New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix announced that the city will be filing a federal lawsuit against four major distributors of disposable e-cigarettes—Magellan Technology Inc., Demand Vape, Mahant Krupa 56 LLC d/b/a Empire Vape Distributors and Star Vape, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.

The lawsuit argues that the companies have been distributing flavored disposable e-cigarettes to vape and smoke shops, convenience stores and directly to consumers online in violation of federal, New York state and New York City law. The marketing of these products is aimed at young people with flavors like “strawberry milkshake” and “pina colada” and using packaging with cartoon characters to attract children, according to the city.

NYC agencies documented thousands of illegal sales of flavored vapes by city stores in 2022, levying thousands of dollars in fines. In January of this year, deputies from the New York City Sheriff’s Office seized hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal flavored vapes from stores located on the Upper West Side.

Since the formation of the Joint Interagency Task Force convened by Mayor Adams last December, the Sheriff’s Office has seized 319,636 packages of flavored vape, with an estimated value of $6.4 million dollars.

“New York banned flavored vape sales in 2019, but that hasn’t prevented teens—the group especially vulnerable to the addictive and harmful effects of nicotine—from being enticed by and purchasing vapes,” said New York City Councilmember Lynn Schulman, chair, Committee on Health. “Thank you to Mayor Eric Adams for protecting the lives of our young New Yorkers by bringing a federal lawsuit against the distributors of theses illegal and dangerous products.”