FDA Deeming Regulations Play Right Into Big Tobacco’s Hands — And That SUCKS

By Drake Equation •  Updated: 05/10/16 •  10 min read

FDA Deeming Regulations: Are Independent Vape Labs About To Get Muscled Out of The Market They Helped Create?

America is an odd country. I travel there a lot and, generally speaking, positively love the place, its culture and most of all its people. Shame the same thing cannot be said for its government which seems to thrive on making knee-jerk decisions about everything and everybody it encounters.

Vaping, for instance, is now Enemy Number 1 in a lot of people’s eyes in the US. Ditto Canada and many places in Asia, like China which is apparently considering a complete ban on vaping (including the manufacture of vaping and ecig hardware, too — odd seeing just how many products are made and shipped from there).

They wanted vaping regulations and today the FDA announced its Deeming Regulations. This will effectively mean vaping products — juice, hardware — are treated like cigarettes.

The entire vaping community — users, shops and suppliers — have been waiting with baited breath for the release of the FDA’s Deeming Regulation. And what was announced today is not good. Not good at all. The FDA has effectively setup on its plan to completely destroy the vaping industry — and industry that has helped MILLIONS of people quit smoking.

Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association, issued the following statement:

“Without action by Congress, the FDA’s proposed regulations threaten to ban 99%-plus of vapor products currently available on the market. This would be a disaster not only for thousands of small businesses, but also public health.

“This proposal does not remove the FDA’s ability to regulate vapor products. The FDA will retain the authority to immediately move forward with science-based product standards, disclosure requirements, and many other measures. Anyone who claims that this bill would somehow render the FDA toothless is either not familiar with the law or not being forthright.

“We are thrilled to see movement on this issue. Clear evidence is emerging from around the world that vapor products are helping smokers quit. It is unconscionable to effectively ban the sale of tens of thousands of vapor products while leaving combustible cigarettes freely available.”

You Can Follow ALL The Action & Reaction Here:

Full FDA Deeming Regulation Document In Full

This is the ENTIRE 500 Page Document — Be warned, though: the bastard’s 500 pages long!

Here’s what Alex Clark of CASAA had to say on the matter via Vaping360:

“Please keep in mind that this is not the end of the process. CASAA will continue to focus our efforts to develop sensible regulation of vapor products that will have maximum benefit to consumers. The most important thing to remember is that consumers will continue to have access to the wide variety of vapor products for a period of time before the regulations take effect. But, for now, vaping as we know it will continue and we are not done by any means. Keep calm.”

But the real issue is the testing they want implemented, as it will cost small companies millions of dollars to have it done — millions of dollars 99% of them DO NOT have. And if they do not comply, well, they will not be able to sell their ejuice.

This would make it next to impossible for smaller, independent vape labs to stay in business. Only the biggest players can afford to do this, and even then it’d be a push.

Here’s some comment from DIRECTVAPOR:

“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a rule extending its authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. We are aware, and have been preparing for the FDA to release regulations since 2013.  As always DirectVapor will be here to serve you and continue to be a leader in the vapor business for many years to come.  In the meantime join us and sign the petition to the white house to overturn the FDA’s ruling on ecigarette classification as a tobacco product, and let the white house hear your voice.”

It is also VERY important we ALL now make our voices heard; this is very much a dogfight now. And we need to show the FDA and congress that we will not be pushed around. PLEASE — if you’re in the US — Sign this Petition 

Because if everything goes to plan for the FDA and its cronies, small, independent vape labs are going to be squeezed out of the market place they created in order to make way for big tobacco-produced eliquids and cig-alike products. And that would SUCK big time.

“I’m not a fan of Big Tobacco,” said A Billion Lives’ director, Adam Biebart, in a recent interview with Vape Beat, “but I don’t think it’s the biggest enemy of vaping. They just want to make money and that’s something we can always trust. They are starting to do that by selling E-cigarettes now. At the Global Forum for Nicotine, I ended up sitting by a Vice President of a major tobacco company. He indicated that they’d like to switch as much of their business to E-cigarettes as possible. He said they make more money on that business.”

But is anyone going to want to give their money to Big Tobacco? I mean, that’s like going out of your way to become a Jedi and then re-joining the Dark Side because they have slightly better pension options. A few people will, but most will not want anything to do with such businesses, not when home-grown brands have been forced out of business by crippling regulation likely sponsored in part by tobacco and big pharma lobby money.

But here’s the rub: vaping is not as bad as they’re making out, especially when compared to smoking. This has been proven time and time again, should you care to look at the research, of which there is plenty of (as you can see below).

Granted, a lot of this is speculation on my part. But looking at the way things are at the moment and the way corporate interests and government seem to work indicates to me that something is brewing behind the scenes. Even more so when you consider all this talk about banning every type of ecig except for cigalikes, which everybody knows SUCK.

Is this more corporatist manoeuvring from the US federal government and big tobacco, or am I just barking up the wrong tree entirely? I mean, I’m all for safe ejuice — even more so in light of recent events — but there has to be a better way of doing this type of thing, or, failing that getting tests done for cheaper?

I’d just hate to see all the good the vaping community has achieved get buried in a landslide of bureaucracy and regulation.

Drake Equation

Co-founder and Editor of VapeBeat. I make the words.