• Posted February 21, 2025

New York Sues Vape Companies for Marketing to Youth, Violating Flavor Ban

New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a major lawsuit yesterday, accusing 13 e-cigarette companies of illegally selling flavored vapes and targeting young kids through deceptive marketing.

The 192-page complaint claims the companies -- Puff Bar, Evo Brands, PVG2, Demand Vape, Magellan, Happy Distro, Midwest Goods, Pod Juice, Safa Goods, Mi-One, Mylé, MVH I and Price Point -- violated New York's ban on flavored vapes, which studies show are preferred by young users, The Washington Post reported.

“The vaping industry is taking a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook: they’re making nicotine seem cool, getting kids hooked, and creating a massive public health crisis in the process,” James said in a statement.

“For too long, these companies have disregarded our laws in order to profit off of our young people,” she added.

The lawsuit seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and restitution for the companies’ public health impact. This includes: Fines for violating federal and state laws, recovery of revenue from illegal vape sales and the creation of a fund to address the youth vaping crisis in New York.

The attorney general’s office describes these penalties as a “conservative estimate,” given the widespread impact of youth vaping.

The lawsuit claims companies marketed flavors like “Strawberry Donut” and “Tropical Rainbow Blast” using bright packaging and social media influencers to appeal to teens.

One example cited was a Puff Bar ad during COVID-19 lockdowns, promoting vapes as “the perfect escape from back-to-back zoom calls [and] parental texts," The Post reported.

The complaint also alleges that companies have used illegal shipping methods to supply retailers and that many retailers are concentrated around public middle and high schools. 

The Vapor Technology Association, a trade group, dismissed the lawsuit’s claims as “false.”

“The facts are that since President Donald Trump raised the age to buy all tobacco products in 2019, youth vaping has dropped to the lowest level in over a decade,” Tony Abboud, the association's executive director, said.

"This suit is the latest example of why President Trump needs to take bold and decisive action to end the government law-fare against the flavored vaping industry,” Abboud added.

Despite the decline, e-cigarettes remain the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. middle and high school students, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 2024, 1.6 million students (6%) reported e-cigarette use. What's more, 87.6% of those used flavored e-cigarettes.

But, a federal survey released last fall found youth e-cigarette use has decreased nearly 70% since its peak in 2019.

Anti-tobacco advocates warn that nicotine exposure harms developing brains and can lead to addiction, often alongside traditional cigarette use.

“At every turn, each Defendant’s New York-touching commercial conduct in the Flavored E-Cigarette industry undercuts New York’s efforts and law -- which must be now enforced to protect the public,” the lawsuit says.

“By first dodging all of New York’s regulatory safeguards, then making these products as cheap as possible and as abundantly available as possible in our communities, each Defendant cashes in without regard to the lasting harm they cause,” the complaint says.

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on the dangers of vaping.

SOURCES: The Washington Post, media report, Feb. 20, 2025; Office of the New York State Attorney General, news release, Feb. 20, 2025; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oct. 17, 2024