8/03/2010 Sottera Settles Claims Over Electronic Cigarettes ShareThis(CN) - Sottera, one of the nation's largest electronic cigarette makers, has agreed to stop targeting minors.and claiming its.products are.a safe alternative to smoking, California officials said Tuesday. California officials said Tuesday. Attorney General Edmund Brown says Sottera agreed to adopt measures addressing his concerns about the dangers of electronic cigarettes, or battery-operated devices with nicotine cartridges designed to look and feel like traditional cigarettes. nicotine cartridges designed to look and feel like traditional cigarettes."Electronic cigarette companies have targeted minors with fruit-flavored products and misleading claims that their products are safe," Brown said. "This settlement will stop Sottera from marketing these dangerous and addictive products to kids." Sottera and other "e-cig" makers have claimed in advertisements that their products are safe because they have no carcinogens, tar or second-hand smoke, Brown says. But.the Food and Drug Administration has found that e-cigs contain a variety of dangerous chemicals, including nicotine and carcinogens such as nitrosamines, according to Brown. In at least one case, he claims, e-cigs were found to contain antifreeze. Under the settlement,.Sottera has agreed not to sell e-cigs to minors, sell flavored e- cig cartridges that could appeal to minors, advertise its product as a device that can help people quit smoking, sell cartridges that contain vitamins unless they're scientifically proven to boost health, or claim its e-cigs are.safer than cigarettes without scientific proof. proof. Sottera also agreed to pay $85,000 in penalties and fees.