Lawsuits says that the companies are selling product to underage Chicagoans
By NACS Online // November 14, 2018
CHICAGO – The Windy City filed suit against eight online sellers of electronic cigarettes yesterday, fulfilling a campaign promise made by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Tribunereports. The re-elected mayor said the online retailers are selling the products to customers under the age of 21.
Emanuel has supported higher tobacco taxes and increasing the legal tobacco buying age in the city to 21. This spring, retailers selling tobacco, including electronic cigarettes, had to post signs listing the hazards of smoking and phone numbers of cessation hotlines.
The mayor’s office has also requested information about e-cig marketing practices and youth prevention efforts from 33 vaping manufacturers. City aldermen haven’t always been supportive of the mayor’s efforts, citing an increase in counterfeit and illegal sales of cigarettes.
At a recent news conference ahead of the lawsuit filing, Emanuel targeted tobacco and electronic cigarette companies for what he says are “deceptive marketing practices aimed at kids, and he dismissed the notion of e-cigarettes as a cessation product to help smokers quit.