Steve K's Vaping World

We all knew this day was coming.  The vapor industry was not going to sit back and let the FDA’s unreasonable regulations stand without a fight.  A number of industry groups have banded together and officially filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia.

The filing outlines eight counts pointing out where the FDA has violated administrative procedures as well as the First Amendment of the Constitution.

You can read the filing here.  But I’ll put the shorthand version below:

1. The FDA does have the authority to establish any grandfather date they wanted.  The agency also had the ability to forego pre-market applications and allow companies to submit products under the substantial equivalence part of the regulation.
2. Rather than considering the risk of products for pre-market authorization, the FDA decided to apply a one-size-fits-all approach placing vapor products under the same restrictive conditions as regular cigarettes.
3. Kind of the same as 2.  The point argues that congress did give the FDA the authority to consider a risk continuum while the FDA claims their hands are tied.
4. Banning of free samples violates a company’s right to free speech.  Free samples can be limited to adults via vape shop procedures.
5. By not allowing manufacturers and sellers to mention their products don’t include actual smoke, the FDA has violated those company’s first amendment rights.
6. It is a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act to call things completely unrelated to tobacco, like batteries “tobacco products” and then regulate them as such.
7. The FDA’s cost/benefit analysis is full of enough crap to keep Iowa corn fields fertilized for decades.
8. Also Idaho potato fields will be well covered with the same manure.

This is a promising development even if it’s not that surprising.  But remember, this is but one battle in a full-scale war on our health.  Regular people can and should still get involved by joining forces with a group like CASAA and/or talking to your elected officials.