I still believe that Dimitris’ decision to end the SmokeFree Radio Program is a huge loss to the industry, but I wanted him to communicate some of the things he’s been working on behind the scenes. Here is a little update from him and a mention about our return trip to China…
As many of you should know by now, we are at the final stages of the FDA proposal to regulate electronic cigarettes under the TCA (Tobacco Control Act). We are literally at step 8 of 9 in the rule making process ( http://www.reginfo.gov/public/reginfo/Regmap/index.jsp ) where the FDA has submitted their intended rules to the Office of Management and Budget for review. The OMB has a period of 90 days to review final federal agency regulations, but can extend the review time by another 30 days. If the OMB approves the final deeming regulations, then Step Nine requires that the final regulations be published in the Federal Register. Generally, the deeming regulations would be effective thirty days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House will consider the potential economic impact of the rule so I requested two meetings with them as stakeholders, one as Executive Director of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association where I represent 75 small businesses in the TN valley and one as Chief Operations Officer for Mountain Oak Vapors my employer.
I tried to present a variety of economic impact with each meeting. As TSFA I had economic figures for our stores in TN and brought with me owners of small and large operations (Vintage Vapors, Nashville Vapor and Mountain Oak Vapors) as well as Rock Bottom Bottles based out of Memphis who even though do not produce a vapor product, supply the majority of e-liquid manufacturers in the US with bottles. Aside from the economic impact the regulations would have in our state we stressed an extremely important fact. We took a survey of individual SKU’s that stores carry and we averaged out 1992 unique products (a combination of devices, accessories and e-liquid combinations & flavors). We pointed out that if rules are enacted based on the pre market application that would cost millions for each individual product they could easily see that all these businesses would be shut down overnight. Another important point was workforce. We estimate in TN alone over 1900 direct jobs to the industry would be lost due to the proposed regulations. Imagine that multiplied by the rest of the states not counting indirect jobs such as those we support for supplying our industry (bottle makers, raw material providers, shipping and logistics etc.).
As Mountain Oak Vapors we took a different approach since we do contract manufacture for other companies as well. The presentation was based on how much we rely on our customers and they rely on us to continue to grow and expand their business. Ultimately all the products we produce end up in the consumer hands which help them stay off combustible tobacco. Variety of flavors was also presented with all the companies that were there stressing that the top selling flavors were NOT tobacco or menthol. Even though a lot of smokers begin their journey with those flavors, quickly they transition to something more pleasant and better tasting such as fruit or bakery flavors.
Lastly we brought up a point that I think a lot are overlooking. International distribution! There is huge demand for US made liquid overseas and honestly I cannot think of another product we produce in the US currently that is as popular. Mountain Oak Vapors alone distributes to 18 countries and we are seeing more and more US companies overtake the space globally.
The proposed FDA regulations are onerous and burdensome. Realistically no electronic cigarette company would be able to comply especially with the 2007 grandfather date that would make every product currently sold on the market non-compliant and effectively ban them. Were the meetings we and other stakeholders had with the OMB effective? Only time will tell. That doesn’t mean we stop here.
We still need to get support for HR2058 which changes the grandfather date. We still need to contact our representatives as often as possible as users of the products and business owners. We still need to go back to the basics and help smokers transition, effectively increasing our numbers. We still need to register to vote even if we are one issue voters. We still need to get the industry funding to the various organizations fighting for their rights, which brings me to my last point.
I have been working hard for the past 6 months to get the Chinese manufacturers aware of the situation. I do believe they now realize that this lucrative market could be shut down overnight.
We (Phil and I) are headed back to China in January to meet with SEVIA (ShenZhen Electronic Vaporizer Industry Association) and present the current status of US and EU regulations. I feel confident we will be successful in creating an overseas organization that will help us in the fight.
This is an effort that requires everyone to get involved. Electronic cigarettes play a valuable role in public health. They help smokers quit. Period. To me that alone is the drive behind what I do every day to help keep this product available and affordable. And I know my partner in vaping Phil feels the same way.
Phil is traveling with me to support the effort, to continue to stress the importance of devices geared not only the enthusiast, but also the smoker, and to show you some more behind the scenes looks at additional factories and operations.
No matter in what capacity you are involved in the industry (consumer or business), will you join us in the fight?
The time is now!
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