ADAMS ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES MOVE TO SHUT DOWN SELLERS, DISTRIBUTORS OF FLAVORED VAPES

July 2, 2024

Motion for Preliminary Injunction Would Immediately Block Distribution and Sale of Flavored Vapes by 11 Companies

The Adams administration today announced new steps being taken to immediately prevent 11 companies from distributing and selling flavored e-cigarettes (vapes) in violation of federal, state, and city laws. The City of New York yesterday filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against the distributors as part of a lawsuit initiated in April by the Adams administration.

"This administration has been a national leader in combatting the over proliferation of illegal disposable flavored e-cigarettes at a time when nicotine addiction among middle and high school youth is exploding," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. "While we have already filed a lawsuit to hold these distributors accountable for their actions, the motion we have filed will help us ensure that they can no longer peddle this poison to our children while this case is being litigated. Protecting public safety means protecting the health of New Yorkers, especially our children, and we remain committed to holding anyone accountable who puts profits over the safety of our residents."

"By filing this motion, we are asking the court to put an immediate stop to defendants' illegal activities while the city's case is litigated," said Acting Corporation Counsel Muriel Goode-Trufant. "These companies are fueling an epidemic of e-cigarette use. Every day they are allowed to flout the law is a step backwards in our fight to protect the health of our younger New Yorkers."

In April, the city filed its lawsuit against 11 wholesalers for their part in the illegal sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes, the most popular vaping devices among middle school and high school youth. The 11 defendants - located in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and upstate New York - are alleged to have distributed, and continue to distribute, youth-friendly-flavored disposable e-cigarettes - such as Strawberry Colada, Mellow Mint, Blueberry Energize, and Frozen Creamsicle - to retail vape and smoke shops, convenience stores, and directly to consumers over the internet, in violation of federal, New York state, and New York City law. The suit seeks to block the defendants from selling these illegal items and seeks damages and penalties under state and city statutes. The case is a companion to the city's pending 2023 federal lawsuit, in which two defendants in that case are already subject to court orders barring their sales and shipments

The lawsuit filed in New York County State Supreme Court, builds on commitments made in Mayor Adams' State of the City address earlier this year, where he recommitted to working with Albany to grant local authorities the power to inspect and shut down illegal smoke shops, while supporting the equitable growth of the legal cannabis market and ensuring justice-impacted individuals are not undermined through an illegal market.

Many e-cigarettes provide nicotine levels far exceeding those of conventional cigarettes. Additionally, federal health authorities, such as the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), say youth-friendly flavors in e-cigarettes tempt kids to "vape" high levels of nicotine. Cartoon character packaging on e-cigarettes targeted at young people has also contributed to the epidemic of nicotine addiction among middle and high school youth.

Between 2017 and 2019, e-cigarette use among young people nearly doubled. In October 2022, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released federal data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey finding that one in 10 middle and high school students across the country had used e-cigarettes in a 30-day sample period. Specifically, 14.1 percent (2.14 million) of high school students and 3.3 percent (380,000) of middle school students reported current e-cigarette use.

Consistent with the national trend, e-cigarette consumption in New York City schools has climbed in recent years. The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey by the CDC revealed that 15.2 percent of public high school students and 6.7 percent of public middle school students surveyed reported current use of electronic vape products.

In January 2020, the FDA banned the marketing of flavored vape products unless companies could prove the benefits of the product outweighed its potential harms, a standard no flavored vape company has yet to meet. Additionally, New York City enacted a complete ban on the possession and sale of flavored e-cigarettes, whether at retail establishments or online in 2020. Further, flavored vapes are barred from retail sales in New York state, as well as in many other cities and states nationwide. The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act also prohibits anything other than face-to-face sales of any e-cigarettes unless the sales comply with all state and local laws of the jurisdiction in which the sale occurs. This is an impossibility in New York City where the New York City Administrative Code prohibits the sale of flavored disposable e-cigarettes entirely.

Despite these laws, the city's investigations show that the 11 defendants sell and deliver flavored vapes to retail stores and consumers in New York City.

New York City is using every tool available to protect New Yorkers - particularly young people - from dangerous, illegal vaping, tobacco, and cannabis products, while sending a clear message that anyone helping these illegal, unlicensed shops spread throughout the five boroughs will be held accountable. Coordinating with both city and state authorities, the Adams administration formed the New York City Sheriff's Office Joint Compliance Task Force to Address Illegal Smoke Shops. The task force is dedicated to conducting enforcement against unlicensed establishments selling cannabis, cannabis-infused edibles, illegal vaping products, illegal cigarettes, and other illegal tobacco products.

Since the start of the Adams administration, the city has imposed more than $240 million in penalties, closed over 180 illegal businesses, conducted over 48,000 inspections, and issued 18,000 summonses to businesses illegally selling these types of products. Additionally, the city has sent letters to almost 500 landlords and owners of buildings across the five boroughs warning that they could be legally liable for the continued unlicensed sale of cannabis or tobacco products by their tenants.

###

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.