Company selling vapes disguised as highlighters banned in MN

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A judge has ordered a company that sells vapes disguised as highlighters to stop doing business in Minnesota after a lawsuit brought by the state attorney general.

Highlighter vapes ban

What we know:

The order bans High Light Vapes, its owner, and a related company from doing business in Minnesota.

High Light Vapes makes vapes that mimic Sharpie highlighters.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office, which brought the lawsuit against the company, said the vapes "are designed to be easily concealable and usable by school-age children."

Ellison's office said that is a violation of state laws that prohibit deceptive tobacco marketing that appeals to children.

The company now faces a $50,000 fine if they attempt to do business in Minnesota going forward.

The backstory:

Ellison filed the lawsuit in January, arguing that the highlighter vapes were a "stealthy" and "disguise[d]" way to have "seamless and covert vaping in any setting," due to their "striking resemblance to actual highlighters."

By mimicking a product school children would use and coming in fruit, mint, and dessert flavors, Ellison's office argued the vapes were a violation of state law.

Supreme Court ruling

Dig deeper:

Ellison's office points out the decision comes on the heels of a Supreme Court decision earlier this month that upheld flavored e-cigarette enforcement by the FDA.

Ellison, along with a coalition of state attorneys, wrote a brief, urging the nation's highest court to back the FDA restrictions.