Attention advertisers, the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have teamed up to warn this week about marketing liquid nicotine in packaging and with advertising that mimics products targeted to children.

The FTC and FDA sent warning letters to manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of liquid nicotine products for e-cigarettes saying they were misleadingly labeled as "kid friendly food products such as juice boxes, candies, and cookies," some with cartoon imagery. Some of the companies receiving warnings were also cited for illegally selling the products to minors.

Related: FDA Rule on Vaping Claim Raises Speech Issues

You can check out the comparisons between the vaping liquids at issue and similar child-targeted food products here.

The major concern is that children accidentally poison themselves by ingesting the e-liquids.

Related: Tobacco Warnings Move Online

"No tobacco products should be marketed in a way that endangers kids – especially by using imagery that misleads them into thinking the products are things they’d eat or drink. Looking at these side-to-side comparisons is alarming," said then-acting FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen (the letters were sent May 1, before her successor as chairman, Joseph Simons, was sworn in later the same day).

The FTC launched an investigation in late 2017 into tobacco product labeling and advertising that mimics food products, especially products that appeal to kids.

The FTC says the branding violates the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because the ads or labels are false or misleading.

s expected, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is ramping up the pressure to curtail e-cigarette marketing, calling for the Federal Trade Commission to take immediate action even before it has finished a study of the issue.

In a letter to FTC chair Edith Ramirez dated Friday (May 13), Boxer urged the FTC to expedite the study and make sure it asked about targeting youth, including via online ads, social media, behavioral targeting and viral videos. But she said in the meantime the FTC should take enforcement actions against what she suggested was clearly youth-targeted marketing.

"While I hope this study will yield significant information that could benefit future regulations, I also ask that you immediately use your existing authority under 15 U.S.C. § 45 to take enforcement actions to stop these marketing tactics."

Following the FDA's recent decision to regulate the smokeless nicotine-delivery devices as it does the ones that smoke, Boxer urged a renewed look at advertisements and marketing techniques, particularly alleged targeting of youth. Cigarettes ads have not aired on TV since the early 1970's following an agreement between manufacturers and the government.

But Boxer has long been concerned about those e-cigarette ads. Back in January the Federal Trade Commission told Boxer it was seeking OMB approval to study the marketing and would seek info from marketers. She first wrote the FTC about the issue back in 2014.

"Given the danger these products pose to our nation's youth and the rapid rate at which advertising and use is growing, I also urge you to immediately act to stop these marketing tactics," the Senator said in a statement. "We cannot wait any longer to start protecting our youth from these dangerous products."

The full letter is reprinted below:

The Honorable Edith Ramirez
Chairwoman
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

Dear Chairwoman Ramirez:

The actions taken by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week finalizing the deeming regulations were a huge victory for America's public health, but it is not enough.  Now, we must work to ensure that e-cigarette companies stop using false and deceptive advertising to target children.

On January 4, 2016 you wrote to me indicating that the Federal Trade Commission was seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to study the marketing of e-cigarettes, including liquid nicotine. In that letter, you indicated that, if granted approval, you would issue information requests to e-cigarette marketers.

I urge you to expedite the study and ask that you specifically solicit information about marketing tactics that target youth, including online advertising, advertising on social media, behavioral targeting, mobile marketing, and viral videos.

While I hope this study will yield significant information that could benefit future regulations, I also ask that you immediately use your existing authority under 15 U.S.C. § 45 to take enforcement actions to stop these marketing tactics.

Since I first wrote to you in 2014, youth exposure to e-cigarette advertising has skyrocketed. According to the CDC's January 2016 Vital Signs report on e-cigarette advertising exposure, over 18 million teens were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements in 2014.  That study also found that spending on e-cigarette advertising rose from $6.4 million in 2011 to an estimated $115 million in 2014. During that same period, current e-cigarette use among high school students grew from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 13.4 percent in 2014. In 2015, that number reached 16 percent.

This huge growth in e-cigarette advertising and teen usage is not a coincidence. In April of this year, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that the greater the exposure to e-cigarette advertisements among middle and high school students, the greater the odds of their e-cigarette use. For years, we have seen e-cigarette manufacturers target youth using the same deplorable tactics big tobacco used in the past. This study simply confirmed the effectiveness of this tactic. We cannot wait any longer to start protecting our youth from these dangerous products.

I commend you for studying the marketing of electronic cigarettes. But, given the danger these products pose to our nation's youth and the rapid rate at which advertising and use is growing, I also urge you to immediately act to stop these marketing tactics.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

The FDA's decision Thursday (May 5) to regulate e-cigarettes has prompted Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) to renew her call for restricting ads for those smokeless nicotine-delivery systems.

"Now it is time for the federal government to follow California's lead and ban the outrageous marketing of e-cigarettes to children," she said this week.

"Yes, Senator Boxer has expressed concerns about the outrageous marketing of e-cigarettes to kids," said a Boxer spokesperson, who said she is "urging the Administration/FTC to ban marketing aimed at children and teens."

Following the FDA decision, Boxer sent a thank you letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Cardiff and at the same time called on the Federal Trade Commission to impose an ad ban. 

Boxer has long pushed for restrictions on e-cigarette ads, including introducing the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act, which would allow the FTC to determine what constitutes marketing the devices to children and work with states attorneys general to enforce a ban.

Former Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) put a spotlight on e-cigarette marketing, with Boxer strongly sharing his concern.

Following his retirement, Sen. Boxer picked up the gauntlet.

She was particularly incensed at that hearing by e-cigarette flavors like cotton candy, gummy bears, Captain Crunch and Bazooka Joe, and ads that appeared to feature Smurfs toking on the e-cigarettes, which are smokeless liquid nicotine-delivery systems.

The issue did not get traction in the Republican-led Senate. Now Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) in a 2014 hearing pointed out that e-cigarettes have no tar and may be helpful to the extent that they reduce consumption of combustible tobacco. He suggested it was an emerging technology that people needed to have an open mind about as a nicotine replacement therapy, an argument e-cigarette makers have often made. 

In December, a group of Democratic senators including Boxer and led by veteran children's advocate Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called on FTC chair Edith Ramirez to investigate liquid nicotine retailers for unfair and deceptive practices.