BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — A California online electronic cigarette devices retailer has been issued a cease and desist order by the state of Massachusetts for alleged violation of the state's tobacco sales and advertisement regulatory laws.
According to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, Kilo-E Liquids (Kilo) has been ordered to stop its sales of tobacco products after an investigation found the company's ads appeared on websites visited by students as young as kindergarteners as well as teachers and schools. The company also failed to verify its customers' ages when purchasing vaping products such as nicotine e-liquids, the Attorney General's Office alleges.
“E-cigarette companies have taken a page out of the playbook of the tobacco companies to get young people addicted to their products,” Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “If these retailers are operating in our state, they must comply with Massachusetts laws and keep their products away from children.”
According to Healey's office, Massachusetts law states the minimum legal age for buying "electronic smoking devices" is 21. Online tobacco retailers must use a "commercially available" database to verify the age and identity of the person buying the products as well as use a shipping method that requires a signature of someone who is of legal age to purchase the products, her office said.