The latest turn in the fight against over regulation of the electronic cigarette/vapor industry was released earlier today, when it was announced that a conglomerate of plaintiffs had collectively filed suit against the Food and Drug administration.
In a long-awaited move, the group filed the complaint in the District Court for the District of Colombia, making their challenge of the deeming regulations and Tobacco Control Act known. The complaint holds a flashlight to various portions of the act, calling it unconstitutional and wrong on certain administrative points.
The plaintiffs of the case are from all over the industry and nation, and are listed as follows:
- Right To Be Smoke Free Coalition
- American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association
- American Vaping Association, Hoboken, New Jersey
- Electronic Vaping Coalition of America, New Berlin, Wisconsin
- Georgia Smoke Free Association, Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
- Kentucky Smoke Free Association, Louisville, Kentucky
- Louisiana Vaping Association, Chalmette, Louisiana
- Maryland Vape Professionals, LLC, Baltimore, Maryland
- Ohio Vapor Trade Association, Miamisburg, Ohio
- New Jersey Vapor Retailers Coalition, Roseland, New Jersey
- Tennessee Smoke Free Association
While we have representatives from several smoke-free associations on this list, we have 50 states that could potentially throw their weight behind this.
The suit has also been solidly backed by The Shenzhen E-Vapor Industry Association USA (SEVIA-USA), the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA), the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) and NOT Blowing Smoke. Going forward the suit will likely garner the support and attention of many more companies, associations and individuals.
The grounds for the lawsuit, and more importantly the charges filed against the FDA are as follows:
We will give you the arguments as they are written and then break out of legalese to explain any key points. All sections of the suit come directly from Right2BeSmokeFree.
In a nutshell, part of the FDA’s job when regulating ENDS was to create an environment that would allow some, if not all, manufacturers the opportunity to stay in the market and give others a chance at substantial equivalency. By refusing to change the date to a time when the technology was actually in the market place, the FDA have committed a violation.
By refusing to acknowledge that vaping was deemed 95% less harmful than cigarettes and insisting that ENDS be treated in exactly the same way as their combustible predecessors, the FDA’s regulations once again fall in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
The FDA openly admits that going forward, these regulations will remove 99% of the businesses in operation.
Count 3 states that congress encouraged the FDA to make informed decisions when it came to the risk factors surrounding various “tobacco products”. While the FDA is adamant in its stance that it is powerless to change the grandfather date or in any way show leniency towards an industry that is 95% less harmful than tobacco, history and actual legislation exists that shows they are either misinformed or deliberately misleading. The other side to such a coin, as is stated above, is the fact that congress may need to step in to give them the tools to properly regulate this industry.
Possibly my favorite count in the argument. The concept of preventing youth acceptance of vaping is something that everyone agrees with but the FDA strayed so far across the line on this point it makes very little sense. Other options were, and are, available such as identity checks on vape shops with sample bars, but the government chose to ignore those and go straight for a blanket option. By infringing on the options of adult consumers, they are once again in violation.
By denying vapers, shop owners and manufacturers the ability to state that these products are much less harmful than tobacco the FDA are not only forcing citizens to lie but they are also stomping all over first amendment rights. The British Government have deemed it fit to promote vaping as a much healthier alternative but until an American entity has parted with many millions of dollars and many years of research, the FDA is keeping its head buried in the sand.
This count goes directly to the question we have all be asking ourselves since 2014, exactly what is the rationale behind labeling vaping devices, their components and e-liquids, non of which contain tobacco as “Tobacco Products”. Other than its own will-power there is nothing that entitled the FDA to do so, and once again it is being held in violation of the law.
By refusing to take into account that 99% of the ENDS industry faces destruction due to its regulation, the FDA proceeded with actions that far exceeded its limitations. The burdensome PMTA process is prohibitive and until such time as the FDA creates a solution, the plaintiffs believe the court should bench the deeming regs.
The FDA had many opportunities prior to releasing the deeming regulations of the ENDS industry to make sure that it was being fair and honest about its aims. The main reason so many people are fighting this is because they are about to lose not only their livelihoods but also a way of life that helped them become free of cigarettes. The agency has failed in its duty on so many levels that were it not for the seriousness of driving millions upon millions back to the cigarettes that the Government and The People, united, have been trying to eradicate for years, it would be laughable.
Blanket regulations that treat ENDS as tobacco will not work for anyone with a lick of sense, and we here at GuideToVaping wish the plaintiffs in this case the very best of luck.
