LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Vaping shops are challenging a new Los Angeles County ordinance that prevents selling flavored tobacco products.
CA Smoke & Vape Association and Ace Smoke Shop filed a lawsuit May 4 in federal court against the rule, which also requires businesses to obtain two additional licenses and imposes new tobacco product standards.
The “great majority” of vapor products and devices will be prohibited, the lawsuit says. It complains that products containing THC are exempted, even though it is “the primary source linked to the outbreak of recent illnesses.”
“Similarly, the ordinance makes no distinction between the black-market vaping products at the center of that outbreak and the FDA-regulated products produced by legitimate manufacturers,” the lawsuit says.
“Instead, the ordinance implements a blanket prohibition on the sale of flavored tobacco products to all persons, threatening to destroy an entire industry and the livelihoods of Los Angeles County residents.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Jawlakian Law Group.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:20-cv-04065