New York City Sues Online E-Cigarette Sellers
The city asked to block 22 online retailers from selling e-cigarettes to residents under 21.
Oct 14, 2019
NEW YORK CITY—The City of New York has sued more than a dozen online retailers for allegedly selling e-cigarettes to underage residents, Bloomberg reports. This comes amid a nationwide wave of crackdowns as health concerns from vaping rise after 18 deaths in the U.S. were tied to the practice.
The case, New York City v. Artisan Vapor Franchise, filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn), addresses the city’s call to block 22 online retailers from selling e-cigarettes to residents who are younger than 21 and demands that the companies install age verification systems.
“The kids of New York are the pride of our city, but to these companies, they’re just a source of profit,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “Preying on minors and hooking them on a potentially lethal, lifelong nicotine addiction is unconscionable.”
Artisan Vapor Franchise, the first company named in the suit, was surprised by the news and said the company uses a third-party service to verify customers’ ages and is looking into how a minor could have purchased a product. Another company, JUUL Labs Inc., is a defendant in nearly a dozen federal lawsuits and more than 40 suits in state courts.
Earlier this month, New York state instituted an emergency ban on flavored e-cigarettes, but it was blocked by a state appeals court after a challenge from the Vapor Technology Association. Additionally, late last week, a U.S. House panel asked four e-cigarette companies to stop all print, broadcast and digital advertising of their products in the United States, reports U.S. News.
Compliance and regulations Compliance and regulations Product availability Merchandising Receiving products E-commerce Tobacco Retail financial transactions New York
