E-cigarette laws may be harder to regulate than originally thought

Source: apnews.com or ap.orgAuthor: Summer Ballentine & Michael Felberbaum JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - In a rush to keep electronic cigarettes out of children's hands while the federal government creeps forward with a proposed national ban for minors, experts say that many states are passing laws that could mean fewer restrictions on the nicotine devices later. Lawmakers last month made Missouri the 41st state to outlaw selling e-cigarettes to minors. Age restrictions have wide support, but Gov. Jay Nixon and public health advocates opposed a piece of the legislation that prevents tobacco taxes or regulations from being imposed on the electronic devices, which heat liquid nicotine into an inhalable vapor. E-cigarette makers have been in a tug-of-war with state and federal governments since the battery-powered devices first were sold in the U.S. in 2007. A 2009 law gave the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate a number of aspects of tobacco marketing and manufacturing. It first said it planned to assert authority over e-cigarettes in 2011, but it hasn't yet done so. In April, the FDA for the first time proposed a set of regulations for e-cigarettes, including banning sales to minors and requiring health warning labels, as well as approving new products. The agency has said its proposal sets a foundation for regulating the products but the rules wouldn't immediately ban the wide array of flavors of e-cigarettes or curb marketing on places like TV. In the absence of regulation, members of Congress, state leaders and public [...]

2014-10-07T13:01:37-07:00October, 2014|Oral Cancer News|

E-Cigarette company faces legal fights on multiple fronts

Source: www.legalnewsline.com Author: Chris Rizo Officials in California are making a strong push against one of the largest electronic cigarette retailers in the United States. It seems that the manufacturer -- Smoking Everywhere LLC -- is facing attack on at least two fronts in the Golden State: from the attorney general and a leading state lawmaker. State Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is suing Smoking Everywhere, alleging that the Sunrise, Fla.-based company is targeting minors in its marketing and making "misleading and irresponsible" claims that its tar-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes are safe. "Smoking Everywhere launched a misleading and irresponsible advertising campaign targeting minors and claiming that electronic cigarettes do not contain harmful chemicals," Brown said. "We are asking the Court to take these cigarettes off the market until the company has proven the products are safe." For its part, Smoking Everywhere claims that their products, which come in a range of flavors including mint, strawberry and chocolate, are designed to replicate smoking without some of the harmful side-effects of a traditional cigarette. The electronic cigarette functions by vaporizing a liquid nicotine mixture that is derived naturally from tobacco plants. The user inhales vapor without the fire, flame, tar, carbon monoxide, ash or smell of traditional cigarettes. In his lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court, Brown is seeking to bar Smoking Everywhere from doing business in California until the company can prove that its products are safe and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A similar [...]

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