E-cigarette maker agrees to halt sales

[driftman]

E-cigarette maker agrees to halt sales in Oregon

By STEVEN DUBOIS
The Associated Press
Monday, August 9, 2010; 9:35 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. -- A leading distributor of electronic cigarettes has agreed to halt sales in Oregon, Attorney General John Kroger announced Monday.

Kroger said Smoking Everywhere Inc. did not seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and provides no evidence to support claims that its so-called "e-cigarettes" are a safe alternative to conventional tobacco products. He also expressed concern that the company geared it marketing toward young people.

Oregon last year became the first state to go to court to block the sale of the devices, some of which are designed to look like traditional cigarettes.
Smoking Everywhere's electronic cigarettes have a battery-powered heating element and a replaceable plastic cartridge that contains chemicals, including liquid nicotine. The heat vaporizes the liquid for inhalation.

In settling the suit, the Florida-based company admitted violating Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act. Besides no longer selling its products here, the company agreed to pay more than $95,000 to the state Department of Justice. The company's president, Elico Taieb, will pay another $25,000 and is barred from doing any business in Oregon that involves tobacco, nicotine or electronic cigarettes.

Taieb did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Ray Story, a Smoking Everywhere owner who's in litigation against Taieb, did not approve of the settlement. "At the end of the day, he's made
some very dumb mistakes, and he's continuing to make those," Story said.
The Food and Drug Administration has clashed with e-cigarette companies on the question of whether the product helps people quit smoking. If it's marketed as a medical device, then it needs FDA approval.

The agency banned the import of electronic cigarettes into the U.S. last year, but a federal judge overruled the action in January. The U.S. Court of Appeals takes up the matter next month.

Story contends Smoking Everywhere is a cigarette company and needs to act as such. That means not advertising on the radio and not selling the product over the Internet, where there's no guarantee it won't be delivered to a minor. Story said he and Taieb have disagreed on that point.

"That's where Smoking Everywhere has an issue, because they're selling it on the Internet."

Story said e-cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes and less intrusive to nonsmokers. He sharply criticized Kroger for keeping the product away from Oregonians.

"The attorney general there really doesn't know what he's talking about," he said. "A state cannot ban a product without it banning every product within that same category."

The attorney general last year got two travel store chains to stop selling e-cigarettes in Oregon and persuaded another e-cigarette company, Sottera Inc., to leave the state.

Smoking Everywhere declined a request to restrict its Oregon sales, leading to the lawsuit filed almost a year ago in Salem.


- From Washingto Post

[Royal]

Story contends Smoking Everywhere is a cigarette company and needs to act as such. That means not advertising on the radio and not selling the product over the Internet, where there's no guarantee it won't be delivered to a minor. Story said he and Taieb have disagreed on that point.

"That's where Smoking Everywhere has an issue, because they're selling it on the Internet."

With the recent passing of the PACT Act, tobacco products are banned from being sold on the internet, unless the seller meets certain licensing and taxing requirements for each state they are sold to. This makes it almost impossible. The one tobacco product that was excluded from this bill were cigars. I guess there are too many senators and congressmen who smoke cigars and enjoy ordering them online.
I foresaw this sort of thing coming, now all they have to do is amend the PACT act to include electronic cigarettes as well.

Either way, if electronic cigarettes are classified as a tobacco product or a medical device, we are screwed.

November is not far off, we need to vote them all out and start anew. But it will take two more years to clean house completely.

[mcquinn]

I am not to sure how you could police e-commerce.I don't tell the post office what I put in my parcels .

[Jim Davis]

I personally think we're screwed. There aren't enough people on our side to pull it off. We're still connected to "Those filthy Smokers".

Life sucks sometimes. Almost time to go underground. Stock up guys, it's gonna be a rough ride.

I'm running low on juice and wondering which suppliers are still fairly safe right now.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by mcquinn

I am not to sure how you could police e-commerce.I don't tell the post office what I put in my parcels .

The government shuts down websites all the time. If the trade is made illegal online, merchant accounts will be stopped, just like when Paypal stopped doing business with e-cig suppliers. Not to mention the legal consequences.

Also, I have in the past received domestic packages that were shipped via USPS and UPS, that arrived opened. When I queried the shipper, they insisted the package was properly sealed when it was sent. So who opened and looked in my packages?

[PTJD]

Yeah, worst case keep my liquids for travel only or buy the liquid overseas when I'm there.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by PTJD

Yeah, worst case keep my liquids for travel only or buy the liquid overseas when I'm there.

Then hope customs does not seize them when you return.

[PTJD]

Shouldn't be a problem. In general Customs is looking for food items, fruits, meat, extra cigarettes, booze etc... DEA and their doggies usually look for contraband. Now I will have to do check-in (hate it) and come up with some 500cc-1 liter bottle of some kind to put it in.
Having said that, Customs will bust you if they do find contraband but don't see them going out of the way to test for e-liquid!

[mcquinn]

I am amazed we have been able to go this long without intervention.I am also amazed the goverenment has left internet commerce alone as there is a huge revenue source just begging to be tapped.

[lordmage]

makes me glad i was able to put it all down. Nic free and vape free for months now and counting