North Carolina files suit against 8 more vaping companies for youth marketing

First it was Juul. Then, on Tuesday, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein filed eight lawsuits against eight separate vapor companies alleging the companies are “unlawfully targeting children” and not requiring appropriate age verification.

The companies included in the complaints are Beard Vape, Direct eLiquid, Electric Lotus, Electric Tobacconist, Eonsmoke, Juice Man, Tinted Brew and VapeCo, Stein said during a media conference call with reporters on Tuesday.

“There is a vaping epidemic among high schoolers and middle schoolers in North Carolina and the United States,” he said. “I, as attorney general of North Carolina, refuse to stand by as e-cigarette companies entice thousands of children to use their products.”

Anti-tobacco advocacy groups are applauding these lawsuits.
The nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids tweeted “thank you” to Stein for his “leadership in addressing the youth e-cigarette epidemic,” according to an article on CNN.com

Pro-vaping groups said the lawsuits were unnecessarily punitive.
“If these companies illegally sold vaping products to a minor, they should be prosecuted, but that is not alleged in the Attorney General’s press release.

Instead, Attorney General Stein’s strategy seems to be using the power of the state and the prospect of six or seven-figure legal bills to force small businesses to sign lopsided settlement agreements,” Gregory Conley, president of the nonprofit advocacy group American Vaping Association, said in an email on Tuesday, according to the article.

“While we strongly support efforts to decrease the use of these products by minors, including common sense marketing restrictions on flavor names and descriptors, we do not believe in denying adult smokers the right to access flavored harm reduction products,” he said.

In May, Stein filed a similar lawsuit against leading e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs, claiming that it marketed its products to children. Discussions as part of that lawsuit are still “ongoing,” he said, according to the article.

That lawsuit was the first by a state over the Juul Labs’ alleged marketing to teens.