A Central Iowa business says they are celebrating “a win in the right direction” after a federal judge blocked Iowa vaping regulations from taking effect. House File 2677, which was passed last year, would have required those products to have marketing authorization from the Food and Drug Administration between 2016 and 2020.The law was set to take effect in February, but it was put on pause after a group of vaping businesses and organizations sued the Iowa Department of Revenue in December. In April, industry leaders argued the requirements would have restricted most of the products sold at vaping businesses and organizations in Iowa. People who support the law said unauthorized products could harm Iowans.The court ruled Friday that the Iowa law “impermissibly intrudes upon the federal government’s exclusive authority” to enforce the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which ensures that food, medicine, cosmetics and medical devices are safe and properly labeled.Ashley Hartman, chief strategy officer for Central Iowa Vapors, reacted to the ruling Sunday. “It’s definitely a win in the right direction,” she said. “But we still have a long ways to go.”Central Iowa Vapors is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with Iowans for Alternatives to Smoking and Tobacco. The groups claim the date restriction in the new law was unfair. “It essentially would have shut our stores down,” Hartman said. “There’s only 26 products that are currently approved on the registry federally and so that would have completely wiped away everything in our stores.”Hartman said she’s not against regulation — she just wants it to be fair. She hopes the state will rewrite the law.”We are going to ask for support from our consumers because this has been a big fight,” Hartman said. “It’s cost a lot of money, but we’re not going to give up.”KCCI reached out to the attorney general’s office to ask if they plan on appealing this decision, but did not hear back. » Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
A Central Iowa business says they are celebrating “a win in the right direction” after a federal judge blocked Iowa vaping regulations from taking effect.
House File 2677, which was passed last year, would have required those products to have marketing authorization from the Food and Drug Administration between 2016 and 2020.
The law was set to take effect in February, but it was put on pause after a group of vaping businesses and organizations sued the Iowa Department of Revenue in December.
In April, industry leaders argued the requirements would have restricted most of the products sold at vaping businesses and organizations in Iowa. People who support the law said unauthorized products could harm Iowans.
The court ruled Friday that the Iowa law “impermissibly intrudes upon the federal government’s exclusive authority” to enforce the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which ensures that food, medicine, cosmetics and medical devices are safe and properly labeled.
Ashley Hartman, chief strategy officer for Central Iowa Vapors, reacted to the ruling Sunday.
“It’s definitely a win in the right direction,” she said. “But we still have a long ways to go.”
Central Iowa Vapors is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, along with Iowans for Alternatives to Smoking and Tobacco. The groups claim the date restriction in the new law was unfair.
“It essentially would have shut our stores down,” Hartman said. “There’s only 26 products that are currently approved on the registry federally and so that would have completely wiped away everything in our stores.”
Hartman said she’s not against regulation — she just wants it to be fair. She hopes the state will rewrite the law.
“We are going to ask for support from our consumers because this has been a big fight,” Hartman said. “It’s cost a lot of money, but we’re not going to give up.”
KCCI reached out to the attorney general’s office to ask if they plan on appealing this decision, but did not hear back.
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» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play