ACCC takes E-cigarette Retailers to Court over ‘no toxic chemicals’ Claims
Tuesday 21 June 2016 @ 9.38 a.m. | Legal Research | Trade & Commerce
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has lodged a case in the Federal Court against Queensland-based companies Social-Lites and Elusion New Zealand (the companies).
The ACCC alleges that the two companies breached the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) [Sch 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)] by making representations on their websites from at least August 2015, that e-cigarette products being sold did not contain carcinogens or toxic chemicals, and did not contain any of the chemicals found in conventional cigarettes.
What is an e-cigarette?
E-cigarettes are metal tubes that heat liquids typically laced with nicotine and deliver vapour when inhaled. The liquids come in thousands of flavours. Use of the devices has grown quickly in the past decade and experts fiercely debate whether the devices can help people give up smoking and whether they are safe — with some studies raising concerns about the toxicity of some of the ingredients.
The Allegations
The ACCC alleges, based on independent testing it commissioned, that the e-cigarette products sold by Social-Lites and Elusion did in fact contain carcinogens and toxic chemicals found in conventional cigarettes, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acrolein.
Reaction from the ACCC
The Chairman of the consumer watchdog, Rod Sims said:
“It is imperative that suppliers have scientific evidence to support claims that their products do not contains carcinogens and toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. This is particularly important when, as here, products are designed to be inhaled and are being differentiated from conventional tobacco cigarettes because they are claimed not to contain toxic chemicals. There is an increasing level of concern among international, national and state authorities regarding the composition of e-cigarettes, and the likely effects of their use.”
The ACCC also alleges that the CEO of Social-Lites and the Director of Elusion were knowingly concerned in the alleged contraventions by Social-Lites and Elusion respectively.
Product Testing
Mr Sims noted that said the companies "did not have a reasonable basis for making those claims".
He also said that the testing was performed by the:
“… National Measurement Institute, which is the premier institute in Australia for product testing for liquids and chemicals”.
Formaldehyde is classified by the World Health Organisation International Agency for Cancer Research as a Group 1A carcinogen, meaning there is sufficient evidence to show it is carcinogenic to humans.
Acetaldehyde is classified as a Group 2B carcinogen by the IARC. That classification is applied to a chemical agent that has been evaluated as being possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Acrolein is classified by the World Health Organisation as a toxic chemical. It is also listed as a dangerous poison in Sch 7 of the Poisons Standard of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth).
Comment from Social-Lites
A Social-Lites spokesman said it was never the company's intention to mislead consumers:
"I will tell people it's a smarter choice rather than stating it's (a) healthier one … We are led to believe via many independent studies from around the world that electronic cigarettes like our premium electronic cigarette starter kit … would not produce carcinogens. It's only when people use vaporisers with high-voltage capabilities do carcinogens form."
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Sources:
ACCC takes E-cigarette retailers to court over ‘no toxic chemicals’ claims – theaustralian.com.au
Vaping tests reveal cancer-causing ingredients in e-cigarettes, ACCC alleges – `abc.net.au
ACCC takes action against e-cigarette suppliers for alleged misleading “no toxic chemicals” claims - ACCC Release MR 109/16
