U.S. seeks e-cigarette companies' data on advertising, sales (updated)
03/10/2019 16:55
(Adds detail on FTC request, background on issue)
WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade
Commission has ordered a half-dozen e-cigarette companies to
turn over sales and advertising data, the federal regulator said
on Thursday, in the first sign of a likely probe into marketing
practices by the companies.
The order was sent to JUUL Labs Inc, RJ Reynolds Vapor
Company, Fontem US Inc, Logic Technology Development LLC
LOGQ.PK , Nu Mark LLC and NJOY LLC, the FTC said in a
statement.
The FTC is seeking annual sales data and information on
giveaways, data on product placement and flavors, as well as
information on the companies' use of celebrities as internet
influencers and marketing on college campuses to sell the
electronic smoking devices.
Part of the FTC mission is to enforce truth-in-advertising
laws.
"The goal is to assist the Commission, policy makers, and
the public to better understand the rapidly growing e-cigarette
market," the FTC said.
The FTC request comes amid a mysterious outbreak of serious
vaping-related lung illnesses whose cause has yet to be
determined.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said
that there have been 805 confirmed and probable cases of lung
illness in 46 states, as well as 12 deaths associated with
vaping in the United States. Four other U.S. deaths have since
been reported by states. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N26M43I The CDC is expected to
update its numbers later on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the agency has urged people to stop using
e-cigarette or vaping products, including those containing THC,
the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
The Trump administration has announced plans to remove all
flavored e-cigarette products from the market in the United
States amid concerns that flavors like mint and mango attract
children to the products.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Diane Bartz and Bryan Pietsch
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
((202-898-8300; Reuters Messaging:
susan.heavey.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))