Americans went to the polls on Tuesday and voted for change, but is it a good thing for vapers ?
President Donald Trump
American voters defied expectations on Tuesday and delivered a surprise victory to Donald Trump, the first candidate with no experience in politics or governance. For the second time in the last five elections, the president won the Electoral College without relying on the popular vote.
Democratic candidate Gary Johnson received just three percent of the vote. Johnson is the only candidate who has publicly supported vaping , opposed FDA regulations, and advocated for adult access to vaping products and a free market.
What does this new presidential election mean for vapers? It’s unclear, but they hope a Republican congress with a Republican president could pave the way for a change in tobacco control laws that would separate vaping products from regulated tobacco.
This will be a difficult process, because right now, no one knows Donald Trump’s attitude toward vaping. His past is full of anti-smoking rhetoric, but no one knows whether he sees vaping as a similar danger or a solution. The answer will lie with his advisers, and we don’t know who will take on that responsibility.
What’s most likely is that Trump will want to undo everything President Obama did. That means his cabinet appointments, like the Secretary of Health and Human Services who oversees the FDA, will be moved to other federal agencies created by Obama. That bodes well for vaping.
Mike Pence, the next vice president, is a well-known vaper, having signed the vaping capitalism bill in India. However, it is unclear what Pence thinks about vaping, and it seems he did it to please those who advised him to sign the bill, rather than really caring about what it says.
Congress: Not much change
Republicans retain their seats in the House and Senate, making it easier for Trump’s proposals to pass. A unified government would also encourage Republican lawmakers to introduce legislation that might not pass under a Democratic president.
Sen. Ron Johnson won his race in Wisconsin, but the outcome is still uncertain. Johnson is vapers' most trusted ally in Congress, demanding answers from the FDA on his bill.
Vaping’s most bitter opponents in the legislature also prevailed. Democrat Richard Blumenthal won a second term in Connecticut. The second winner was Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, who has publicly called for vaping products to be considered as a smoking cessation tool in the House.
This article was published on Vaping360 by Jim McDonald and translated by The Vape Club
