There has been news floating around that the state of Oregon has put a ban in place for electronic cigarettes. It has been stated that the Attorney General, John Kroger has prohibited the sale of all smokeless cigarettes in the state. Are these claims true?

The answer is, not exactly. There has been a lot of misrepresentation and misreporting of the story. The truth is, the situation only includes two stores in the state and two brands. The Oregon Department of Justice says the parties in question were accused of misrepresenting the safety of their product.
The companies violated Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act by making claims that had no supporting evidence. They are required to pay more than $95,000 to the DOJ.

Assistant Attorney-in-Charge, David Hart and Assistant Attorney General Merrill Maiano handled the case. Some clarifying statements in the DOJ report on the case are as follows:

• The Department of Justice has not banned electronic cigarettes. They are taking action against e-cigarette vendors who misrepresent the safety of these products.



• Both parties in question were cited by the Attorney General because it was believed that their promotions were deceptive. If they agreed to stop selling their products in Oregon, they could avoid litigation.



• If the products gain endorsement and are approved by the FDA in the future, or it is decided they do not need approval, the companies may resume selling their products in Oregon, however they must have evidence to support their marketing claims.



• Both companies have voluntarily stopped selling their product in Oregon until the issue is resolved and a settlement is negotiated

Kroger said, “This settlement will help protect our teens from unsafe products.” Consumers should do their research to make sure they are getting a safe and quality product. Companies can not make false claims about their product. There are many safe products out there. The key is to show the evidence that backs up the claims on the packaging and marketing material.