The Federal Court has ordered three online e-cigarette retailers to pay penalties for breaching the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
Each company was found to have promoted their products as not containing harmful carcinogens and toxins, through independent testing later revealed the claims were untrue.
The courts also found that directors and CEOs of the companies: The Joystick Company Pty Ltd (Joystick), Social-Lites Pty Ltd (Social-Lites) and Elusion Australia Limited (Elusion), were also aware of contravening conduct that was taking place across their respective companies.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) undertook independent testing that identified the presence of the carcinogens and toxic chemicals in the products of Joystick, Social-Lites and Elusion.
ACCC acting chair Delia Rickard said businesses must ensure they provide the correct information to consumers as this was important for products that have the potential to cause harm to consumer health.
“Consumers were led to believe by this conduct that when using these e-cigarette products, they would not be exposed to the harmful chemicals found in ordinary cigarettes,” she said.
“In fact, they were exposed to the same chemicals, including a known carcinogen that has no safe level of exposure.”
Admissions were made by each of the companies and their respective individuals resulting in the court to order the following:
- Joystick pay a penalty of $50,000, and its director a penalty of $10,000;
- Social-Lites pay a penalty of $50,000, and its CEO a penalty of $10,000, and;
- Elusion to pay a penalty of $40,000, and its director a penalty of $15,000.
A media-release from the ACCC said it believed this was the first time any regulator has taken action for false and misleading claims about carcinogens in e-cigarettes globally.
E-cigarettes are battery powered synthetic fog toys available with nicotine and flavors. They lure children who never smoked tobacco into nicotine addiction then most of them start smoking tobacco also. Occupational safety authorities have known for decades that emissions from synthetic fog machines for theatrical performances and special effects are dangerous to inhale, and that they electrically heat propylene glycol/glycerin the same way e-cigarettes do. Add to that the fact that e-cigarettes often inflict property damage, third degree burns and ballistic trauma when they explode; that they emit some of the same carcinogens and toxins in tobacco smoke; that they emit some toxins and carcinogens not even found in tobacco smoke (chromium, glycidol), and enough is already known for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to block e-cigarette importation plus order e-cigarette recalls, and for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate nicotine e-liquid in e-cigarettes as tobacco products. Without waiting for action by those agencies, local and state governments plus hospitals, universities and companies can protect employees and the public by making vaping e-cigarettes illegal everywhere smoking cigarettes is already outlawed in their jurisdictions. The wording of “E-cigarette: an evidence update. A report commissioned by Public Health England” that said that “best estimates show e-cigarette are 95% less harmful to your health than normal cigarettes” is flimsy, and their “95%” statistic turns out to be a mere optimistic guess, not a real percentage based on mathematics using data or measurements. Finally, most people who vape e-cigarettes continue to smoke cigarettes anyway, resorting to e-cigs only when they are in places where smoking tobacco is not allowed. E-cigarettes are bogus harm reduction and a smoking cessation hoax. These urgently needed sanctions against e-cigarette consumer fraud were also reported in the Australian Journal of Pharmacy (AJP) magazine.
Carl Carl Carl how wrong you are and confused too.
Maybe if people stopped thinking aout their own pockets and took some advice from people that have been doiing the right thing from the very start like myself.
You wouldnt be in the same circle as all those who generalize and make false misleading statements about vaping products hold tight because I’m sure some of the information I’m about to share will shed some light on many of these issues.
Facts dont lie tests and trials dont lie and no One product is the same just because it looks the goods doesn’t mean it is.
We were one of if not the first to acquire All the Standards as I pushed for medical device standards and Medicine grades also, to live up the Australia’s expectations way back when I first started my mission in 2009 after discovering vaping in 2008 and losing family members to smoking my reasons have always been very different to many of those selling products but I wont go into it You will come to know about it soon enough.
If it hadn’t been for illegal action by some people things would’ve already changed but as soon as your friends caught wind of the success rate, all of a sudden it become another “?” “Research Agenda” all the reason’s in the world hit Headlines like a fire sale as to why they “Should” All be banned the dumbest most ignorant and unethical BS, which was expected I guess as people have tried and tried to protect their positions and funding for “whatever they please”, Why else I mean they spent $50 million looking to develop a product over 10yrs but were Hmmmm unsuccessful with their Filters that contained ” Asbestos” and Low nicotine Strategies.. Anyone with half a brain could see where that was headed before it even kicked off…
Excuses Blame and No Accountability is All I hear day in day out.
It’s time people got real and those who did the right thing fro the start were rewarded.
Well done
How many shirts have you sold by the way ?