In what originally seemed like a nearly impossible task,
eleven of the most reputable advocacy groups for the vaping industry have
recently joined forces to file a lawsuit over the legality of the FDA e-cig
regulations. The unification of these sometimes competing pro-vaping organizations
was led by The Right to Be a Smoke Free
Coalition, and the suit was officially filed in Washington, D.C.’s District
Court of June 20, 2016.
While this is not the first lawsuit of its kind, it
certainly appears to be the most robust.
Nicopure Labs was the first to file suit just days after the original
May 5 announcement of the new FDA e-cig regulations, but the main issue of that
lawsuit focuses on the million-dollar Premarket Tobacco Applications PMTA) process. Lost Arts Liquids filed just days later, but
this lawsuit primarily targets the notion that the FDA considers e-cigs to be “tobacco
products.”
Historic lawsuit alleges
eight possible violations by the FDA
The most recent court action taken by the eleven advocacy
groups addresses the previous issues of Nicopure Labs and Lost Arts Liquids and more.
In fact, this latest lawsuit cites eight possible violations that result
in the FDA e-cig regulations being either unconstitutional or downright
illegal. According to the court documents
(Case 1:16-cv-01210), the FDA’s actions are
threatening the very existence of the American vaping industry, which goes
against the First Amendment and multiple federal laws. The complete list of eleven vaping advocacy
groups includes:
Right To Be Smoke Free Coalition
American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association(AEMSA)
American Vaping Association (AVA)
Electronic Vaping Coalition of America
Georgia Smoke Free Association
Kentucky Vaping Retailers Association/Kentucky Smoke Free Association
Louisiana Vaping Association
Maryland Vape Professionals
Ohio Vapor Trade Association
New Jersey Vapor Retailers Coalition
Tennessee Smoke Free Association
Along with questioning the legality
of the PMTA process and the classification of e-cigs as tobacco products, the
new lawsuit also wants to lift the FDA ban on the issuing of free samples by
vape shop owners, argues that e-cig vapor is not the same as cigarette smoke,
and pushes to move the February 15, 2007 predicate date forward to the current
day. It is this predicate date alone
that will essentially wipe out the entire vaping industry within two years, if
the FDA e-cig regulations are not revised or abolished entirely.