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.
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.
