Washington, D.C.— Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Court will hear oral arguments in Wages and White Lion Investments (dba Triton Distribution) vs. FDA, the first oral arguments on the merits in a case brought against the agency in response to its issuance of a marketing denial order (MDO) for the manufacturer’s flavored e-cigarette products. FDA issued the MDO last fall, but the court ordered a stay of the MDO in October of 2021, allowing the products to stay on the market until the court gives a final ruling. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) filed an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief in support of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the case, opposing the stay in the initial phase of the case. The following is a statement from Lisa Lacasse, president of ACS CAN.
“The FDA was doing its job when it issued a marketing denial order (MDO) for Triton requiring them to remove their dangerous e-cigarettes from shelves. With flavors like Juice Man, Strawberry Astronaut and Chew Clouds Sour Grape, this industry is clearly targeting young people to lure them into a lifetime of addiction, a well-proven strategy of Big Tobacco for decades.
“We must reduce youth tobacco initiation if we are to reduce suffering and death from cancer. With products on the market like those from Triton, we’re headed in the wrong direction. E-cigarettes are the most popular tobacco product among youth, with more than two million young people reporting current e-cigarette use in 2021. More than 80% of youth e-cigarette users in 2021 reported using flavored products.
“Not only is the risk to youth initiation and use posed by flavored tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, well documented, but there is little evidence that flavors have any role in helping people who smoke traditional cigarettes quit. Therefore, these products are a significant public health risk, especially to our young people, without any public health benefit and, as a result, should be removed from the market as ordered by FDA.
“ACS CAN urges the court to uphold FDA’s MDO to protect kids. ACS CAN continues to work with local, state and federal lawmakers to end the sale of flavors in all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.”
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