America's biggest e-cigarette maker continues to face unrelenting regulatory pressure after being sued by New York state on Tuesday, for allegedly marketing its products to under-aged consumers.

San Francisco-based Juul Labs is accused of using deceptive and misleading marketing that has contributed to a youth vaping "epidemic".

Announcing the lawsuit on Tuesday, New York attorney general Letitia James said that the death of a 17-year-old boy in the Bronx, linked to vaping, had prompted her to file the case.

"As a result of all of their advertising, a significant number of young people thought that e-cigarettes were safe," Ms James said.

She said other companies that produce e-cigarettes could be pursued in the future, including one that partly owns Juul.


"I can't specify our legal strategy, but going forward, all individuals who are responsible for the destruction that has been caused in the state of New York, you can be assured this office will pursue those individuals and not be limited to any one particular company," James said.

Altria - which owns the Marlboro brand in the US - has a 35% stake in Juul, which it bought last December for $12.8bn (£10bn), valuing Juul at $38bn (£30bn).

Juul responded in a statement that while the company had not yet reviewed the complaint, it remained focused on "resetting the vapour category in the US and earning the trust of society by working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes".

Image: US regulators have taken a stance against e-cigarette use among the young

The New York lawsuit comes less than 24 hours after Juul was sued by California, which alleged the company engaged in a "systematic" and "wildly successful" campaign to attract teenagers to its devices.

California attorneys allege that the company did little to prevent sales to underage customers, and that Juul used a "flawed" age-verification process for online sales.

San Francisco - Juul's location - became the first US city to ban sales of e-cigarettes in June this year.

New York and Michigan banned the sale of flavoured vaping products, of the kind popularised by Juul, in September.

North Carolina sued the e-cigarette giant in May, while Illinois, Massachusetts and several other states are investigating the company.

British teenager Ewan Fisher warns about vaping after respiratory failure linked to e-cigarettes - November 2019

In the latest government survey, a quarter of high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the previous month, despite federal laws banning sales to those under the age 18.

US regulators have taken a relatively robust stance against the e-cigarette consumption among young people.

In the UK, by contrast, Public Health England has been accused of being "out of step" with the rest of the world when it comes to warning teenagers of the dangers of nicotine addiction.