WASHINGTON D.C. – The American Vaping Association, a leading advocate for the health benefits of e-cigarettes, criticized Big Tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds for attempting to ban most e-cigarettes in comments made to the Food & Drug Administration, which is mistakenly considering classifying e-cigarettes as tobacco products.
R.J. Reynolds asked the government to ban “open-system,” or reusable, e-cigarettes, as well as e-cigarette liquid products and many flavor varieties.
Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, which represents America’s independent manufacturers and retailers of e-cigarettes, issued the following statement:
“R.J. Reynolds’ call for the FDA to ban the majority of e-cigarette products should be seen for what it really is — an admission by R.J. Reynolds that it simply cannot compete in the current e-cigarette market. Recent market reports show that while sales of open-system e-cigarette products and e-liquid are booming, sales of closed-system cigarette lookalikes – the kind that R.J. Reynolds sells — have stagnated.
“R.J. Reynolds’ corporate motto is ‘Transform Tobacco.’ But instead of holding to its core values and transforming itself from a tobacco company into a technology company, R.J. Reynolds would prefer the federal government simply ban most of its competitors.
“Surveys of e-cigarette users have consistently demonstrated that vapers who use refillable open-system products are far more likely to be smoke-free than are those who use closed system products that are designed to resemble and taste like cigarettes.
“Banning e-cigarette products while leaving deadly combustible cigarettes, like those sold by R.J. Reynolds, on the market would be a disaster for public health. In a country where more than 40 million people still smoke and some 400,000 die from smoking-related diseases annually, advanced e-cigarette products are needed.
“We also encourage the Federal Trade Commission to consider R.J. Reynolds’ eagerness to see its competitors banned in deciding whether to approve a proposed merger between R.J. Reynolds and fellow tobacco company Lorillard,” Conley added.
You can learn more about the AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website.
About the American Vaping Association
The American Vaping Association is a nonprofit organization that advocates for fair and sensible regulation of vapor products, otherwise known as electronic cigarettes, with the goal of maximizing the number of adult smokers who use these products to quit smoking. The AVA was founded by Gregory Conley, a consumer and industry advocate with a long track record of advocating for vapor products dating back to 2010.
We are dedicated to educating the public and government officials about public health benefits offered by vapor products, which are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine or nicotine-free solution and create an inhalable vapor. The AVA is not a trade group and does not speak for any particular businesses, including our industry sponsors.
You can learn more about AVA and vaping by visiting the AVA website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.
