Liquid nicotine with soda pop, candy and breakfast cereal flavors are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of some powerful legislators.

A group of Democratic senators led by veteran children's advocate Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have called on the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, Edith Ramirez, to investigate liquid nicotine retailers for unfair and deceptive practices

((http://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2015-12-22-ltr-to-FTC.pdf)). At the same time they sent letters to 167 retailers (http://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2015-12-22-Ltr%20to%20All%20L...) asking them to stop marketing to kids (http://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2015-12-22-ltr-candycos.pdf), and to 25 corporations whose trademarks are being used to ask them whether they were aware their brands were being used--presumably the retailer had to pay to license them--and if so why they are helping make liquid nicotine, which is addictive, more attractive to kids.

Among the companies getting the letters were NECCO, Bazooka, Kellogg, General Mills, Ferrara--the makers of Atomic Fireballs, and even the Girl Scouts of America for a "Thin Mint" branded nicotine.

The branded liquid nicotine delivery system products include A&W Root Beer, Trix, Bubblicious and Swedish Fish.

"Use of these trademarked images in this manner appears intended to make the liquid nicotine products attractive to younger smokers and perhaps even to children," they wrote.

They said that nicotine's dangerous and addictive properties are well known and pose a serious health risk.

Poison control centers have recorded an increase in the numbers of kids who have ingested the e-cigarette liquids, they pointed out. Among those also signing on to the letter are Al Franken (Minn.), Barbara Boxer (Calif.) and Richard Durbin (Ill.).

"It's about time! These deadly and highly addictive products, most made under China's virtually nonexistent safety standards, have gone unregulated far too long," said public interest law professor John Banzhaf, who helped get ads for the non-smokeless cigarette off the air. "As a result, adults have been burned and injured in explosions, and toddlers have been rushed to emergency rooms, sometimes in comas.

Banzhaf points out in the interests of full disclosure that he has very publicly opposed unregulated e-cigarettes and filed a legal action that led to the FDA asserting jurisdiction over them. He has also pushed localities, in some cases successfully, to prohibit e-cigarettes when they ban smoking.

The FTC signaled back in October it wanted to look into e-cigarettes, including the various flavors and nicotine strengths of sales and giveaways.

Regular cigarettes have not been advertised on TV since 1971, when the industry agreed to accept a federal ban on radio and TV ads.

Former Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) trained a critical eye on the e-cigarette industry and its seemingly kid-targeted flavorings in one of his last hearings in Congress.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/senators-find-e-cig-adv....

The tone was decidedly angry and accusatory, with Democrats in particular characterizing it as a repeat of the Big Tobacco hearings, where companies took an oath, and then lied. At that hearing, Boxer was particularly incensed by the flavors, like cotton candy and Popsicle.  She hammered the marketers in that hearing over what appeared to be an obvious targeting to kids, including ads that appeared to feature Smurfs smoking. Boxer pointed out that one of the slogans for an e-cigarette is "Let it Glow," when the top song from the top animated movie, Frozen, is "Let it Go."

"We are seeing a repeat, and we here in this committee get it," she said. "Don't be a part of this," she said to the industry witnesses, "because you will regret it."

Republicans on that panel focused on industry arguments that the e-cigs were helping people wean themselves off the tobacco and its tars and smoke-related issues.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) may diverge from cable ops over the state of the set-top market, but he and a bunch of other Senate Democrats are on the same page when it comes to seeking government involvement and oversight in LTE-U sharing of unlicensed WiFi spectrum currently powering cable's principal mobile broadband play.

In a letter to FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, Markey joined a group of other Senate Democrats (Sen. Brian Schatz [D-Hawaii] was lead senator on the letter),advising him that "without proper coordination and management, LTE-U may harm Wi-Fi operations.  Thus, we support continued FCC oversight and leadership in this area in order to protect consumers from potential harm.”  They said they favored a continued light-tough approach to regulation, but said the FCC needs to insure the two can peacefully coexist.

The FCC has created a path to digital citizenship for LTE-U (the U is for unlicensed) to share the unlicensed bands, but also sought comment on how it should proceed.

With reports that wireless companies are preparing to deploy LTE-U, the senators advise the FCC to first convene "a series of meetings led by the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology to ensure that constructive dialogue between technical experts continues in an open and neutral forum and to promote continued work on effective spectrum sharing mechanisms."

