Food and Drug Administration is continuing to block shipments of electronic cigarettes into the United States, despite a court order from Federal District Judge Richard Leon on January 14th for them to STOP doing so. Looks like their request to the Federal Appeals court to stay the court order that was SUPPOSED to stop them from blocking shipments of e-cigarettes into the United States was pretty pointless, since it appears that the FDA is going to do whatever they want to do, anyway, regardless of the orders of the court.
The following document was provided by a company that wishes to remain anonymous:
This document was faxed to me on February 3rd; the shipments were seized and if no response given, the items will be released on 2/21/2010 after being held for 30 days, putting the date of seizure about a week after Judge Leon’s ruling and opinion that electronic cigarettes are tobacco products. Even the headline in the New York Times reads “Judge Orders F.D.A. to Stop Blocking Imports of E-Cigarettes From China“.
The FDA is pretty far out in left field here, folks. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The FDA said Judge Leon also “mistakenly” concluded that electronic cigarettes could be regulated under new tobacco powers signed into law in 2009.
The FDA said those laws preclude the FDA from regulating drugs or devices as tobacco products.”
Is this a bad case of circular logic or what? If you follow the FDA’s line of thinking, it goes something like this:
FDA: Electronic cigarettes are drug delivery devices because we say they’re drug delivery devices.
Judge: They’re tobacco products.
FDA: We can’t regulate drug delivery devices as tobacco products!
Judge: They’re tobacco products.
FDA: They can’t be tobacco products because they’re drug delivery devices.
Not only that, but honestly… if they’re still seizing shipments AFTER the Judge’s court ruling, then why should anyone believe they weren’t lying last year when they said they weren’t seizing or blocking anything? This is an outright case of a government agency doing whatever it wants to instead of what the court system tells it that it is allowed to do. They’ve lied to the people, they basically called the Judge an idiot who doesn’t know what the law is, and they’ve been downright shady throughout this whole process.
So, here’s a little sunshine on you, FDA, so the Judge and the rest of the country can see you for what you are.
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