On Thursday, New York filed a lawsuit against several major e-cigarette distributors, alleging they violated state laws prohibiting the sale of flavored vapes and designs that appeal to children.
Attorney General Letitia James announced the lawsuit, which targets distributors supplying fruit- and candy-flavored e-cigarettes, such as Puff Bar and Elf Bar, to hundreds of convenience stores and gas stations across the state. This legal action marks a shift in strategy from previous lawsuits by New York and other states, which primarily focused on vaping manufacturers like Juul Labs.
The state’s nearly 200-page lawsuit details “widespread evidence of illegal conduct,” including documents revealing unlawful shipments of flavored vapes to New York. The filing also features images of brightly colored e-cigarettes designed to resemble soft drinks and candy, with flavors such as “fruity bears freeze,” “cotton candy,” and “strawberry cereal donut milk.”
New York banned all vaping flavors except tobacco in 2020.
“For too long, these companies have ignored our laws to profit at the expense of young people, but we will not jeopardize the health and safety of our kids,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement.
The lawsuit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and a permanent ban on the sale of flavored vapes in New York.
The lawsuit names several companies, including Demand Vape of New York, Evo Brands of California, Safa Goods of Florida, and Midwest Goods of Illinois, according to the AP.
According to the lawsuit, “Demand Vape maintains close ties with international manufacturers, with its co-founder frequently traveling to China—where its products are made—to oversee flavor development and marketing.”
In a 2022 legal case, the co-founder of Buffalo-based Demand Vape told a federal judge that the company had sold more than $132 million worth of Elf Bar e-cigarettes in the previous year. Elf Bar, manufactured by a Shenzhen, China-based company, offers flavors such as “strawberry mango” and “lemon mint.”
In the past, New York and several other states sued major e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs for the same reason, resulting in a $462 million settlement.
Since then, Juul has stopped selling most flavored vapes with the exceptions being tobacco and menthol.
“Defendants are illegally perpetuating a cycle of harm from the old tobacco industry playbook: hide the harm and use appealing colors and flavors to hook kids for life,” the lawsuit states. “As a result, the youth vaping epidemic is unwinding the decades of work combatting youth cigarette use, which successfully resulted in a dramatic reduction in youth smoking rates.”
