Appeals Court Open to E-Cig Makers’ Claim That FDA Skipped Rules

A federal appeals court on Tuesday appeared open to claims that the FDA failed to go through notice-and-comment procedures when it ordered companies seeking to market flavored e-cigarettes to provide data showing their products had benefits over tobacco-flavored products.

The US Food and Drug Administration denied “millions” of applications from companies seeking to market flavored vaping products because sellers didn’t know they were obliged to “have this comparison to show the demonstration of appropriateness,” Judge Edith Jones of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said to the FDA.

Judge Leslie Southwick also questioned whether the FDA followed ...