The February 2015 edition of CSP Magazine features an article recapping a speech given by AVA President Gregory Conley at CSP’s Vaping Academy event in December.
Gregory Conley did not set out to become one of the most vocal vaping advocates in the country. Conley, president of the American Vaping Association (AVA), described himself more than four years ago as a “dedicated lifelong smoker” who had tried all approved cessation options. Nothing took until he discovered the world of e-vapor in 2009.
“Then I saw that the FDA and states were trying to ban electronic-cigarette sales,” he told attendees of the CSP Vaping Academy in December. “It got me in an uproar and made me an activist.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may not have succeeded in banning e-cigarettes by classifying them as medicinal devices, but the fight is far from over. Besides the FDA’s proposed deeming regulations (which Conley says “will effectively ban 99.9% of vapor products” through the financially burdensome Pre-Market Tobacco Application process), state and local governments are proposing onerous taxes and regulations on the segment by the minute.
“I believe vaping, like Uber, is a disruptive technology,” Conley said. “And just as Uber is being attacked at the city and state level by competing forces, vaping is also under attack by various forces that have a lot to lose.”
Continue reading the article at CSPNet.com
