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CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Mercer County vape shop is among six vaping dealers across the nation targeted in a lawsuit from the U.S. Attorney over the altering of vape products without FDA authorization.
Soul Vapor LLC of Princeton, W.Va. was named in the suit filed but the United States Attorney’s office in the southern district of West Virginia. According to U.S. Attorney Will Thompson the company created a new tobacco vaping product, but failed to get FDA authorization and then when notified of the violation, continued to produce the product.
“They are alleged to be selling unapproved tobacco products to be used in a vape pen. They’ve been asked several times to stop selling the product, they didn’t, and that’s what led to this lawsuit,” Thompson said in a recent edition of MetroNews Talkline.
The government alleges that the defendants illegally manufacture and sell electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products, including finished “e-liquids,” or liquids that contain nicotine and colorings, flavorings and/or other ingredients.
The complaints further allege the defendants caused tobacco products to become adulterated and misbranded while held for sale after shipment of one or more of their components in interstate commerce, and that they continued to manufacture, sell and distribute the adulterated and misbranded tobacco products despite receiving warning letters from the FDA that they were violating the law.
“It’s actually dealing with a new form of tobacco through an e-liquid mixing of another e-liquid with it. When you do that you’re supposed to get FDA approval and this shop did not do that,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the product is not necessarily illegal, but the companies in alerting the product were required to get FDA approval and made no effort to gain that approval. The FDA advised the company of the missteps and according to investigators, the production continued.