E-Cig Companies Face Legal Action

(RxWiki News) Federal officials are taking legal action against six electronic cigarette manufacturers.

On Oct. 18, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed permanent injunctions against the e-cigarette manufacturers.

The DOJ filed the injunctions against the e-cig manufacturers on behalf of the FDA. The action was meant to enforce the premarket review requirement of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act.

In other words, these six e-cig companies reportedly violated the act. They’re accused of failing to submit their devices for review and illegally manufacturing and selling the products.

And the FDA said it issued multiple warnings to the companies before taking action in federal district court.

“Today’s enforcement actions represent a significant step for the FDA in preventing tobacco product manufacturers from violating the law,” said Dr. Brian King, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, in a press release. “We will not stand by as manufacturers repeatedly break the law, especially after being afforded multiple opportunities to comply.” 

The following companies were the subjects of the injunctions the DOJ filed:

• Morin Enterprises Inc. doing business as E-Cig Crib in the District of Minnesota
• Soul Vapor LLC in the Southern District of West Virginia
• Super Vape’z LLC in the Western District of Washington
• Vapor Craft LLC in the Middle District of Georgia
• Lucky’s Convenience & Tobacco LLC doing business as Lucky’s Vape & Smoke Shop in the District of Kansas
• Seditious Vapours LLC doing business as Butt Out in the District of Arizona

In response to the court actions against these companies, they can agree to stop manufacturing the e-cigs until they meet the legal requirements. And if they don’t agree to that, the courts can issue orders stopping them from manufacturing the devices in violation of federal law.

In any case, the recent action by the FDA is part of the FDA’s larger efforts to enforce the laws surrounding tobacco and nicotine products, the agency said.

If you have questions about nicotine addiction, smoking cessation or e-cigs, talk to your healthcare provider.