E-Cigarettes' Safety Questioned in Calif. Class Action

A class-action lawsuit in California federal court alleges that an electronic cigarette distributor is fraudulently marketing the devices as a safe alternative to regular cigarettes.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, says defendant Smoking Everywhere Inc. should pay money damages and be barred from representing that electronic cigarettes are safe. It also wants the Sunrise, Fla.-based company to conduct a national advertising campaign warning of the devices' dangers.

Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigarettes, are an alternative to traditional tobacco cigarettes. They are powered by batteries and use vapors to deliver nicotine to smokers.

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger filed a similar lawsuit against the company in August.

In the current suit, plaintiff Bryn Garrett, a California resident, says Smoking Everywhere falsely represents that its e-cigarettes do not contain tar or other substances found in regular cigarettes and have been tested to ensure that they do not contain any carcinogens.

"In reality, defendant's e-cigarettes are not safe, not healthy, contain tobacco-specific impurities harmful to humans, have tested positive for known human carcinogens and at least one cartridge contains diethylene glycol ("DEG"), a poison found in antifreeze that has been linked to hundreds of deaths worldwide from tainted toothpaste and cough syrup," the suit says.

In addition nicotine levels are not accurately listed on the product labels, the complaint says.

These allegations are based on recent testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to the suit.

Smoking Everywhere's business practices are "unscrupulous, unethical and substantially injurious to consumers," the complaint says.

Garrett also alleges that Smoking Everywhere markets the products to children by selling them in shopping malls and by offering them in flavors such as candy, cola and chocolate.

The class is defined as all U.S. citizens who bought electronic cigarettes from Smoking Everywhere from Sept. 22, 2005, to the present.

The suit alleges unjust enrichment and violation of every state's unfair-competition laws.

To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor@ThomsonReuters.com.

The class is represented by Tonna K. Farrar of Bonnett, Fairbourn, Friedman & Balint in San Diego; Andrew S. Friedman, Elaine A. Ryan and Patricia N. Syverson of the firm's Phoenix office; Timothy Blood and Thomas O'Reardon of Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins in San Diego; and Joseph R. Whatley Jr. of Whatley, Drake & Kallas in New York.