Supreme Court sides with FDA in flavored e-cigarette case

The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to deny authorization for two companies to sell flavored e-cigarettes, delivering a win to federal regulators and reversing a lower court ruling that had temporarily undercut the agency’s tobacco control powers.

In a 9-0 opinion authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the justices concluded the FDA acted lawfully and was not “arbitrary and capricious” in rejecting premarket applications from Triton Distribution and Vapetasia. The companies had sought approval to sell vape liquids in flavors like “Killer Kustard” and “Suicide Bunny Mother’s Milk and Cookies,” which the FDA found posed a particular risk to youth.