RALEIGH, N.C. — Attorney General Josh Stein today announced that he will be filing lawsuits against eight different e-cigarette companies: Beard Vape, Direct eLiquid, Electric Lotus, Electric Tobacconist, Eonsmoke, Juice Man, Tinted Brew, and VapeCo.
Stein alleges that these companies are aggressively targeting children and do not require appropriate age verification when selling these dangerous and addictive products.
Stein said quote "Our complaints allege that these eight e-cig companies are helping to fuel an epidemic of vaping among high school and middle school students. One look at their marketing materials demonstrates just how egregious their sales tactics are – with flavors like cotton candy, gummy bear, unicorn, and graham cracker, they’re clearly targeting young people. To teenagers, the health and addiction risks of vaping are simply too high. That is why my office is asking the court to protect our kids by shutting down these operations in our state.”
The Attorney General's office says that tobacco use among teens has dropped from 28 percent to just 5 percent from 200 to 2017. But the rise of e-cigarettes among high schoolers has now risen back up to 30 percent.