Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced on Apr. 15 that she is leading a coalition of 13 attorneys general in urging major credit card companies to stop processing transactions for illegal vape products. The group sent a letter to Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover asking them to take action against the sale of unauthorized e-cigarettes and vapes through their payment networks.
The attorneys general say that stopping these transactions is important because illegal vapes are widely available in the United States and are marketed toward children. According to the announcement, most of these products are manufactured in China and make up more than 80% of all vape sales nationwide, generating over $11 billion annually.
“We know that China continues to illegally market candy-flavored vapes, with flavors like cotton candy and blue raspberry, to American kids while they are actually banned in China,” said Attorney General Bird. “These Chinese vapes – and selling them – are illegal. Credit card companies need to work with us to stop the flow of these illegal vapes that are hurting our kids.”
The coalition highlights previous cooperation between state attorneys general and payment processors as a model for addressing this issue. In 2005, similar efforts helped end online sales of cigarettes by working with financial institutions.
The letter asks credit card companies not only to remove merchants selling illicit vapes from their networks but also to publicize what actions they have taken so far. Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia joined Iowa in signing the letter.
Looking ahead, officials hope that cooperation between law enforcement agencies and private businesses will help curb access to unsafe vaping products.
