FDA BAN ON VAPING THE DEEMING REGULATIONS

Many vape advocates have warned about the coming of this ominous day, and now it is here.

The FDA has declared war on vaping. The deeming regulations aren’t rules any vaping business can work with. They’re an attack on what we do and who we are, and vapers are right to feel mad and betrayed. The regs are as bad as the most pessimistic advocates expected — or maybe even worse.

Don’t let anyone kid you. If you’re a manufacturer or seller of vapor products in the US, this is a death sentence for your business. And if you’re a consumer of anything other than cigalikes, it’s going to reduce your choices of legal products to almost zero.  As it stands, on August 8 the vaping market will be frozen. You will not be able to make or sell any new products without approval from the FDA. Beyond that, vendors will have two years to file their pre-market tobacco applications. Each application for approval to sell “tobacco products” will probably cost over a million dollars, and there is no guarantee it will be accepted by the FDA.

The requirements are extreme. Aside from exacting scientific studies, you will have to prove that your product has a net benefit to the overall public health. It’s an impossible standard to meet. If you don’t have several million dollars to gamble with, you can’t survive if these regulations go into effect. That’s intentional on the FDA’s part. They know we can’t live in the world of extreme and exacting tobacco regulations and compliance. Our only hope is to stop the regulations from choking the thing that we love and depend on.

FDA UNVEILS E-CIG REGULATIONS

Thousands of e-cig and vaping products will now have to pass a Pre-Market Tobacco Application (PMTA) process if manufacturers want to keep them on the market, thanks to new FDA regulations just announced on May 6, 2016.   All electronic cigarettes launched since February 15, 2007 are now under federal oversight.  And the vaping industry is in jeopardy of essentially being wiped out as a result.

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This latest FDA ruling takes effect on 90-days from May 10, 2016, affecting an estimated 99% of all e-cig and vaping products currently on the market.  The PMTA process will be financially costly for retailers, and there is no guarantee of federal approval once the application is submitted.  The FDA reviews each product and application based on its potential impact on “public health.”  Those that do not submit the required application or those that submit but do not meet “FDA Standards” will have their products immediately removed from the market.

The FDA ruling also prohibits the selling of vaping/tobacco products to minors, a requirement for retailers to ask for photo identification, health warnings on product labels, no vending machine sales unless located in adult-only establishments, certain advertising restrictions, and no free samples.  This means that on August 8, 2016, vape shops around the nation will no longer be able to let their customers test new e-liquid blends.