E-cigarette Manufacturers Target Stop Children Committed

Article about e-cigarette maker agrees to stop taargetting kids.

The largest maker of electronic cigarettes has agreed to stop targeting minors and claiming that its "e-cigarettes" are a safe alternative to smoking.

Smoking Everywhere reached a settlement with the state attorney general's office last week and agreed to pay $170,000.

The company and other electronic cigarette makers have claimed that e-cigarettes are safe because they contain no carcinogens or tar and produce no second-hand smoke, according to the state attorney general's office.

But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last July that some electronic cigarettes do contain dangerous chemicals, including nicotine and carcinogens such as nitrosamines and diethylene glycol, commonly known as antifreeze.

"Smoking Everywhere aimed ads at minors and falsely claimed its products were safe," Attorney General Jerry Brown said in the news release.

Christine Gasparac, spokesperson for the attorney general's office, said the website featured Howard Stern saying "kids love 'em." The defendants did not admit any violation of the law, according to court documents. Company representatives could not be reached for comment.

On its website, Smoking Everywhere advertises e-cigarettes in flavors like mint, coffee,

chocolate, vanilla, cherry and apple and offers products with varying nicotine strengths.

“It looks like a cigarette, it tastes like a cigarette, it feels like a cigarette, but it isn't a cigarette – it's much better!” a video advertisement on the company’s website states. The ad focuses on the benefits of being able to smoke the e-cigarette indoors – in taxis, restaurants and airports.

The e-cigarette was developed in China in 2004, according to the World Health Organization. When puffed on, an indicator light glows, and a vapor is produced. The e-cigarette comes with a lithium battery and a charger.

The settlement with Smoking Everywhere is not the first between the state and an e-cigarette company. On Aug. 3, the attorney general's office announced an $85,000 settlement with Sottera, another major e-cigarette producer. Sottera, according to the settlement, had also targeted minors and made false claims about its product.

Other states, like Oregon, have sued e-cigarette companies for the same reasons.

In 2008, the World Health Organization published a news release stating that it "does not consider it to be a legitimate therapy for smokers trying to quit."

In a CNN article published last year, Elicko Taieb, the CEO of Smoking Everywhere, was quoted as saying, “There are no ingredients in our e-cigs that can cause cancer. However, it is a pretty new product, so we are not 100 percent sure of the side effects at this point.”