Lawmakers also send letters to 167 liquid nicotine retailers demanding they stop marketing efforts and to 25 corporations whose trademarks appear to be misused by retailers

Washington (December 22, 2015) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) was today joined by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) asking it to investigate unfair or deceptive acts of liquid-nicotine retailers. The organization First Focus has found that there are many cases of these retailers advertising liquid nicotine as recognizable brand names of candy, breakfast cereal, and other foods and drinks, including Red Vines, A&W Root Beer, Trix, Bubblicious, and Swedish Fish. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of increased numbers of calls to poison control centers for liquid nicotine exposure, and it is reported that one half teaspoon of liquid nicotine can cause severe stomach aches, seizures, difficulty breathing and even death.

“Nicotine’s dangerous and addictive properties are well documented. Liquid nicotine poses an especially serious threat to children,” write the Senators in the letter to the FTC. “We must not tolerate the marketing of a harmful chemical to teenagers and children, especially under the imprimatur of recognizable brands — an advertising activity plainly undertaken to create a new generation of nicotine-addicted smokers or ‘vapers.’ ”

A copy of the letter to the FTC can be found HERE .

Copies of the letter to the liquid nicotine retailers can be found HERE . Copies of the letter to the candy/cereal companies can be found HERE . The full list of the 167 liquid nicotine retailers and 25 candy/cereal companies who were sent letters can be found HERE .