Maker of Electronic Cigarettes Will No Longer Market to Minors
On Friday, one of the nation's largest electronic cigarette sellers reached a settlement with the California Office of the Attorney General over claims that its products were a safe alternative to smoking and that it marketed e-cigarettes to minors, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Settlement Details
The Florida-based seller, Smoking Everywhere, agreed to pay $170,000 to the attorney general's office (Mannes, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/1).
Under the settlement, the company agreed not to:
- Sell or market e-cigarettes to minors;
- Sell flavored cartridges that could appeal to minors;
- Market its products as tools to help quit smoking unless it receives FDA approval; and
- Market its products as being safer than traditional cigarettes.
Smoking Everywhere also will provide a warning on its products saying that they contain nicotine.
In addition, the company will adopt quality standards to eliminate harmful substances in its products and submit to independent audits (de Brito, "California Watch Blog," 11/1).
E-Cigarette Design
E-cigarettes are operated by a battery and are designed to look like regular cigarettes. Users inhale a vapor that is created by a nicotine cartridge.
E-cigarettes can come in flavors like cookies-and-cream, strawberry, chocolate and banana.
Smoking Everywhere and other e-cigarette manufacturers have said their products are safe because they contain no carcinogens or tar and because they do not produce secondhand smoke (San Diego Union-Tribune, 11/1).
However, FDA in July said that some e-cigarettes contain chemicals including carcinogens ("California Watch Blog," 11/1). FDA is planning to increase regulation of e-cigarettes (Gorman/Roberts, Reuters, 10/30).
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