What took so long? The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has axed the sale of 15 child-friendly e-cigarette devices shaped like toys and featuring popular cartoon characters.
Five companies are accused of using popular imagery from TV shows such as The Simpsons, Squid Game, Rick and Morty, and Family Guy to market the vapes to children and teens.
Other devices highlighted by the FDA are shaped like Nintendo Gameboys, popsicles, bananas or feature animals from children’s cartoons like BabyBu
A report published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 2.6million US middle and high-schoolers use e-cigarettes.
The five manufacturers warned Wednesday — Wizvapor, R and M Vapes, Shenzen Quawins, Ruthless Vapor, and Moti Global — are based in China, Canada and Hong Kong. They must stop selling the products in the US immediately.
Dr Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said ‘the designs of these products are an utterly flagrant attempt to target kids.” It is yet another example of the agency cracking down on teen vape use in America as use of the devices reach a near-epidemic level.
More than four-in-five teen vapers reported using flavored devices – which the FDA has also cracked down on in recent years for marketing to children.
