Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2015

Summary: Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act of 2015 Prohibits electronic cigarette advertisements that appeal to children younger than 18 years of age in states in which the sale of an electronic cigarette to such children is prohibited by federal or state law. Bars electronic cigarette advertisements, promotions, or marketing in those states in a manner that is: (1) known, or should be known, to contribute toward initiating or increasing the use of electronic cigarettes by children under 18; or (2) determined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to affect or appeal to such children regardless of when or where the advertising, promotion, or marketing occurs. Defines &quot;electronic cigarette&quot; as an electronic device that delivers nicotine, flavor, or other chemicals via a vaporized solution to a user inhaling from the device, including any component, liquid, part, or accessory. Excludes Food and Drug Administration-approved tobacco cessation or therapeutic products from such definition. Sets forth authority for: (1) the FTC to enforce violations as an unfair or deceptive act or practice, and (2) states to bring civil actions on behalf of residents threatened or adversely affected by such a violation. Establishes a civil penalty to be available in state actions that is calculated by multiplying the number of days that a person is not in compliance with such prohibition by an amount up to $16,000, adjusted annually for inflation. Allows the FTC to intervene and appeal in state actions. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Children from Electronic 
Cigarette Advertising Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the Food and Drug Administration, because 
        electronic cigarettes have not been fully studied, consumers 
        currently do not know--
                    (A) the potential risks of electronic cigarettes 
                when used as intended;
                    (B) how much nicotine or other potentially harmful 
                chemicals are being inhaled during use; or
                    (C) if there are any benefits associated with using 
                these products.
            (2) Most electronic cigarettes contain widely varying 
        levels of nicotine, which is a highly addictive drug that 
        impacts the cardiovascular system and can be lethal when 
        delivered in high doses.
            (3) According to the Surgeon General, adolescents are 
        particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of nicotine and 
        adolescent exposure to nicotine may have lasting adverse 
        consequences for brain development.
            (4) Use of electronic cigarettes has risen in youth 
        according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention that was released in November 2014, which found that 
        in two years, from 2011 to 2013, the percentage of middle and 
        high school students who had ever used electronic cigarettes 
        tripled.
            (5) Electronic cigarette use may lead children to become 
        addicted to nicotine and could be a gateway to various tobacco 
        products.
            (6) Marketing of electronic cigarettes to youth is 
        occurring in the form of advertising using cartoons and 
        sponsorships of events popular with youth such as concerts and 
        sporting events.
            (7) According to a study published in June 2014 in the 
        journal Pediatrics, youth exposure to television advertisements 
        for electronic cigarettes increased by 256 percent during the 
        2011 to 2013 period, exposing 24,000,000 children to such 
        advertisements.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
Federal Trade Commission should prohibit the advertising, promoting, 
and marketing in commerce of electronic cigarettes to children as an 
unfair or deceptive act or practice, in order to protect the health of 
the youth of the United States.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON MARKETING OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTES TO CHILDREN.

    (a) Electronic Cigarette Defined.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), in 
        this section, the term ``electronic cigarette'' means any 
        electronic device that delivers nicotine, flavor, or other 
        chemicals via a vaporized solution to the user inhaling from 
        the device, including any component, liquid, part, or accessory 
        of such a device, whether or not sold separately.
            (2) Exception.--In this section, the term ``electronic 
        cigarette'' shall not include any product that--
                    (A) has been approved by the Food and Drug 
                Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product 
                or for other therapeutic purposes; and
                    (B) is marketed and sold solely for a purpose 
                approved as described in subparagraph (A).
    (b) Prohibition.--
            (1) In general.--No person may advertise, promote, or 
        market in commerce in a State described in paragraph (2) an 
        electronic cigarette in a manner that--
                    (A) the person knows or should know is likely to 
                contribute towards initiating or increasing the use of 
                electronic cigarettes by children who are younger than 
                18 years of age; or
                    (B) the Federal Trade Commission determines, 
                regardless of when or where the advertising, promotion, 
                or marketing occurs, affects or appeals to children 
                described in subparagraph (A).
            (2) Covered states.--A State described in this paragraph is 
        a State in which the sale of an electronic cigarette to a child 
        who is younger than 18 years of age is prohibited by a 
        provision of Federal or State law.
    (c) Enforcement by Federal Trade Commission.--
            (1) Unfair or deceptive act or practice.--A violation of 
        subsection (b)(1) shall be treated as a violation of a rule 
        defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice described under 
        section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 
        U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)).
            (2) Powers of commission.--
                    (A) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
                enforce this section in the same manner, by the same 
                means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and 
                duties as though all applicable terms and provisions of 
                the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) 
                were incorporated into and made a part of this section.
                    (B) Privileges and immunities.--Any person who 
                violates this section shall be subject to the penalties 
                and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided 
                in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et 
                seq.).
