Washington, D.C., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed an amicus curiae brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Respondents in Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company. NCLA's brief urges the Justices to reject FDA's effort to insulate itself from accountability. Even though the law allows "any person adversely affected" by an FDA order to challenge the agency's decision in court, FDA oddly claims vaping retailers are not adversely affected by a ban on sale of vaping products. It is asking the Supreme Court to restrict that right to only parties to the agency proceedings. NCLA's brief explains how this limit would conflict with the controlling statute as well as Supreme Court precedent.

Under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act ("TCA"), manufacturers need FDA approval to sell certain e-cigarette or "vaping" products. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company applied for permission to sell its "Vuse" e-cigarettes. FDA denied the application, which prevents all retailers from selling the Vuse e-cigarettes -- ones they were allowed to sell while the application was pending. So, several retailers filed a petition for review in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, stating that FDA's decision "adversely affected" them by costing them lost sales. But FDA moved to dismiss their petition, arguing that the only person who could be "adversely affected" under the TCA is the manufacturer who filed the denied application. The Fifth Circuit rejected FDA's argument, ruling that the retailers have standing to bring their petition for review of the order. The Supreme Court agreed to hear this case to address that issue and whether venue was appropriate in the district court.

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