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Court ruling FDA can not ban E-cigarettes

Published: 2010-12-10    Views:128 reads

Electronic-cigarette (E-cigarette) lovers can keep on puffing as a U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled the Food and Drug Administration can't block import of the battery powered devices.

The court ruled that the US health watchdog can only treat "e-cigarettes," which create a nicotine vapor instead of smoke, as tobacco products and not as drugs, reports the Los Angeles Times.

E-cigarettes win appeals ruling
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday that while the FDA can regulate how e-cigarettes are marketed, it can't restrict their sale or block their shipments from entering the cpuntry.

The ruling says the agency lacks the authority to regulate electronic cigarettes as drugs or devices.

It says the FDA should treat e-cigarettes, which allow users to inhale nicotine vapor without actually lighting tobacco, like tobacco products not like nicotine-placement gum or patches, which would place them under tighter regulation.

Ruling comes as setback for FDA
While the court ruling says that "The liquid nicotine in each e-cigarette is derived from natural tobacco plants," the FDA still maintains that the vapor inside the battery powered tubes may still contain toxic ingredients.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the ruling came as a setback for the FDA and other public-health organizations that argued that e-cigarettes should be regulated in the same way as nicotine patches and gum, and prevented shipments of the devices from entering the U.S., claiming violations of federal law.

E-cig makers are thrilled
At the same time, the decision came as thrilling news for E-cigarette makers that sued the FDA last year after the agency told customs officials to refuse entry of shipments into the U.S.

"We're thrilled," Craig Weiss, the president of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based Sottera Inc., which markets Njoy-branded electronic cigarettes, told Business Week. "Now we can continue to sell e-cigarettes under the regulations of the Tobacco Act. This is plain and simple an alternative to smoking for committed, longtime smokers."

Concerns raised over the ruling
On the other hand the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids voiced concern over the ruling, reports Los Angeles Times.

Matthew L. Myers, president of the organization said in a statement that the ruling in favor of E-cigarette makers would allow "any manufacturer to put any level of nicotine in any product and sell it to anybody, including children, with no government regulation or oversight at the present time."

"This ruling invites the creation of a Wild West of products containing highly addictive nicotine," Myers said, insisting the FDA should appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

Echoing Myers’ opinion about the ruling, American Heart Assn. CEO Nancy Brown said: "There is no scientific evidence that e-cigarettes are effective smoking-cessation devices and, until they undergo rigorous evaluation by the Food and Drug Administration, they should be pulled from the marketplace."

Electronic cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are battery operated devices that contain cartridges filled with liquid nicotine in various concentrations. The devices resemble real cigarette but do not create smoke; instead they produce vapors acting like smoke. Users inhale this fine mist of nicotine into their lungs when they puff on it.

The mouthpiece of this device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine and propylene glycol.

Powered by a rechargeable battery, the e-cigarette is a completely non-flammable product, leading to smoking bans evasion in public places. E-cigarette can be used where the old fashion cigarette cannot. Moreover, they are not subject to the same taxation, thus are much more affordable than the normal cigarette.

FDA has previously attempted to ban U.S. imports of electronic cigarettes, but was challenged by manufacturers. The products are made primarily in China but are sold in several other countries, including Brazil, Canada, Finland, Israel, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey, and Britain, and have grown in popularity in the United States despite a lack of regulatory approval.

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