Lawsuit challenges Kentucky youth vaping crackdown

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A new Kentucky law aimed at curbing youth vaping is being challenged in court.

The Kentucky Vaping Retailers Association, the Kentucky Hemp Association and four vape retailers filed a lawsuit last week in Franklin Circuit Court challenging the constitutionality of the bill, news outlets reported. It would require that any vape products sold have approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or have a "safe harbor certification."

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The administration has approved 23 vape product applications out of more than a million, so retailers argue that the requirement would make most of their stock illegal and put them out of business.

TOPSHOT - A smoker is engulfed by vapours as he smokes an electronic vaping machine during lunch time in central London on August 9, 2017. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

The lawsuit says the bill violates the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which grants due process. It argues that "hemp-derived products, including vapeable hemp products, are not subject to regulation by FDA," so there is no "regulatory market pathway" to allow them and other products to be sold.

Republican state Rep. Rebecca Raymer, the bill’s lead sponsor, has said it was a response to the state’s "vaping epidemic" and, in particular, complaints about how rampant vaping has become in schools.

Secretary of State Michael Adams and the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control are named as defendants. Both offices said they had not yet been served and had no comment.

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The new law is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.