The Oakland-based Center for Environmental Health is again suing e-cigarette companies for for violating California's product-labeling law.
The nonprofit health watchdog sued more than 20 e-cigarette makers in February for failing to warn consumers about the dangers of nicotine.
The new round of lawsuits accuses companies of not telling consumers that their products emit two toxins: formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. The National Toxicology Program considers both chemicals to be possible carcinogens.
Charles Margulis, a spokesman for the Center for Environmental Health, said companies should act responsibly.
“We want them to stop marketing to teens. We want them to stop deceptive marketing, like health and safety claims that haven’t been verified. And what’s very important, is child-proof packaging," Margulis said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported an increase in calls to poison control centers about children ingesting e-cigarette liquid.
E-cigarettes are marketed as safer than regular cigarettes and as a way to quit smoking.
A report from the California Department of Public Health said e-cigarettes emit at least 10 chemicals that are known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
