Litigation
Nov. 21, 2015
Major e-cigarette makers sued under Prop. 65 for allegedly failing to warn the public over toxic chemicals
Oakland-based nonprofit Center for Environmental Health claim products made by R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. and others contain formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, both carcinogens
Daily Journal Staff Writer
An Oakland-based nonprofit sued some of the country's largest e-cigarette makers Thursday, alleging they are failing to warn consumers about cancer-causing chemicals in their products in violation of the state's toxics warning law, Proposition 65.
Companies including R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., Fontem US Inc. and Njoy Inc. are selling products containing formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, known to cause cancer and reproductive harm, without the required label, according to two lawsuits filed by the Center for Environmental Health.
The group sued 15 companies in total on Thursday, bringing the number of e-cigarette companies the group has sued this year to more than 60.
"This is big tobacco's latest addictive product that they're pushing to a new generation that they hope to hook on nicotine and we expect our suits to stop them marketing to young people and to clean up their products and require warning labels on their products," said Charles Margulis, a spokesman the Center for Environmental Health.
R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., marketed under the "Vuse" label, Fontem US, marketed under the "Blu" label, and Njoy did not respond to requests for comment.
The center has previously sued many other e-cigarette companies alleging they have failed to notify the public that their products contain nicotine, and Thursday's lawsuits are the first to make claims against e-cigarette makers over formaldehyde and acetaldehyde.
All three chemicals are listed under Prop. 65, a 1986 law that requires companies to either label their products if they contain high levels of a chemical, or reduce the amount of the chemical to below the warning threshold.
The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court.
The center has already settled one case over nicotine warnings and is poised to settle half a dozen more in the near future, according to Margulis.
In the settlement with Sapphire Vapor, the agreement called for reduced penalties against the company if it altered its marketing practices to avoid attracting teenagers to the product, according to Margulis.
The center is represented by San Francisco-based Lexington Law Group.
Fiona Smith
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