Attorney General Ellison sues e-cigarette manufacturer, launches investigation of another
High Light Vapes promoted products as ‘stealthy’ way to vape because of ‘striking resemblance to actual highlighters’; AG alleges violations of state laws against marketing tobacco to children, consumer fraud
Also serves civil investigative demand on Loon to determine whether manufacturer has violated deceptive-vaping and consumer-protection laws
Actions are part of bipartisan coalition of AGs working to protect young people from dangerous, addictive, and unlawful products
January 15, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) – Attorney General Ellison today announced that his office has filed a lawsuit against High Light Vapes for violating state laws against deceptive tobacco marketing, marketing vapes to children, and consumer fraud, and has launched an investigation into e-cigarette manufacturer Loon to determine whether Loon has violated these or similar laws.
“My job as Attorney General is to protect Minnesotans — especially our children — when corporations try to harm us to make a profit. I will not allow any corporation to illegally manufacture, market, and sell dangerous and addictive e-cigarette products to Minnesota youth,” said Attorney General Ellison. “The actions I’m announcing today should put vaping businesses on notice: designing vaping products to appeal to young people will not be tolerated in Minnesota. I’m taking action to stop unlawful practices and prevent a generation of younger Minnesotans from becoming hooked on nicotine.”
High Light Vapes is the maker of e-cigarette products that mimic highlighters and are designed to be easily concealable and usable by school-age children.
A promotional photo for High Light Vapes, which illustrates how closely they mimic highlighters
High Light intentionally advertised its products as a “stealthy” and “disguise[d]” way to have “seamless and covert vaping in any setting,” due to their “striking resemblance to actual highlighters.” At an August 29, 2024 press conference, Attorney General Ellison demonstrated the similarity in appearance between an actual highlighter and a High Light Vape. High Light’s e-cigarettes not only mimic children’s school supplies, but also come in a wide variety of “fruity, minty, or dessert flavors,” including Strawberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Raspberry, Sour Apple, and Magic Fruit. Attorney General Ellison alleges that by manufacturing and marketing these products, High Light Vapes has violated a new state law that prohibits the advertising, sale, or distribution of e-cigarettes that imitate school supplies or are described or depicted as imitating candy, desserts, or beverages that are commonly marketed to minors, among other things, and has violated other tobacco-related and consumer-fraud laws.
Attorney General today also announced he has begun a civil investigation into Loon (also known as Maduro Distributors), a Minnesota-based manufacturer of several brands and flavors of e-cigarettes. As part of this investigation, the Attorney General’s Office served a civil investigative demand on Loon, which require the company to produce documents and answer questions under oath. The purpose of the investigation is to gather information to determine whether Loon may have violated Minnesota’s consumer protection and deceptive vaping laws.
Multistate action to prevent harms to youth of flavored, disposable e-cigarettes
Flavored disposable e-cigarette products are largely manufactured and imported illegally into the United States from China. Many of the companies who manufacture and distribute these products have declined to participate in the FDA’s mandated marketing order process, and these products are considered adulterated and unlawful for sale. However, despite the fact that new e-cigarettes require FDA approval, the U.S. market has been flooded with flavored disposable e-cigarettes, and the number of unique disposable products has gone up 1500% since 2020.
These products are designed to appeal to and are marketed to youth. Despite containing dangerously high amounts of nicotine, disposable e-cigarettes come in a myriad of kid-friendly flavors, playful shapes, bright colors, and some even include video games that encourage young consumers to earn virtual coins by vaping. To date, these products are the most widely used tobacco product among youth, jeopardizing their health and well-being.
Despite the federal government's efforts to control the proliferation of these products, they remain widely available and represent an ongoing threat to youth. For this reason, Attorney General Ellison has joined a bipartisan coalition of nine attorneys general from around the country that share a commitment to protecting their youth from these dangerous products and predatory marketing practices and are working in coordination to hold companies accountable for unlawfully manufacturing, distributing, selling, and marketing flavored disposable e-cigarette products. Their multistate efforts address the continued distribution and sale of harmful and addictive tobacco products to our youth by enforcing each state’s tobacco and consumer-protection laws. Using their available legal tools and support, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Hawaii, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington D.C., are joining Minnesota today in taking steps to enforce their respective licensing and consumer protection laws to hold the companies accountable for importing, distributing, selling, and marketing flavored disposable e-cigarettes.
Minnesotans who wish to report any instances of the marketing or sale of potential illegal e-cigarette or other tobacco products in Minnesota to the Attorney General’s Office may do so by emailing vaping@ag.state.mn.us or by completing the Illegal Vaping Products report form on the Attorney General’s website. These reports will help the Attorney General’s Office effectively monitor Minnesota’s marketplace and ensure businesses comply with Minnesota law.
Protecting Minnesotans from illegal tobacco products
In December 2019, Attorney General Ellison sued e-cigarette maker Juul on behalf of the people of Minnesota, for violating Minnesota’s consumer-protection laws, breaching its duty of reasonable care, and creating a public nuisance. The lawsuit detailed how JUUL developed sleek devices and flavors that were appealing to youth, and how JUUL’s youth-oriented marketing deceptively attracted and addicted young people. In 2020, Minnesota amended its complaint to include Altria as a defendant: in 2018, Altria spent $12.8 billion to acquire a 35% share in JUUL.
Of the many state and local governments that sued JUUL or Altria, Minnesota was the first to go to trial. After a trial at which the State presented 11 witnesses in support of its claims against JUUL and Altria, the parties reached a settlement in mid-April 2023.
Under the terms of the Consent Judgment, Juul and Altria will together pay a total of $60.5 million to the State of Minnesota over an eight-year period, which makes Minnesota’s settlement with JUUL the largest per capita in the country. The payment schedule is frontloaded: JUUL and Altria have already paid $35.5 million under the settlement, meaning that the State has received nearly 60% of the total value of the settlement in less than one year. Even after costs and fees, the value of Minnesota’s settlement was the largest per capita in the country. Money Minnesota receives under the settlement is dedicated by law to preventing youth smoking and e-cigarette use.
Settlements with the tobacco industry are widely recognized as landmark public health achievements. Since Minnesota’s first historic settlement with Big Tobacco in 1998, overall cigarette use has declined by more than 50% and cigarette use among high school students dropped from more than 35% in 1997 to 1.9% in 2023.
Free help quitting nicotine
People looking to quit nicotine are not alone. Free nicotine-cessation help is available to all Minnesotans.
For teens, the My Life, My Quit program offers free and confidential help to Minnesotans ages 13 to 17 trying to quit commercial tobacco and nicotine. Teens can text, call or chat online with a quit coach, and receive age-specific materials. Teens can text “Start My Quit” to 36072 or visit https://mn.mylifemyquit.org/en-us/.
For adults, Quit Partner is Minnesota’s family of programs for people who want to quit. It offers coaching calls, text and email support, as well as medication like nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669) or visit https://quitpartnermn.com/.
