Blu E-Cigs Not Safer or Healthier, Class Claims
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - Lorillard Tobacco Company falsely advertises its Blu brand of electronic cigarettes as "safer" and "healthier" than standard smokes when they're not, a class claims in state court.
Lead plaintiff Larry Diek says in a 50-page complaint filed last week in Orange County Superior Court that he would not have purchased Blu e-cigarettes if he had known about their dangers.
E-cigs, as described in the complaint, are designed to deliver "a smoking-like hit of vapor, usually containing nicotine, which is inhaled by the user," Diek's complaint states.
A battery-operated heating mechanism converts a cartridge of solvent carriers containing glycerin, glycol, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol - also found in antifreeze - artificial flavors, and nicotine into vapor that the user then inhales as he would a traditional cigarette, according to the complaint.
Blu deceptively advertises their e-cigarettes as a "safer," "healthier," and "smarter alternative to traditional cigarettes" since they produce only vapor and not tobacco smoke. But the vapor is actually "a concoction of chemicals toxic to human cells," Diek says in his complaint.
