Lawsuit Filed to Challenge Iowa's E-cigarette Regulations In Court

According to a report from Vaping 360 on December 20th, the e-cigarette industry association in Iowa, along with several independent businesses, has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to halt the implementation of the PMTA registration law set to go into effect in February 2025. This law could potentially force many or all specialty e-cigarette shops in the state to close.

The state bill HF 2677, proposed by Altria and Reynolds Tobacco (R.J. Reynolds), aims to protect the sales of cigarettes and their FDA-authorized e-cigarette products. The bill calls for the creation of a state registry system for legal e-cigarette products to streamline enforcement against unauthorized products.

The bill was passed by the Iowa state legislature in April and signed into law by Governor Kim Reynolds in May.

Once the new law goes into effect in February 2025, consumers in Iowa will no longer be able to legally access e-cigarette products, with the exception of a small number of FDA authorized products and those undergoing pre-market tobacco application (PMTA) review by the agency. The law also prohibits the sale of all unauthorized synthetic nicotine products by the FDA, and unlike many similar regulations, this law does not exempt products that are currently appealing Marketing Denial Orders (MDO) in federal court.

An e-cigarette company has stated that the law violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. and Iowa constitutions and the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Iowa Department of Revenue from enforcing the law before a decision is made, ultimately seeking a permanent injunction to block the law.

The plaintiffs believe that the regulatory impact of HF 2677 is pushing them to the brink. Heather Glenn, president of the Iowa Alternative Tobacco Association (IFAST), stated in a press release, "Dozens of Iowa businesses are facing closure, and their hardworking employees and their families will bear the financial consequences of this legislation catering to the tobacco industry.

The lawsuit was filed by the Iowa E-Cigarette Industry Association IFAST, as well as the Iowa-based e-cigarette companies Global Source Distribution, Smokin Hot, Central Iowa Vapors WDM, and Route 69 Vapor, and Triton Distribution, which is headquartered in Texas. IFAST and its co-plaintiffs are represented by Eric Heyer of the law firm Thompson Hine. Heyer had previously represented e-cigarette manufacturer Triton Distribution in a debate before the Supreme Court earlier this month.