Appliance Group Fights Nation’s First Gas Range Labeling Law

Colorado retailers required to affix warning labels to floor models

By Alan Wolf, YSN

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) is taking Colorado to court.

At issue: a new law mandating dealers to affix yellow warning labels to all gas range floor models. Effective last month, failure to properly label the appliances is considered a deceptive trade practice under the state’s Consumer Protection Act.

The statute is the first such regulation in the U.S. and was designed to alert consumers to possible adverse effects from the burning of natural gas and propane. The required label states, “Understand the air quality implications of having an indoor gas stove,” and must provide a link or QR code that takes shoppers to a Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment web page.

The page lists possible health risks associated with gas-fueled ranges and cooktops, along with the studies that suggest it. The sources, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), point to “credible evidence” that stovetop flames emit benzene, a known carcinogen, and formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, which can cause breathing problems in children and people with chronic lung disease.

See: Gas Cooktops Under Attack

But according to AHAM, the appliance industry’s principal trade association, the overwhelming majority of available health research shows there is no association between gas ranges and adverse health outcomes, and that without scientific consensus, the new law violates the First Amendment’s protection against compelled speech.

On that basis, the group filed a First Amendment lawsuit in the United States District Court for Colorado last month seeking an emergency injunction to block the label mandate.

“We strongly support science-based practices that protect consumers,” said Kelly Mariotti, AHAM’s president/CEO. “What we are opposing is a state government compelling private companies to communicate a message that lacks scientific consensus … If the labeling requirement remains in place, Coloradans may be persuaded to make decisions based on incomplete and unproven information.”

According to a report by Colorado Public Radio, similar legislation failed in California, New York and Illinois last year, although New York lawmakers have since revived their warning label proposal and Massachusetts is considering a similar bill.

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