The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings this year to 13 companies that produce e-cigarettes or other vaping devices for intentionally marketing to children. According to federal authorities, these products are packaged in order to look like other, kid-friendly items such as juice boxes and candy.
The FDA is also investigating manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for giving their products names that make them sound like food and drink. For example, One Mad Hit Juice Box, sold by NEwhere Inc., comes in a cardboard box with folded corners like apple juice and even smells like apples. Vape Heads Sour Smurf Sauce, sold by Lifted Liquids, which look like Warheads candy. Another product called the Twirly Pop, sold by Omnia E-Liquid, actually came packaged with a real lollipop. Others are made to look like bags of gummy worms, a can of whipped cream, vanilla wafers, cans of fruit flavored soda, and children’s’ cereal.
In addition to contacting the manufacturers directly, federal agents also went undercover in order to crack down on the sale of these products to minors, both in stores and online. They also contacted eBay about the ease with which children could procure e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Children can be poisoned and even die from drinking liquid nicotine. Side effects include seizures, comas, and respiratory arrest, and it can take less than half a teaspoon to poison a child.
Advertising for traditional cigarettes is strictly regulated. In 1998, the Master Settlement Agreement, a result of civil litigation between the major tobacco companies, the U.S. government, and many states and territories, created new restrictions. These include bans on transit and billboard advertisements, paid brand product placement, cartoons, tobacco brand sponsorships of sporting events and concerts, and advertising and marketing practices that targeted individuals under 18.
One study examined children aged 12 to 17 who had never used tobacco and were exposed to ads for tobacco products. At the end of the study, 36 percent of them tried e-cigarettes, saying the ads appealed to them. Researchers from Dartmouth say that use of electronic cigarettes has led more people to start smoking for real. In 2015, 168,000 adolescents and young adults who had never smoked cigarettes began smoking and eventually developed a daily cigarette habit after first using e-cigarettes.
According to the CDC, about one of every 13 Americans aged 17 years or younger who are alive today will die early from a smoking-related illness.
These companies have been redesigning their products following FDA involvement, although they maintain they were not marketing to children but simply appealing to the nostalgia of adults who would buy them. They also say that the packaging was childproof. Critics say that this is not enough, however, and that advertising should be tightly controlled the way it is for traditional cigarettes.
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