UP IN SMOKE

Supreme Court Rules for the FDA in Flavored Vape Dispute

The court dismissed an appeals court decision that determined the agency had unlawfully altered the rules when deciding on approval of several products.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by supporting its refusal to approve flavored e-cigarettes, NBC reported. The court dismissed an appeals court decision that claimed the FDA had unlawfully altered the rules during proceedings to decide whether to approve several such products. The ruling is a big win for the agency, as the popularity of e-cigarettes and vapes grows, especially amongst younger users. Justice Samuel Alito, writing a unanimous court opinion, refrained from ruling on whether the FDA should have considered the companies’ marketing plans during approval. That issue will be addressed by a lower court. However, Alito upheld the FDA’s decisions, noting that the e-cigarette companies’ applications provided strong evidence that they were aware of the FDA’s expected comparative analysis. The FDA, after the 5th Circuit Court’s ruling against its approval process, appealed to the Supreme Court and has won similar cases in other courts.