There is one less company selling vaping products in Arizona, thanks to a ruling by the Maricopa County Superior Court.

Eonsmoke will no longer be permitted to sell any of its vape pods or other items in the state of Arizona and the company has been ordered to pay more than $22 million in penalties and other fees. The decision, issued August 7, brings an end to the case first brought by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich in January over claims Eonsmoke was illegally marketing its tobacco and vape products to kids.

Arizona was the second of two states to take legal action against Eonsmoke. Massachusetts filed similar charges in May 2019, according to the Associated Press.

New Jersey based Eonsmoke did not mount a defense in the Arizona case and the company’s website now says “due to declining circumstances, coronavirus, regulator and competitor litigations, we have ceased worldwide operations of Eonsmoke products.”

Attorney General Lauds Eonsmoke Ruling

Brnovich announced the court’s ruling, called a default judgement because the plaintiff offered no defense against the charges, in a press release.

“Eonsmoke is being held accountable for its unlawful conduct in Arizona, including marketing flavored vaping pods to children,” the attorney general was quoted in the release as saying. “If you are an Arizona retailer and have Eonsmoke products on your shelves, they are illegal.”

Brnovich went on to say his office “will continue to monitor Eonsmoke’s presence in Arizona and ensure its compliance with all state and federal laws.”

The judgment granted a permanent injunction against Eonsmoke, prohibiting it from “advertising, marketing, or selling any illegal products in Arizona … marketing, appealing to, or targeting underage consumers in Arizona … (and) providing any products to underage consumers in Arizona or distributing products to retailers with three or more violations of the underage sales statutes.”

Eonsmoke Case Prompted By Illegal Sales

The Consumer Protection Section of the attorney general’s office filed the original complaint against Eonsmoke after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned the company in October 2019 it was manufacturing and selling 96 flavored nicotine products that had not been submitted for FDA approval.

It is illegal to sell tobacco products that have not been approved by the FDA.

“Eonsmoke violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) by marketing new tobacco products without authorization, including e-liquids in flavors such as mango, cotton candy, sour gummy worm and others,” the FDA warning said.

Regulators working in the Arizona Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section discovered some of those products were for sale in Arizona and continued to be available – in retail shops and online – and decided to file the lawsuit in January 2020. A month later, the court granted the state’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the sales of the e-cigarette products in question while the case was being considered.

Arizona officials also took issue with Eonsmoke’s marketing campaign, which they said targeted underage consumers and violated the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.

JUUL Also Sued

Brnovich also filed a similar lawsuit against vaping giant Juul Labs in January, claiming it violated state consumer law and targeted kids with its fruit and candy flavored vaping pods. That lawsuit is ongoing, according to reports by the Associated Press, and Juul is defending itself against the charges by Brnovich.

Juul has denied targeting teenagers in its marketing campaigns and has since stopped all advertising of its flavored vape pods. The company has come under increasing attack from regulators, lawmakers, government and health officials over its social media driven marketing and flavored products.

The Associated Press reported that Juul said in January that it was focused on “working cooperatively with attorneys general, regulators, public health officials, and other stakeholders to combat underage use and convert adult smokers from combustible cigarettes.”