Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against two Florida-based vaping companies, accused of marketing products to minors and failing to verify the ages of customers.
Pointing to a growing epidemic of vaping by teens, Moody last October began investigating more than 20 companies to look at how they market and sell electronic cigarettes.
This week’s action seeks to stop two firms, Monster Vape Labs and Lizard Juice, from using cartoons and promotional giveaways in advertising.
It would also require the companies to use better age-verification procedures to stop the sale to minors.
Moody says the legal action is part of a larger issue concerning youth vaping.
“The gains that we made with keeping kids from smoking traditional cigarettes, we have lost completely to this teen vaping epidemic,” Moody said.
Moody’s investigation into another 19 vaping companies is ongoing.
According to the Florida Department of Health, e-cigarette use among Florida high schoolers increased 63 percent from 2017 to 2018, and nearly 25 percent of that age group now admits to vaping.
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