                    (C) Rulemaking.--The Federal Trade Commission shall 
                promulgate standards and rules to carry out this 
                section in accordance with section 553 of title 5, 
                United States Code.
    (d) Enforcement by States.--
            (1) In general.--In any case in which the attorney general 
        of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the 
        residents of the State has been or is threatened or adversely 
        affected by the engagement of any person subject to subsection 
        (b)(1) in a practice that violates such subsection, the 
        attorney general of the State may, as parens patriae, bring a 
        civil action on behalf of the residents of the State in an 
        appropriate district court of the United States--
                    (A) to enjoin further violation of such subsection 
                by such person;
                    (B) to compel compliance with such subsection;
                    (C) to obtain damages, restitution, or other 
                compensation on behalf of such residents;
                    (D) to obtain such other relief as the court 
                considers appropriate; or
                    (E) to obtain civil penalties in the amount 
                determined under paragraph (2).
            (2) Civil penalties.--
                    (A) Calculation.--For purposes of imposing a civil 
                penalty under paragraph (1)(E) with respect to a person 
                who violates subsection (b)(1), the amount determined 
                under this paragraph is the amount calculated by 
                multiplying the number of days that the person is not 
                in compliance with subsection (b)(1) by an amount not 
                greater than $16,000.
                    (B) Adjustment for inflation.--Beginning on the 
                date on which the Bureau of Labor Statistics first 
                publishes the Consumer Price Index after the date that 
                is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
                and annually thereafter, the amounts specified in 
                subparagraph (A) shall be increased by the percentage 
                increase in the Consumer Price Index published on that 
                date from the Consumer Price Index published the 
                previous year.
            (3) Rights of federal trade commission.--
                    (A) Notice to federal trade commission.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (iii), the attorney general of a State 
                        shall notify the Federal Trade Commission in 
                        writing that the attorney general intends to 
                        bring a civil action under paragraph (1) not 
                        later than 10 days before initiating the civil 
                        action.
                            (ii) Contents.--The notification required 
                        by clause (i) with respect to a civil action 
                        shall include a copy of the complaint to be 
                        filed to initiate the civil action.
                            (iii) Exception.--If it is not feasible for 
                        the attorney general of a State to provide the 
                        notification required by clause (i) before 
                        initiating a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                        the attorney general shall notify the Federal 
                        Trade Commission immediately upon instituting 
                        the civil action.
                    (B) Intervention by federal trade commission.--The 
                Federal Trade Commission may--
                            (i) intervene in any civil action brought 
                        by the attorney general of a State under 
                        paragraph (1); and
                            (ii) upon intervening--
                                    (I) be heard on all matters arising 
                                in the civil action; and
                                    (II) file petitions for appeal of a 
                                decision in the civil action.
            (4) Investigatory powers.--Nothing in this subsection may 
        be construed to prevent the attorney general of a State from 
        exercising the powers conferred on the attorney general by the 
        laws of the State to conduct investigations, to administer 
        oaths or affirmations, or to compel the attendance of witnesses 
        or the production of documentary or other evidence.
            (5) Preemptive action by federal trade commission.--If the 
        Federal Trade Commission institutes a civil action or an 
        administrative action with respect to a violation of subsection 
        (b)(1), the attorney general of a State may not, during the 
        pendency of such action, bring a civil action under paragraph 
        (1) against any defendant named in the complaint of the 
        Commission for the violation with respect to which the 
        Commission instituted such action.
            (6) Venue; service of process.--
                    (A) Venue.--Any action brought under paragraph (1) 
                may be brought in--
                            (i) the district court of the United States 
                        that meets applicable requirements relating to 
                        venue under section 1391 of title 28, United 
                        States Code; or
                            (ii) another court of competent 
                        jurisdiction.
                    (B) Service of process.--In an action brought under 
                paragraph (1), process may be served in any district in 
                which the defendant--
                            (i) is an inhabitant; or
                            (ii) may be found.
            (7) Actions by other state officials.--
                    (A) In general.--In addition to civil actions 
                brought by attorneys general under paragraph (1), any 
                other officer of a State who is authorized by the State 
                to do so may bring a civil action under paragraph (1), 
                subject to the same requirements and limitations that 
                apply under this subsection to civil actions brought by 
                attorneys general.
                    (B) Savings provision.--Nothing in this subsection 
                may be construed to prohibit an authorized official of 
                a State from initiating or continuing any proceeding in 
                a court of the State for a violation of any civil or 
                criminal law of the State.
    (e) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to 
limit or diminish the authority of the Food and Drug Administration to 
regulate the marketing of electronic cigarettes, including the 
marketing of electronic cigarettes to children.
    (f) Relation to State Law.--This section shall not be construed as 
superseding, altering, or affecting any provision of law of a State, 
except to the extent that such provision of law is inconsistent with 
the provisions of this section, and then only to the extent of the 
inconsistency.