in order to profit off of our young people, but we will not risk the health and safety of our kids.”
The companies named as defendants include Puff Bar, MYLE Vape, Pod Juice, Mi-One Brands, Happy Distro, Demand Vape, EVO Brands, PVG2, Magellan Technology, Midwest Goods, Safa Goods and Price Point Distributors, and Price Point principals Weis Khwaja, Hamza Jalili and Mohammad Jalili.
Jim McCarthy, spokesman for American Vapor Manufacturers, a Prescott, Arizona, trade group, disputed James’ allegations and said the industry had worked closely with federal health officials to advocate for laws banning vape sales to minors. He said vaping is a safe alternative to nicotine smoking.
âItâs outrageous that Letitia James is squandering taxpayer resources and money to try to deprive Americans of these life-saving products,â McCarthy said in a phone interview Thursday.
âVape shops around the country ⌠have done a better job of preventing those underage sales than any other category of retailer,” he said. “The vape companies ⌠want nothing more than to sell to adults Those are our customers and thatâs who weâre trying to help.â
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration website states that e-cigarettes generally carry lower risks than conventional nicotine cigarettes but are not entirely risk-free.
The FDA advises non-smokers, including both adults and adolescents, not to use e-cigarettes because they contain harmful chemicals and highly addictive nicotine.
FDA officials reported in September that teen vaping had reached a 10-year low, calling the milestone “a monumental public health win.”
In court papers, James said products marketed under names such as âStrawberry Donut,â âBanana Taffy,â âBaja Slushieâ and âOMG Blow Popâ often are sold with “technological gimmicks” such as games and wireless devices “to make sure that once a child picks up that device, it is extraordinarily difficult to put it down.”
The lawsuit added: “A significant part of this crisis is attributable to each defendantâs illegal and/or fraudulent commercial and marketing conduct, which, among other things, has targeted underage users and created broad misapprehensions about the legality and safety of the Flavored E-Cigarettes they distribute in massive quantities within New York.”
In a statement included in a state news release about the lawsuit, Steve Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, said the dangers posed by vaping are “far-reaching when dangerous levels of nicotine are consumed at a vulnerable age.
“These dangerous products are being callously marketed as âcandy-likeâ materials distorting the harmful effects the drug has on human development,” he said.
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