Justices Side With FDA on E-Cigarettes in New Fifth Circuit Snub

The US Supreme Court unanimously sided with the Food and Drug Administration in a high-stakes battle over flavored e-cigarettes.

In a ruling on Wednesday by Justice Samuel Alito, the court reinstated the FDA’s denial of applications to sell flavored e-cigarettes. In doing so, the justices undid a ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that accused the agency of moving the goal line for approval.

Other federal appellate courts had rejected the challenges to the denials, with the Fifth Circuit the only one going the other way. Companies then flocked to that circuit in search of a friendlier venue, advocates in a related case about the proper place to sue told the justices.

The cases is Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, LLC, U.S., No. 23-1038.