Cable ops have advised that the government keep close tabs on the standards process to make sure that the new unlicensed broadband play by wireless carriers does not interfere with their (now millions) of Wi-Fi hot spots.

Qualcomm, which is developing and promoting the technology, says they can co-exist and cable concerns are overblown.

Also signing the letter were Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.).

WiFi Forward praised the senators' letter.

"We applaud Senators Schatz, Blumenthal, Udall, Markey, Cantwell and McCaskill for their leadership on this issue. Wi-Fi and technologies powered by unlicensed spectrum are critical to connecting consumers and businesses large and small to the power of the Internet -- but Wi-Fi is under threat," the group said. "These technologies have been so successful in part because all users of unlicensed spectrum are motivated to coexist, but some carriers are rushing to implement LTE-U devices that are designed to take advantage of Wi-Fi’s politeness in a way that could knock consumers off the air. We are encouraged by the FCC’s interest in this issue and look forward to working with the Commission to ensure consumers have access to technologies they’ve come to depend on, as well ensure that the unlicensed bands remain a sandbox for innovation in the future."

CTIA: The Wireless Association credited the letter to cable industry efforts to impede deployment of the new technology.

"The cable industry’s continued efforts to inhibit the roll out of new wireless services that could help deliver consumers better service and new Internet of Things offerings is disappointing," said CTIA SVP and General Counsel Tom POWer. "LTE-U is pro-consumer and pro-competition, and will co-exist with other users of unlicensed. There is no need or basis for the FCC to intervene. The FCC does not approve particular technologies for use in the unlicensed bands, and cable’s request flies in the face of their own rhetoric that unlicensed spectrum works because of 'permissionless innovation.' Unlicensed should remain free for all to innovate and deliver new services to consumers, not just cable broadband subscribers."

The full text of the letter is reprinted below:

Dear Chairman Wheeler:

We are writing today in regards to the Commission’s Public Notice to examine the effect new technologies, namely LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U), could have on existing operations in spectrum bands for unlicensed devices.  It is critical that this examination be open and thorough to make sure that these new technologies operate fairly and do not impede the availability of the unlicensed spectrum necessary for robust Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies or otherwise degrade operations.

Consumers and the larger wireless ecosystem have come to rely greatly on Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies.  In the 20 years since the FCC unlocked spectrum for unlicensed technologies, consumer use of innovative communications technologies like Wi-Fi and use of the Internet has skyrocketed.  Today, nearly half of all Internet traffic worldwide travels over Wi-Fi connections and Wi-Fi use is expected to continue to grow over the coming years.  And the proliferation of Internet of Things technologies that rely on unlicensed spectrum will further increase unlicensed spectrum utilization.

Several factors have made unlicensed spectrum an incredibly beneficial resource to consumers and businesses.  For instance, one of the important attributes of unlicensed spectrum in the U.S. has been that it is a regulated with a very light touch.  This very open environment has enabled innovation; however, it has also required cooperation among competing technologies and serious work by industry led standards groups to minimize harmful interference.  And, as unlicensed spectrum usage increases, the need for all stakeholders to proactively work together to address interference issues will only grow.

At this juncture, stakeholders have indicated that there is an absence of consensus as to the likely real-world effect on millions of Wi-Fi devices by carrier-scale deployment of these LTE technologies.  We are concerned that without proper coordination and management, LTE-U may harm Wi-Fi operations.  Thus, we support continued FCC oversight and leadership in this area in order to protect consumers from potential harm. 

It remains critical for industry to work together, including through their traditional standards-development bodies, to resolve concerns over interference. In the meantime, we recommend that the FCC initiate a process that allows industry to develop an effective sharing solution—as has been developed with other technologies in the past—to avoid any unnecessary consumer dislocation.  This could include a series of meetings led by the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology to ensure that constructive dialogue between technical experts continues in an open and neutral forum and to promote continued work on effective spectrum sharing mechanisms.  We encourage you to act on this request expeditiously, given reports that some wireless companies plan to begin deploying LTE-U technologies in the near future.

Thank you for your continued efforts to preserve the vitality of the Nation’s unlicensed bands.