JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood has joined 39 other attorneys general in urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate electronic cigarettes in the same way it regulates tobacco products.
Hood says in a news release Wednesday that the FDA should place restrictions on the advertising and ingredients of the popular, highly-addictive product, and prohibit its sale to minors.
Hood says unlike traditional tobacco products, there are no federal age restrictions to prevent children from obtaining e-cigarettes.
Hood says e-cigarette manufacturers are using marketing tactics similar to those big tobacco used in the last 50 to 100 years to attract new smokers.
He says celebrity endorsements, television advertising, cartoons, fruit flavors, attractive packaging and cheap prices all serve to encourage youth consumption of these dangerous products.