WASHINGTON – On Monday, a group of congressional Democrats released a report that suggests e-cigarette companies are marketing their products to children through candy flavors and advertising on social media and at concerts, reports The Hill.

The 43-page report, “Gateway to Addiction? A Survey of Popular Electronic Cigarette Manufacturers and Marketing to Youth,” was compiled using responses from eight e-cigarette manufacturers received by the lawmakers from their investigation into the industry and other publicly available information.

Among the report’s findings, all of the companies “appear to use” various marketing practices that appeal to children. For example:

• Eight e-cigarette companies promote their products through sponsored or sampling events, many of which “appear to be youth-oriented.” In 2012 and 2013 alone, six of the surveyed companies sponsored or provided free samples at 348 events.
• Seven e-cigarette companies air television and radio advertisements during events and programs, including those with youth viewership. Blu’s commercials “have aired thousands of times at various times of the day and night on 48 networks,” and NJOY has advertised during programs including the Super Bowl, an event hat reaches a substantial audience of youth under age 18.
• Six e-cigarette companies market e-cigarettes in flavors that could appeal to children and teens. For example, e-cigarette manufacturers are marketing flavors like Cherry Crush, Chocolate Treat, Peachy Keen and Grape Mint.
• E-cigarette manufacturers have significantly increased marketing spending, more than doubling expenditures between 2012 and 2013. In total, six e-cigarette companies spent $59.3 million in 2013 to market e-cigarettes.

“For years, federal regulations prohibiting tobacco companies from targeting young people have helped to protect a new generation of smokers from getting hooked on nicotine,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said in a press release. “Now, we must close this new gateway to addiction to protect our children.”

Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tom Harkin (D-IA), John D. Rockefeller (D-WV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) released the report.

The lawmakers are also making the following recommendations:

• E-cigarette companies should take immediate action to prevent the sale of their products to children and teenagers, which includes refraining from television and radio advertisements.
• E-cigarette companies should terminate marketing campaigns that target children and teens, including product promotion through social media and event sponsorships intended for youth audiences.
• The FDA should promptly issue deeming regulations asserting the agency’s authority to regulate e-cigarettes.
• The FDA should issue regulations to prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to children and teenagers by requiring age verification and face-to-face sales, and by limiting purchases through vending machines.
• The FDA should implement restrictions on e-cigarette companies marketing to children and teens, and, where appropriate, work with the Federal Trade Commission to enforce these restrictions.
• The FDA should prohibit misleading product claims on e-cigarettes, and should require clear, uniform labels to inform consumers of the health risks associated with their use.

On March 14, NACS issued a statement of position that encourages stores selling e-cigarettes to adopt, as a best practice, a policy of treating these products as age-restricted, subjecting them to the same age-verification procedures as those applicable to tobacco products.