Minnesota AG Ellison warns 5,000 companies to stop selling tobacco products marketed to kids

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sent letters to more than 5,000 retailers and distributors asking them to stop selling unauthorized flavored tobacco products in the state. Those products include flavored e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches that have not been authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“For decades now, everyone has known the dangers nicotine poses to young people — increased risk of addiction, respiratory problems, even brain damage. Today, I’m asking Minnesota businesses to join me in protecting young people by taking unauthorized products off their shelves — particularly ones that are illegally marketed toward kids — in accordance with federal and state law,” Ellison said in a statement.

Ellison said the sale and distribution of those products violates several state laws, including consumer-protection statutes. Some of the products have candy, fruit or dessert flavors that may be more attractive to minors.

Ellison asked the companies to confirm they will comply with state law and refrain from marketing, selling or distributing the items.

“Our goal is voluntary compliance,” Ellison said. “Any distributors or retailers that choose to defy the law and not comply, however, should know that my office has a wide range of options to ensure that they stop harming our children. I cannot and will not sit by and allow people to turn a profit by pushing toxins on our children.”

Unauthorized e-cigarettes have drawn significant attention from federal officials.

Ellison’s letter noted, “On June 10, 2024, several federal law enforcement agencies announced the formation of a task force to investigate and prosecute the sale and distribution of illegal e-cigarettes under federal law.”

In April, the FDA, in coordination with U.S. Department of Justice, announced that the U.S. Marshals Service seized $703,000 worth of unauthorized e-cigarette products from a warehouse in California.

The Attorney General’s Office did not cite the names of any retailers or distributors that it contacted. Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, said that some of the distributors who were sent letters are not based in Minnesota but distribute products in the state.