The amicus briefs were filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in support of an appeal filed by Nicopure. The e-cig manufacturer had sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 and is appealing the court decision made in that case.
FDA regulation violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
NJOY’s brief pointed out that the court’s decision that blocks e-cigarette companies from being able to describe their products to consumers in an accurate manner is preventing the public from obtaining important health information and violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
“There is compelling evidence in this case that the FDA’s misguided paternalism is not merely constitutionally unjustified, but could also have grave public-health consequences,” read NJOY ‘s brief. “The emerging scientific consensus is that e-cigarettes are vastly less likely to cause cancer, heart disease, and other serious ailments than combustible cigarettes.”
The public should be granted the right to take informed health decisions
Similarly, the Attorney General’s brief, focused on the fact that the FDA should allow the public the right to make their own informed decisions in relation to their health by giving them access to potentially life saving information. “The FDA accepts the overwhelming consensus among researchers: that ENDS are less harmful than combustible tobacco. Iowa wants smokers to hear that message from ENDS manufacturers at the point of sale (and everywhere else) until it changes their behavior—because when it does, it will have saved their lives,” said Miller.
Currently, e-cigarettes are subject to the FDA’s Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act’s Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) rule. This subjects e-cigarettes to the same marketing regulations as regular cigarettes and means that manufacturers are unable to disclose the fact that e-cigarettes are significantly safer than their combustible counterparts, despite the scientific data that says so.
“The FDA’s ban on truthful, non-misleading statements about the relative health risks of e-cigarettes and the substances contained in e-cigarette vapor will inevitably keep millions of smokers from hearing facts that could persuade them to switch to e‑cigarettes—a decision that could ultimately save their their lives,” pointed out NJOY.
Public Health England’s contrasting position
In line with the above, earlier this month in the UK, local health body Public Health England (PHE), released findings from an e-cigarette review that was conducted by leading independent tobacco experts, and updated the organization’s 2015 vaping report. The report confirmed that “vaping poses only a small fraction of the risks of smoking and switching completely from smoking to vaping conveys substantial health benefits.”
Read Further: Cision PR Newswire
