CASAA files Amicus Brief in Nicopure/R2B FDA Deeming Rule Challenge

— Washington D.C.

Last year, Nicopure Labs and The Right to be Smoke-Free Coalition (“R2B”) sued the FDA, arguing against portions of the Tobacco Control Act and the FDA’s Deeming Rule as they are being applied to vapor products. The court ruled in favor of the FDA at that time, so the plaintiffs filed an appeal in the D.C. Court of Appeals.

On appeal, Nicopure and R2B argue that “the Modified Risk Tobacco Product (MRTP) provision of the TCA, as well as the ban on free samples of vapor products, (1) violate the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and (2) FDA was obligated to consider a less burdensome Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) process for vapor products while still protecting the public health.” A summary of these issues can be read here, and you can download the full brief here.

In support of that appeal, CASAA has filed an amicus brief with the court. An amicus brief is a legal document – filed by someone who is not a party to the action – that advises the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that they want the court to take into consideration. In this case, CASAA is not making any legal arguments, but instead providing additional information from the consumer perspective, such as how consumers use vapor products, the importance of sampling, and why it is critically important that consumers be able to receive basic, truthful information from vapor companies about, among other things, the low-risk nature of vapor products (something that the Tobacco Control Act prohibits). The full CASAA amicus brief can be read here.

Several other organizations and individuals listed below have also filed amicus briefs in the case. You can click the links below to read the individual brief or read a summary of the briefs on the Keller & Heckman website here.

• The Washington Legal Foundation
• NJOY
• The State of Iowa
• Clive Bates, Director of The Counterfactual and former Director of the UK’s primary anti-smoking non-profit Action on Smoking in Health, with public health advocates Philip Alcabes, Scott Ballin, Konstantinos Farsalinos, Bill Godshall, Jacques Le Houezec, Bernd Mayer, Jeff Nesbit, Joel Nitzkin, Riccardo Polosa, Sally L. Satel, Michael B. Siegel, Jeff Stier, and David Sweanor