Altria's NJOY sues 34 e-vapor product makers, seeks damages

(Reuters) - Marlboro maker Altria Group on Thursday said its e-cigarette brand NJOY had filed a suit seeking an injunction against a number of companies manufacturing and selling allegedly illicit e-vapor products in the United States.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, claimed the products marketed by 34 foreign and domestic companies - including brands such as Elf Bar, Esco Bar and Puff Bar - violated the state's flavor ban law and "illegally competed" against companies that complied with state and federal laws.

NJOY, one of the few e-cigarette makers whose products have clearance from federal regulators, sought a nationwide injunction against the import, marketing and sale of these products, along with compensatory and punitive damages. It also said it might add more makers of vapor products to the complaint.

The move echoes a similar complaint by British American Tobacco last week to the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging several manufacturers and retailers of popular disposable vapes were engaged in unfair imports. It also underscores some industry players' concerns about weak enforcement of the rules governing disposable vapes.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has struggled to combat a surge in disposable vaping brands, some of which are being sold illegally, yet have come to dominate the market.

Last December, the U.S. Supreme Court had allowed California to enforce a voter-approved ban on flavored tobacco products in America's most populous state, denying a bid by a unit of British American Tobacco to block it on the grounds that the policy conflicted with federal laws.

Many other states have restricted flavored vaping products and several U.S. municipalities have adopted their own bans.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)