December 11, 2015 — Cuttwood, LLC has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit accusing them of selling e-cigarette liquids that contain flavor chemicals linked to severe lung disease.
The lawsuit (PDF) was filed on November 23 in federal court in California (Case No. 8:15-cv-01961) by Jennifer Cox, a woman who says she never would have bought Cuttwood e-liquids had she known they contained potentially toxic ingredients.
Cuttwood e-juice allegedly contains diacetyl and/or acetyl propionyl (2,3,-pentanedione) in “the highest concentration that has ever been seen in any e-liquid.” According to the complaint:
“Cuttwood’s warning label is misleading and deceptive because while it identifies nicotine as a chemical component, it does not provide a full list of other carcinogenic ingredients and other disease-causing substances.”
Cox also says she was misled into buying Cuttwood products because she believed they were safer than smoking traditional cigarettes. However, researchers at Harvard now warn that vaping artificial-flavoring chemicals poses serious risks.
The chemical diacetyl is commonly used in artificial flavors like butter, cream, fruit, candy, and cocktails. It gained notoriety in the early 2000s, after a number of workers at a microwave popcorn plant in Missouri were diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe lung disease that scars the airways and makes it hard to breathe.
The disease was nicknamed “Popcorn Lung” after it was linked to inhalation of diacetyl from artificial butter-flavoring. Diacetyl is also a risk-factor for emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), according to the lawsuit.
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