On Dec. 20, the FDA filed a petition requesting that the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia schedule a hearing and review the FDA’s appeal of the initial federal district court ruling on its ability to regulate e-cigarettes as a drug or medical device, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported.
The FDA’s petition comes after a recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower federal district court’s decision that the FDA lacked authority to regulate electronic cigarettes as a drug or medical device and that such products could only be regulated as tobacco products. The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.