Author: Jared A. Favole
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A U.S. judge said the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration doesn't have authority to regulate electronic cigarettes, dealing
a blow to the agency's efforts to regulate tobacco products as drugs or devices.
In a 32-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon sided with
electronic cigarette maker Smoking Everywhere Inc. in finding that the FDA has
no authority to regulate the products and can't stop them from entering the
country.
"This case appears to be yet another example of FDA's aggressive efforts to
regulate recreational tobacco products as drugs or devices," Leon said in his
ruling. He added the FDA's "tenacious drive to maximize its regulatory power has
resulted in its advocacy of an interpretation of the relevant law that I find,
at first blush, to be unreasonable and unacceptable."
The FDA has seized shipments of electronic cigarettes, which look and taste
like cigarettes but don't contain tar. Smoking Everywhere, one of the largest
makers of electronic cigarettes, had challenged the FDA's authority over the
products.
-By Jared A. Favole, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9207; jared.favole@
dowjones.com
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