Defunct Vape Company to Pay $50 Million Court Settlement

Eonsmoke, a vape retailer who was forced to shut down in April 2020 amid increased regulatory scrutiny, has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve allegations that it marketed and sold vaping products to minors.

Diane Caruana

February 1, 2022

Co-owners, Gregory Grishayev and Michael Tolmach, have also agreed to pay a combined $750,000.

The now defunct, Eonsmoke directly sold a wide variety of vaping products to underage consumers, online without conducting any age verification at the time of sale or delivery. “Eonsmoke coordinated a campaign that intentionally targeted young people and sold dangerous and addictive vaping products directly to minors through their website,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. “We were the first to take action against this company and its owners, and today we are holding them accountable and permanently stopping them from conducting these illegal practices in our state.”

Healey’s office accused Eonsmoke of “a coordinated advertising campaign intentionally targeted at consumers who were not of the minimum legal purchase age to purchase tobacco products.” Until September 2018, when the attorney general’s office sent a cease-and-desist letter ordering Eonsmoke to stop selling the products in Massachusetts, minors of any age were still able to freely purchase any desired products without any age restrictions.

The AG accused the vape firm of marketing vaping products to minors through social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube, and included youth popular culture references, social media influencers, celebrity endorsers, cartoons and internet memes that intentionally minimized the fact that the products contain nicotine. As a result of the settlement announced last month, Eonsmoke has agreed to a settlement amount of $50 million, while co-owners, Gregory Grishayev and Michael Tolmach, have agreed to pay a combined $750,000.