By Forum Staff
State Attorney General Tish James on Thursday announced a lawsuit against 13 major e-cigarette, or “vape,” manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for their role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic. These companies are responsible for illegally distributing, marketing, and selling flavored disposable vapes – including popular brands such as Puff Bar, Elf Bar, Geek Bar, Breeze, MYLE, and more – which have become extraordinarily popular among minors. An Office of the Attorney General investigation found that these companies market highly addictive, candy- and fruit-flavored nicotine products to underage consumers, mislead customers about the safety and legality of their products, illegally ship products to New York, and violate health regulations designed to curb youth vaping.
The suit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars, including financial penalties for wide-ranging violations of local, state, and federal laws; damages and restitution for the public health impact of the companies’ illegal actions; the recovery of all revenue made from unlawful activity; and the establishment of an abatement fund to address the youth vaping crisis in the Empire State.
According to the lawsuit, the vaping industry has adopted deceptive, inescapable marketing strategies that are reminiscent of the tactics that made the tobacco industry infamous. Vaping companies directly target youth with bright, colorful packaging, candy and fruit flavors, social media and influencer campaigns, and unproven claims that their products are “safe” alternatives to cigarettes. The vape products the defendants often help develop, design, and even taste-test are intended to attract young people, with eye-catching, cartoonish packaging and flavors like “Blue Razz Slushy,” “Sour Watermelon Patch,” “Unicorn Cake,” “Fruity Bears Freeze,” “Cotton Candy,” “Rainbow Rapper,” “Sour Fruity Worms,” “Fruity Pebbles,” and “Strawberry Cereal Donut Milk,” to entice kids.
The OAG investigation found that these companies often rely on social media in their marketing and ensure their vapes are abundantly available within walking distance of schools in an effort to reach young consumers. The companies also make use of celebrity or influencer endorsements, sponsor brand activations and social media photo opportunities at popular festivals and events, and promote dangerous vaping trends and challenges to drive engagement online. One company, Puff Bar, ran a social media advertisement during the early days of the pandemic lockdown that billed their vapes as “the perfect escape from back-to-back zoom calls [and] parental texts.”
The investigation also revealed that vape companies have long been aware that their products pose health risks to users – and are particularly harmful to youth – but have continued to target young people with deceptive and misleading messages about the products’ safety. In particular, the companies’ advertisements often position vaping products as a safer, healthier alternative to cigarettes. One of the defendants has even advanced conspiracy theories in an attempt to brush away concerns over the safety of vaping, repeatedly pushing the idea that state governments were campaigning to crush vaping in an attempt to boost tobacco sales for financial gain. In addition, despite knowing that New York banned the sale of flavored vapor products in 2020, the companies have continued to sell these products while intentionally misleading customers about the legality of the sales.
None of the companies named in the lawsuit have received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their fruit – or – candy flavored vapes, making their sale illegal under federal law, James noted.
