USA Vape Troubles Continue
A presidential candidate advocates vaping, the FDA try to ramp up ways of limiting it and the law is getting involved.
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by Dave Cross
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The coverage of the Presidential election on this side of the Atlantic would have you believe there are only two candidates. Former governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld are also in the running, and they have a very positive message for vapers planning to vote.
The pair of libertarians believe that small businesses are the life-blood of a nation and they have sent out a clear message that the $4 billion vape industry is not safe in the hands of the two front runners.
Businesses are facing up to many new challenges, one of which appears to be an issue with processing online credit card payments according to an Ecigintelligence report. If vape companies fail to comply with new credit card company requirements, it says, they face the termination notice withdrawing a credit card facility.
Business owners will, understandably, feel like they are being attacked from all sides. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (along with seven other anti-vape/anti-tobacco groups) are pressing ahead with their lawsuit regarding cigarette pack labels but, in an article discussing it, Michael Siegel points out they “continue to urge smokers to use other ineffective methods, such as nicotine replacement therapy, because they view these as a ‘right way’ to quit. For the 90% of smokers who fail to quit using nicotine replacement therapy, and for whom e-cigarettes might be the only viable option, these groups still discourage vaping because it is just not the ‘right way’ to quit.”
Then there’s the FDA preparing a ridiculous rule to ban vape companies from laying any claim to the fact that vaping works as a smoking cessation method. Amazingly, the rule will limit shops and manufacturers to claiming that vaping is “cool” and nothing more – precisely the kind of thing the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids finds objectionable – instead of saying “these will help you quit smoking”.
Siegel comments: “The FDA is making a false assumption. They are assuming that smoking is a disease … products which make claims related to smoking cessation are therefore intended to treat a disease. This of course assumes that smoking is a disease.”
Maybe the run for President won’t deliver a victory for vaping, current polling doesn’t place them in a positive position but maybe the negativity surrounding Trump and Clinton will pay off on polling day. What is certain is that the challenges facing the industry and vaping community continue to grow with each passing month.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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