FROM THE AVA – Countdown to Vaping Prohibition Begins as FDA Rules Take Effect

Countdown to Vaping Prohibition Begins as FDA Rules Take Effect

New rules are a ‘win’ for Big Tobacco, says Wells Fargo analyst

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the American Vaping Association (AVA), a leading voice for the benefits of vapor products and electronic cigarettes, is warning that new rules on vapor products going into effect today from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will harm public health and close thousands of businesses.

“It is a misnomer to refer to what the FDA is doing as ‘regulation,’” says Gregory Conley, President of the AVA.  “This isn’t regulation; it’s prohibition for all but Big Tobacco and perhaps a couple of companies with big Wall Street investments.”

In tobacco country, meanwhile, things are looking much brighter. This morning, Bonnie Herzog, a managing director for Wells Fargo, declared in a research briefing, “We expect to see a continued shift in consumption of e-cigs / vapor back to combustible cigs as e-cig choices become more limited — a net ‘win’ for big tobacco.”  

“FDA’s rule freezes the market as of today.  In two year’s time, 99.9%-plus of vapor products will be banned,” continues Conley.  “These bans will not happen for health reasons, but because manufacturers simply cannot afford to spend millions of dollars to gamble on whether the FDA will allow them to stay in business.”

(Conley has authored an article, ‘August 8, 2016 –What Does it Mean for Vaping?’ that details the specific rules that go into effect today.)

“Thanks to the FDA, it will now be easier for a new Marlboro cigarette to come to market than to continue marketing products that are indisputably far less hazardous than smoking,” says Conley.  

The AVA, who is a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s regulations, does not oppose federal regulation of vapor products, but believes that any regulations must allow for the existence of a diverse and evolving marketplace that caters to the needs of smokers looking to quit.

“In their landmark report ‘Nicotine Without Smoke,’ the Royal College of Physicians cautioned that while governments should regulate vapor products, great care must also be taken not to slow the development of these reduced-harm alternatives,” says Conley. “This rule not only halts innovation, but it rolls back existing technology over a decade.”

The AVA estimates that vaping has helped over 10 million people quit smoking worldwide.