The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US is bringing in new regulations very soon that could have a significant effect on the e-cigarette marketplace. The idea of the new rules is that everything in the e-cigarette marketplace should be registered. This will ensure the products available are safe for people to use.
Now this all sounds pretty fair to begin with; after all no one wants to use products that may not be safe. However the concern of the American Vaping Association is that as much as 99% of products in the vaping marketplace could literally become illegal overnight.
Compliance costs are a worry
The new rules state every product created by a manufacturer should be registered. They will also need to fill in a Premarket Tobacco Application, otherwise known as a PMTA. So far this all seems like nothing more than paperwork – inconvenient perhaps, but no more than that. However the cost of those PMTAs could be anything from $2 million upwards.
This is far outside the realm of ‘affordable’ for many of the companies that produce e-cigarette products. This is especially the case for smaller companies producing e-juices alone. Many of these companies are thought to be unable to afford such high fees, leaving them no choice but to close down as a result.
Banning vaping products?
This is essentially what will happen. If you produce vaping products and you don’t file the proper PMTA paperwork, you’ll be breaking the law. You’d have to stop making your products available, even though many people looking to give up smoking will want to buy them.
All of which brings us to another worthwhile point. There are no similar laws in place for tobacco products. This means the next few months could see thousands of vaping products being made illegal and being taken off the market in the US. And all the while you can still buy tobacco without breaking the law.
Crazy, isn’t it?
Protecting consumers
Obviously the FDA has a job to do to protect American citizens. However these rules are likely to give vapers less choice and will put smaller businesses out of commission completely. Bigger businesses that can afford the registration and paperwork will no doubt do so, especially since they might end up with a larger slice of the market in the process. Watch this space.
read more