Lost Art Liquids sues FDA
Lost Art Liquids has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”) in the Central District of California. The suit challenges FDA’s purported authority to deem and regulate e-liquids and other vapor products as “tobacco products” under the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) and asserts claims against FDA for violations of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the First and Fifth Amendments, and the Administrative Procedures Act.
Earlier, Nicopure Labs had filed a lawsuit over the deeming regulations in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
“Lost Art Liquids is and has always been committed to producing the highest quality, safest, and most innovative premium e-liquid products and in serving as a voice for the vapor community,” said Brian Worthy, CEO of Lost Art Liquids. “FDA, with its deeming regulation, has ignored our voice and the voices of millions of others, leaving us no choice but to seek judicial relief
“We are disappointed that the FDA continues to confuse and conflate vapor products with tobacco and chooses to ignore years of well-established research that shows the relative safety of the products compared to combustible cigarettes and the public health benefit they may offer to millions of Americans who use them as an alternative to tobacco.”
Lost Art Liquids’ Complaint alleges that FDA’s regulation of vapor products is illegal in that it exceeds the limited and specific scope of authority Congress granted FDA to regulate “tobacco products” under the TCA.
“Vapor products are technology products, not tobacco products,” said Ryan Thomas, Lost Art Liquids’ Co-Founder and COO. “The legislative history and factual findings that serve as the predicate to the Tobacco Control Act make clear that Congress never intended to give FDA authority to regulate vapor products when it enacted the Tobacco Control Act in 2009. It was created to regulate products like cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, not vapor,” he continued.
“FDA has introduced one of the most burdensome, misguided and harmful regulations in its history without adequately sound science, or adhering to required, lawful procedures. These regulations will harm Lost Art Liquids’ business and customers by eliminating vapor products from the market, forcing consumers to resort to more harmful products like cigarettes and cigars,” added Thomas.
