New York City Sues E-Commerce Sites for Selling Vapes to Minors

On October 10, news reported that on Wednesday local time, New York City filed a lawsuit against several online retailers, claiming they sold e-cigarettes to underage residents. Following a series of lung diseases linked to e-cigarettes, the U.S. has intensified its crackdown on the entire e-cigarette industry.

In the lawsuit, New York City is asking a federal judge in Brooklyn to prohibit 22 online retailers from marketing e-cigarettes to residents under 21. The city government is also requesting these companies to install systems to verify customer ages. The New York City government stated that even if buyers claim to be minors, they can still purchase e-cigarettes.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio stated in a press release, "The children of New York are the pride of our city, but to these companies, they are just a source of profit. It is unreasonable to target minors and get them hooked on a potentially deadly lifelong addiction to nicotine."

Lawsuits against e-cigarette manufacturers and sellers have been on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that e-cigarettes have already led to at least 18 deaths and over 1,000 lung injuries. Agency officials have not yet identified a single product or substance responsible for the injuries.

Juul Labs, the largest e-cigarette manufacturer in the U.S., is a defendant in nearly 12 federal lawsuits, which are focused on pre-trial information exchanges in San Francisco. Some lawsuits have also targeted Altria Group (the parent company of Marlboro). Juul faces over 40 lawsuits at the state level. Some plaintiffs' parents claim their children became addicted to nicotine after using e-cigarettes.

Earlier this month, New York State enacted an emergency ban on flavored e-cigarettes, but a New York appellate court overturned the ban after the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) raised concerns. The association stated that the vast majority of illnesses are directly related to products containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis) found in the black market, not regulated nicotine products.