FDA Delays Vaping Regulations
On Friday the Food and Drug Administration decided to push back regulations that would've eliminated many e-liquid manufacturers, vape shops and many other vape related businesses. Previously, August 8th 2018 was designated as the cut off date, and would remove close to all vape related products from the market. The FDA has decided to delay the regulations until 2022. In addition, FDA's commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb announced they would begin the steps to reduce the levels of nicotine to make them less addictive.
Dr. Gottlieb on e-cigs and potential harm reduction; “We do think there’s a potential opportunity for e-cigarettes to be a lower-risk alternative to smokers who want to quit combustible cigarettes. We still have to figure out if they are a way to get people off combustible cigarettes. We don’t fully understand.”
This is a much better stance than the FDA has previously voiced, but there is still a long way to go before the vape industry can claim to be free of government regulations that would surely wipe out most of the industry.
Greg Conley, president of the American Vaping Association; "This is by no means a perfect fix. The FDA’s deeming rule still bans any innovation in the market and, without major changes to the agency’s premarket review process, could still result in the vast majority of the market being banned in 2022. If Dr. Gottlieb truly wants to reduce death and disease in the long-term, today’s announcement must be the first step of many in reforming the FDA regulatory process."
While there is still much work to be done, we can take joy in the fact that, things appear to be moving in a better direction for the vape industry. With advocacy leaders like the AVA, Not Blowing Smoke, and many others all fighting to keep vaping alive, we have a chance.
AVA breakdown of FDA announcement
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