Study: American Minors Can Easily Purchase E-Cigarettes on Internet
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A new study shows that American minors may find it dangerously easy to purchase e-cigarettes online, despite regulations preventing those under the age of 18 from purchasing such products.
According to the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, researchers in North Carolina had 10 minors between the ages of 14 and 17 take part, attempting to purchase electronic cigarettes online. Those 10 participants made 98 attempts to buy e-cigarettes and were rejected for being underage just five times.
In total, 75 purchases were successful. None of the 98 vendors complied with North Carolina’s e-cigarette age-verification law.
The researchers called for federal laws to “require and enforce rigorous age verification for all e-cigarette sales.”
The study also noted that all delivered packages came from shipping companies that, according to either company policy or federal regulation, do not ship cigarettes to consumers.
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