Product Liability Webinar Readies Electronic Cigarette Business Leaders for Future Challenges

Electronic cigarette industry trade organization SFATA hosted presentation to electronic cigarette industry leaders on product liability and insurance.

 

Washington, D.C. -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/29/2013 --The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA), an electronic cigarette industry trade organization, hosted the second of three summer webinars for electronic cigarette industry leaders on July 23. The organization's one-hour webinar offered a wealth of information on potential product liability and insurance concerns as they apply to electronic cigarettes.

SFATA's second summer webinar featured Sarkis Kaladzhyan and Jason Perez of Calco Commercial Insurance. The two shared their experience with and expectations for the electronic cigarette industry. They covered topics ranging from appropriate product warning language, instruction manual organization, insurance cost analysis, and litigation defense.

Kaladzhyan is president and principal broker of Calco Commercial Insurance. Perez is Calco's Senior Commercial Broker for Commercial Property and Casualty. Calco specializes in providing electronic cigarette industry leaders with product liability support.

SFATA members and participants in the webinar also received a list of 45 warning language suggestions to assist in developing an understanding of product warning language. According to Kaladzhyan, companies wishing to protect themselves from litigation should provide superior warnings, rather than simply adequate ones. By this, he means that companies need to inform their customers as to what they shouldn't do as much as what they should do.

“E-cig companies should take Kaladzhyan's advice to heart,” says SFATA Executive Director Cynthia Cabrera. “Product liability is rapidly becoming the single highest risk category for electronic cigarette companies.”

SFATA's summer webinar series is one part of SFATA's ongoing education efforts for the electronic cigarette industry and its community at large. June's webinar focused on electronic cigarette industry expansion into the Canadian market. August's webinar will focus on import compliance regulations and issues. Additional future webinars are in development. SFATA also provides live events, workshops, written reports, and a monthly newsletter to its membership and followers.

The next webinar will feature Deborah Stern and Emily Simon of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. The two will provide an overview of the processes and challenges of import compliance for electronic cigarettes. Any U.S.-based organization that receives products or materials from abroad will benefit from participating in this webinar.

The last summer webinar will be on August 20, 2013 at 1:00 PM (EST).

Live viewing of and participation in SFATA's summer webinar series is free and open to members of the electronic cigarette community and industry, though registration is required. Recordings of the webinars will be available to members on the SFATA website following the events. For more information or to register for this event, please visit SFATA.org or email info@sfata.org.

About SFATA
The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association is dedicated to the advocacy, education, and reputation of the electronic cigarette industry. Through its membership, SFATA builds the networks necessary to support campaigning and research endeavors paramount to the future of the industry. SFATA's primary concern is the fair regulation of electronic cigarettes in a way that creates an even playing field for all companies in the market. For more information, visit SFATA.org, email info@sfata.org or call 218-22-SFATA.