Our fight does not end here!
The effort behind the Cole-Bishop amendment has made significant inroads with Congress, and members are gaining a better understanding of the importance of this issue. In fact, throughout this process of building support, several members of Congress have shared that staff, friends, and family members have experienced success by switching to vapor products. For them, like us, this issue is personal, and our relationships with all of these people will be vital on the road ahead.
There’s another budget in five months (September). In the interim, gathering support for HR 1136 remains a high priority. While the larger effort to establish a separate regulatory regime for low-risk tobacco and nicotine products is certainly important, the immediate need remains buying more time for the vapor industry. Although having the Cole-Bishop amendment stripped from the budget may feel like defeat, it is another opportunity to continue building momentum and win more support in the fall. We have not lost ground, and, in fact, we’ve moved the ball forward by increasing visibility of our issue and identifying new allies.
We are appealing to the administration for relief as well. HHS Secretary Tom Price is in a position to delay full implementation of the FDA regulations, and CASAA is encouraging our members to reach out to him. Whether you are a vapor business or consumer, you have an important role to play in this particular effort, and we will provide more details about contacting the Secretary Price soon. If you haven’t already, please see our post about this engagement to get started.
We need to be clear about other irons in the fire. “The Cigarette Smoking Reduction and Electronic Vapor Alternatives Act of 2017” (HR 2194) was introduced by Representative Duncan Hunter (R-CA-50) last week. CASAA has contributed to HR 2194, and we look forward to continuing the dialogue about this effort. However, our support comes with the understanding that there are still issues that need to be addressed in the legislation. CASAA’s ultimate goal has always been for Congress to establish a more rational regulatory system for low-risk nicotine-containing products, and while this is likely to be a lengthy process, we’re excited that the conversation has begun.
CASAA and others are focused on the immediate need of protecting access to vapor products through 2018. Without modernizing the predicate date and/or seeing some sort of administrative relief, there will be little infrastructure left of the vapor industry to move a bill like HR 2194 after 2018. Now, more than ever is the time to make our voices heard!
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