Purveyors of juice-box style, nicotine-filled vapes stop sales

Makers of e-cigarette and vaping liquids like One Mad Hit Juice Box, V’Nilla Cookies & Milk, Unicorn Cakes and other products with packaging that could appeal to children have stopped selling them, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The agency said Thursday that the 17 makers, distributors and sellers of nicotine-containing e-liquids for e-cigarettes had agreed to take the products off the market, after the agency issued a warning in May.

“When companies market these products using imagery that misleads a child into thinking they’re things they’ve consumed before, like a juice box or candy, that can create an imminent risk of harm,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner.

The letters, 13 of which were sent in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission, which regulates advertising, were sent to companies involved in the sale of a range of vaping and e-cigarette products the FDA said appealed to children. Among those cited were:

■ One Mad Hit Juice Box, which resembled apple juice; ■ V’Nilla cookies & milk, packaged like cookies; ■ Unicorn Cakes, which included images and cartoons of a strawberry drink and unicorns eating pancakes, evoking the “My Little Pony” television and toy franchise.

The FDA said it expected some of the liquids would still be sold under revised labeling and advertising.

According to the FDA, more than 2 million middle and high school students were users of e-cigarettes and related products in 2016, with flavorings given as one of the top reasons for use.

Besides the threat of nicotine addiction, the agency is concerned about a rise in e-liquid poisonings of children younger than 6. E-liquid poisoning and other liquid nicotine exposure in young children can cause seizures, comas and even death from cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Eric Lindblom, a former FDA tobacco official who is now at Georgetown Law School, called Thursday’s announcement a good first step.

“But,” he said, “tobacco companies know all sorts of sophisticated, under-the-radar ways to attract kids to their products. What this is doing is addressing the visible tip of the iceberg.”