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New Mexico AG sues retailers for youth vape addiction. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit against Circle K and other major retailers, alleging violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act for marketing vapes and e-cigarettes in ways that appeal to children. The suit claims the products' colorful packaging and sweet flavors are designed to attract minors, contributing to some of the highest youth nicotine usage rates in the country. Torrez seeks damages, including civil penalties of $5,000 per violation, following his previous $375 million win against Meta for similar violations. Health experts and school officials cited in the lawsuit highlight the dangers of adolescent vaping, including addiction, lung damage, increased risk-taking behavior, and mental health impacts. The Attorney General also said the presence of online "straw purchases" that funnel e-cigarettes to minors, comparing the ongoing harm to historic tobacco-related public health crises.

New Mexico AG sues Circle K, other retailers for 'their role' in youth nicotine addiction. By: joshua Bowling - March 31, 2026 12:51 pm. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on March 31, 2026, stood alongside Walatowa High Charter School Counselor Mary Warren and University of New Mexico pediatrician Dr. Michael DiGirolamo to announce a lawsuit against retailers who sell e-cigarettes for their alleged role in driving youth nicotine addiction. (Joshua Bowling/Source NM) New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez on Tuesday announced a lawsuit against Circle K and other major retailers that sell vapes and e-cigarettes for allegedly violating the state's Unfair Practices Act and contributing to outsized rates of nicotine addiction in children. The lawsuit, filed in the state's First Judicial District, alleges that these retailers sell vapes and e-cigarettes in colorful packaging and bold flavors in "blatant disregard for public health and safety." The packaging and flavors intentionally subliminally advertise to children, Torrez said, who disproportionately use these products in New Mexico. The lawsuit alleges that a 2019 survey found more than one in three New Mexico high schoolers admitted to using these products, the highest recorded response behind just West Virginia and North Carolina. "These products are engineered to taste like candy, designed to be hidden in a backpack and loaded with enough nicotine to create a lifelong addiction," Torrez said at a Tuesday morning news conference in Albuquerque. Torrez's lawsuit seeks damages including an unspecified amount of restitution and civil penalties of $5,000 per violation of the Unfair Practices Act. The suit follows Torrez's high-profile win against social media giant Meta, which a jury found to have violated the same law and endangered the state's youth. The Santa Fe jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages to the state. Studies have shown that childhood and adolescent use of these vapes and e-cigarettes lead to adverse health effects, including increased physical fights and suicide attempts. Studies have also found that young people who use e-cigarettes overwhelmingly believe they are healthier than traditional cigarettes, despite the common presence of heavy metals and chemicals like formaldehyde. Michael DiGirolamo, a University of New Mexico pediatric pulmonologist, told reporters at the news conference that he has seen firsthand the scarred lungs of youth who vape. "Children are more vulnerable to the addictive qualities of nicotine from e-cigarettes than adults," he said. "Once inhaled, nicotine acts in as little as seven seconds on receptors in the brain, including the prefrontal cortex," which is responsible for executive function and moderating risk-taking behaviors and is not fully formed until around the age of 25, he added. Mary Warren, a counselor at Walatowa High Charter School in Jemez Pueblo, said she is alarmed at the number of times she's seen students sneak vapes into school - and even more alarmed at how many times they must get away with hiding the keychain-sized devices in their backpacks. In addition to brick-and-mortar retailers, Torrez said New Mexico Department of Justice officials have identified a supply chain not unlike straw purchases for firearms. People who are legally allowed to buy e-cigarettes order them in bulk online and then proceed to sell them to kids in their area at a markup, he said. "For a lot of Americans of a different generation, I think there was a sense that we could put this in our past, in the rearview," Torrez said, referring to the historic tobacco settlements of the 1990s. "The reality is that this harm has re-emerged. It is international in scope and it is having a profound present-day impact on our young people." Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

Circle K files 2-year permit extension request3 min read. March 24, 2026 Circle K submitted a request for a two-year extension to receive building permits in the city for its planned store and gas station at the northeast corner of 2820 W. SR 89A and Southwest Drive on Thursday, March 5. Originally, the company's plan for the 1.781-acre parcel had a deadline of Friday, June 5, for its permitting. The development, which the city originally approved on May 21, 2024, needed a few minor tweaks before the city engineers would approve the permits. "As part of the permit approval process, our engineering staff provided them with corrections they needed to make and we have not received those corrections yet," Deputy City Manager Lauren Browne wrote on Feb. 26. The project, which was originally proposed in April 2022, would move the Circle K from its nearest location at 2570 SR 89A west of Andante Drive. "The city is waiting for the receipt of ADOT encroachment permits and drainage easement documents," Browne wrote. Encroachment permits are needed for changes to state routes, like adding a turn lane on 89A, which the project would require. A drainage easement was needed because the current property did not have the ability to manage the drainage the project would create. Steve Bowser, the city's previous primary contact with Circle K, said he couldn't answer questions, and forwarded all contact to a third-party administrator, Sean McCarley, a project manager with CESO Inc, the third party administrator for the development. "I forwarded it [questions on the project] to Circle K, and they said they're not interested in a newspaper posting," McCarley said. The drainage easement the company had originally planned was for its neighboring property, Navajo Lofts, which didn't get back to Circle K about the easement in time, according to the extension request. Without the ability to have the neighbor's signature on the "drainage easement - due to Navajo Lofts' own third-party commitments with Arizona Water Company - constitutes a circumstance entirely outside of Circle K's control. This directly necessitated a full redesign of the drainage system and extended the project timeline despite Circle K's good faith efforts," the request reads. According to the request, Navajo Lofts' first response to Circle K was Jan. 6. The request also listed Arizona Water Company's Jan. 20 confirmation of the neighbor's improvements that affected its ability to approve an easement. The request, signed by McCarley, cited the nearly two years of work the company has done to keep the project running, and argues it counts as progress and investment in the site. "The project is nearing the construction handover phase," it reads. "Circle K has initiated a competitive bidding process with prospective general contractors and anticipates receiving final bids on or around March 3, 2026. Circle K is current on all city fees, including wastewater billing charges, and there are no known code violations, environmental issues, or health and safety issues existing on the property." Plans for the lot for the current Circle K location at 2570 SR 89A have yet to be decided. "We haven't received any proposals for that property," city Planning Manager Cari Meyer said. "What happens on that site would be up to the property owner."