ASH's LETTER TO AMAZON.COM WARNING ABOUT POTENTIAL LIABILITY FOR SELING E-CIGARETTES

Mr. Jeffrey P. Bezos, President and CEO                                                                                       August 18, 2009
Amazon.com Inc.
1200 12th Ave. South, Ste. 1200                                                                                                   BY CERTIFIED MAIL
Seattle, WA 98144-2734                                                                                                              RECEIPT REQUESTED


RE: Notice of Potential Legal Liability for Continuing Sale of “Illegal” E-Cigarettes


Dear Mr. Dutta:

 

As the legal-action antismoking organization whose legal complaints [1] about the facilitation – by credit card companies and others – of the illegal Internet sales of cigarettes led to a crackdown by many attorneys general, [2] we write to advise your company of its potential legal liability related to its continuing sale of e-cigarettes.


As noted in an NPR piece [3] in which I participated, the FDA has clearly announced that “e-cigarettes are subject to FDA approval as a drug or medical device, much like nicotine patches, gums and inhalers — and therefore they are illegal until they are cleared.”[4] [emphasis added] Despite this, Amazon.com is continuing to sell these devices in interstate commerce, and in apparent violation of consumer protection laws in many individual states.[5]


Recently ASH wrote to all 50 attorneys general asking them to take legal action against the illegal sales of such products. To date, at least one state has forced two different companies to cease selling these illegal products. PayPal, after being warned by ASH, has stopped facilitating their sale, and Facebook is refusing their ads.[6]


As the FDA [7] and others [8] have noted, e-cigarettes pose a wide variety of potential dangers to users,[9] and perhaps also to those around them, both of whom inhale a mixture of nicotine (a dangerous addictive drug) and propylene glycol (which is used in antifreeze and may cause respiratory tract irritation). Thus, in addition to liability for selling an illegal product, Amazon.com might well be named as a defendant should an e-cigarette user or a family member claim that some medical problem was caused by an e-cigarette allegedly sold by Amazon.com.


Yours truly,




Law Professor John F. Banzhaf III

Executive Director and Chief Counsel


CC: Thomas J. Szkutak, CFO; Werner Vogels, CTO; Michelle Wilson, Counsel; Tom Alberg; John Seely Brown; John Doerr; Bing Gordon; Alain Monie; Tom Ryder; Patty Stonesifer


FOR NOTES, SEE


[1] ASH Urges Attorneys General to Go after Illegal Internet Sales,

http://ash.org/agtaxletter.html


[2] Credit Card Companies Agree to Ban Transactions From Online Cigarette Sales [11/10-1],

http://ash.org/no-smoking/nov05/11-10-05-1.html

 

[3] E-Cigarettes: The New Frontier In War On Smoking,

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111578997


[4] See also,

FDA to Regulate E-Cigarettes as Toxins are Found - Law Prof's NBC-TV Appearance and Petition Played Big Role,

http://www.pr-inside.com/fda-to-regulate-e-cigarettes-as-toxins-r1403601.htm

FDA Warns of Health Risks Posed by E-Cigarettes,

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM173430.pdf

Transcript for FDA's Media Briefing on Electronic Cigarettes,

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/NewsEvents/Newsroom/MediaTranscripts/UCM173405.pdf


[5] See, e.g., http://ash.org/ORecig1


[6] PayPal Warned About E-Cigarette Legal Liability - Facebook Bans Ads; Now Cialis is in E-Cigarettes.

http://www.pr-inside.com/paypal-warned-about-e-cigarette-legal-r1430452.htm
See also, FDA Begins Regulating E-Cigarettes as Drug-Delivery Devices // ASH's Legal Petition Spurs/Explains Action,

http://www.pr-inside.com/fda-begins-regulating-e-cigarettes-as-r1262323.htm


[7] See generally, FDA's Links re E-Cigarettes,

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm172906.htm

 

[8] See, e.g., Concerns Voiced by the Public Health Experts About Electronic Cigarettes - No Demonstrated Public Health Benefit,

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm173175.htm

Positions of Other Organizations Regarding E-Cigarettes,

http://ash.org/ecigviews


[9] E-Cigarette Sales Banned by Court Order // More Bans Planned in Oregon and Elsewhere,

http://www.pr-inside.com/e-cigarette-sales-banned-by-court-order-r1418417.htm

FDA Warns of Health Risks Posed by E-Cigarettes,

http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm173401.htm

FDA Warns Against E-Cigarettes,

http://www.healthnews.com/alerts-outbreaks/fda-warns-against-e-cigarettes-3499.html

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