And so it begins the great battle of our time. The moral minority staking its claim to a healthier alternative to Tobbaco use. Refuting to lay down and be denied what should be accessible to all. America’s founding fathers safeguarded this principle for the people of this great nation. That a democratic government and its bureaucracies should serve the people, not to it serve its own interests? That elected officials use their powers honestly to meet the needs of all their constituents, Not to reserve their efforts to further their own interests and those of their supporters? I applaud all that champion this cause. The probability that we may fail in the struggle will not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
I agree with you 100%.
This is absolutely phenomenal. It is time in America where we stop allowing our corrupted government take our rights away as Americans. We have a right to chose and we know that vaping is much safer than smoking analog cigarettes. There comes a day when an empire crashed and now is the time to crush the empires of BIG TOBACCO and BIG PHARMA. Americans continue to be lied to and continue to have our rights striped away as free citizens in a free, or maybe not, free society. Our politicians are so corrupt and so into lining their pockets versus looking out for what is in the best interest of our health and our well-being. We need to keep fighting and we need to have our voices heard loud and clear. It is our job to educate all around us that vaping is a much safer alternative. We all know someone that smokes and those that don’t smoke desired their friends or loved ones to quit smoking. The ability to quit smoking on ciga likes, nicotine patches, or chantix are so slim. Vaping allows all of us ex smokers to have all of our fixes with our the harmful chemicals in tobacco products. Vaping and its components are NOT tobacco products and we should not fall under this umbrella. This is a ploy by our government and the FDA to keep big tobacco powerful. If the FDA really cared about our health they would research this far deeper than they have already done. The FDA is NOT worried about our health. I hope there are a lot of bells rung during these lawsuits. I hope people are dethroned and we get some sensible people overseeing these agencies that should be making sound decisions for all of Americans. How can we be legalizing marijuana all across the country and and ecigs are the black sabbath. We have lost focus in this country and if we dont stand up to this crap we are going to leave our kids with one hell of a mess!
Does anyone have contact with the Clinton presidential campaign? I suspect that if she knew she could get the votes of millions of vapers for going to bat for us on this issue she would do it.
LOL, Clinton loves the FDA, EPA, IRS and most Democrats are leading the fight against vaping and controlling our lives, taking away our freedoms, rights and liberties. Do not think she wants to go there. Try Trump. He should be for LESS government regulation while Clinton wants more of it. Unless its for an illegal alien criminal whose been deported several times and committed several felonies, she is all for them coming in and living here amongst us. Regulation FREE. But us legal Americans? Regulation strangulation of every area of our life and businesses life they can, They think we are too stupid to think for ourselves. And have actually put that on paper. Or that we can think but instead of thinking will believe whatever they feed us…..and most of you do. And now we have the FDA threatening our freedom. Just like the EPA and IRS.
I think you are barking up the tree of the wrong political party. Democrats are the ones regulating pretty much everything they can. And our freedoms. Get hold of Trump. Heck try them both. Hillary may be that desperate for votes. She sold out to Bernie so she just might …..no she want support vaping. That would be suicide among her supporters. She might actually campaign against vaping. Which may prod Trump to support it? Ben Carson will support it and being a doctor if he has some weight but it would have to be made INTO a campaign issue so that should be our goal. Get the candidates to take a side and talk about it a time or two….maybe in a debate. Than would be awesome. That should be our goal….get attention for us ex-smokers who now they want to take away our vehicle just so they can regulate it, get money from lobbyists and have more government control over our lives. Getting the word out in a smart, we are the victim here, way could do wonders. If this stays quiet, government can do what they want without nobody caring in the mainstream. We have to be seen as the victims we are, quality of life is at stake. The tobacco industry wants control of vaping as their 21st century meal ticket. We need a very, very good publicity agent and attorneys. You want our issue to be brought up in the elections? Might take a good lobbyists and a good donation to understand the millions of votes we can bring. That being said, as an American I could never, ever vote for pandering, two-faced, been caught lieing so many times over 30 years, fake as they come, will likely take our country over the cliff, Hillary Clinton. Not in good conscience. I would rather lose my vape than my freedoms, liberties, rights and way of life. She wants these federal govt agencies to have even MORE power. i,e, BIGGER FDA, EPA, IRS. Like the FDA trying to screw us all now. Last thing we need is even MORE POWER in Washington DC, instead of the states. Hillary will sail us vapers down the creek just like she did the Americans serving in Benghazi when the phone rang at 3:00 in the morning….