New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a bipartisan initiative calling on credit card companies to help curb the sale of illegal vaping products.<\/p>\n
She and a coalition of 24 attorneys sent letters to companies including American Express, Capitol One, Citi Group, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Sezzle and Block.<\/p>\n
They urge companies to take immediate action to \u201cblock unlawful transactions that enable the distribution of illegal vaping products, particularly to young people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, vape sellers are using mainstream payment systems to sell products that shouldn\u2019t be on the market in the first place to kids,\u201d said James. \u201cOur nation’s children need to be protected from these addictive and dangerous products. If you are helping process the payment, then you are part of the pipeline. These companies have the power to shut this down, and they must act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Federal law requires e-cigarette products to receive FDA authorization before they can be legally marketed or sold in the United States.<\/p>\n
A press release from the Attorney General\u2019s Office notes that the FDA has only authorized 41 products to date, \u201cnone in flavors other than tobacco or menthol, meaning the vast majority of vapor products sold are illegal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Products without FDA authorization are considered \u201cadulterated\u201d under federal law and \u201ccannot be legally sold or shipped in interstate commerce.\u201d<\/p>\n
James says New York led a similar, successful effort to get credit card companies to reduce online cigarette sales in 2005.<\/p>\n