Consumers Sue FLOW Vaping Brand Over Contradictory Claims

According to domestic media reports, a consumer from Hebei, Wu, has sued the operators of the FLOW vaping brand, Yuyi Technology and three other companies, over contradictory claims regarding the advertising of e-cigarettes as "harmless" while the product descriptions state they "contain addictive substances."
 
On July 24, domestic media learned from Wu's attorney that the Beijing Internet Court had accepted the case on May 28, and Wu paid the litigation fee on July 23.

The lawsuit states that on May 2, while browsing JD.com, Wu discovered that the FLOW flagship store claimed that "e-cigarettes have no harm or very little harm and can help with quitting smoking." Wu ordered a set of e-cigarettes with three pods for 299 yuan. On the same day, Wu received the product and obtained an electronic invoice from JD.com.

However, Wu and his partner felt uncomfortable when trying the e-cigarette, believing it did not align with the claims made by customer service and the JD.com promotional materials. Upon reviewing the product description and packaging, Wu found that the product packaging and description stated that "e-cigarettes may still be harmful to health and contain formaldehyde, nicotine, and other addictive substances," contradicting the advertising claims.
 
Subsequently, Wu filed a lawsuit against the four companies operating the FLOW brand, citing "the inclusion of food-grade flavoring without approval from the National Medical Products Administration" and "suspected consumer fraud."

Wu believes that the defendants violated the "Standards for the Use of Food Additives" and the "Food Safety Law" by adding food-grade flavoring to the e-cigarettes and pods sold to him.

In light of these circumstances, Wu requests the court to terminate his online shopping contract with JD.com, refund the 299 yuan, provide triple compensation, issue an apology to Wu, and pay 3,150 yuan for emotional damages, along with covering other expenses incurred due to this case, totaling approximately 5,315 yuan.

One of Wu's attorneys, Wang Zhenyu from Beijing Yipai Law Firm, told The Paper that Wu filed the lawsuit because he found that the e-cigarette did not match the promotional claims and did not help him quit smoking, posing certain health risks and infringing on his right to know, which he believes constitutes consumer fraud.
 
As for Wu's lawsuit and feedback from other customers, FLOW has yet to make a public response.