The vaping community has undergone some major changes in 2016, and not all of them have been positive. As the new year approaches, the vaping industry remains largely unregulated, but rumors of legislation that will change the community abound. The American public still seems to be confused between smoking and vaping, and businesses are trying to decide whether to allow vaping in bars and restaurants.
And this is just one of the major milestones that happened in the vaping wars in 2016.
- On New Year’s Day 2016, Hawaii became the first state to raise the smoking age to 21. On June 9, California followed suit and became the second state to raise the smoking age. And by December 2016, more than 200 cities had also changed their local ordinances to raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco products, including vaping and e-cigarette technologies.
- On February 11, a California congressman named Duncan Hunter showed his support for the vaping community by blowing smoke right in the meeting room of the Transportation Infrastructure Committee. He wanted to prove his argument why vaping should be allowed on airplanes. Mr. Hunter later became famous in the vaping community to the point of being nicknamed “The Representative of Vaping”.
Mr. Hunter Duncan
- On March 3, 2016, Mr. Hunter got his answer when Secretary Anthony Fox of the US Department of Transportation made an official statement that vaping on airplanes would now be illegal.
- In late March, Professor Margaret Cuomo, daughter of a former New York governor, caused a huge stir among vaping groups and some media outlets when she posted an anti-vaping video on the Huffington Post. In the video, Cuomo made several statements that were later refuted by the scientific community. Among her ridiculous claims about e-cigarettes were that “e-cigarettes are as dangerous as cigarettes” and “e-cigarettes increase the risk of lung cancer.” The Huffington Post reprinted a shortened version.
- On April Fools’ Day, the vaping community was fooled by a rather funny prank when news of a hoax story “flew” all over the internet at the speed of light. It was an April Fools’ joke about Mr. Long Dong, the head of the Xinsha Tobacco Administration in China, banning the export of vape products. And of course, this story was later proven to be untrue.
- On May 5, 2016, rumors that the FDA would introduce regulatory rules were confirmed by Professor Robert Califf, the FDA administrator. In the new rules, all e-cigarette and vape products would be classified as “tobacco products” and required to undergo the PMTA (Pre-Market Tobacco Applications) certification previously reserved for Big Tobacco products with a value of up to $1 million per product.
- Before the FDA announced its regulatory rules, the Royal College of Physicians in the UK released the results of a scientific study showing that e-cigarettes and vaping technology are 95% safer than smoking. The RCP also said that vaping should be widely promoted instead of being suppressed by public health. The CDC declined to comment, only giving a negative response: “To date, there is not enough convincing evidence to show that e-cigarettes are a safe and effective smoking cessation tool. Science has shown that the majority of people who use e-cigarettes in the US continue to use traditional cigarettes.”
- On May 9, just days before the FDA rule was enacted, Nicopure Labs filed its first lawsuit against the FDA in the U.S. District Court in Washington. The lawsuit was prompted by the FDA’s classification of vaping products as tobacco. Then, related lawsuits began to appear.
- On May 17, Congressman Ron Johnson, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent the first of four letters to FDA Commissioner Robert Califf. Johnson raised several issues with FDA regulatory laws and asked for clarification. Califf missed several deadlines to respond, and when he did, Johnson flatly said Califf’s responses were inadequate.
Mr. Ron Johnson
- In April 2016, the Cole-Bishop amendment to the FDA's e-cigarette regulatory law was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The announcement by Senator Sanford Bishop (D-GA) and Senator Tom Cole (R-OK) sought to change the decision date from February 15, 2007.
- On August 8, 2016, the FDA's regulatory rules officially went into effect. All sales of vape products to minors in any form, including in-store and online sales. Stores cannot build coils for customers or offer similar services because those products will be considered new products and forced to close the PMTA. Child-proof packaging and other requirements also came into effect.
- In the summer of 2016, Pennsylvania announced a 40% tax on vape products. Vape shop owners had until October to pay all the taxes. The shops were forced to quickly sell their products to avoid paying this expensive tax.
- By July 1, India’s vaping laws were in the news. In late May, former Commissioner and now Vice President Mike Pence signed House Bill 1432 into law, requiring all e-liquid retailers to hire a highly qualified security firm. It was only later that they discovered that the state had only one such security firm, Mulhaupt’s of Lafayette. Hundreds of store owners filed a lawsuit, and India’s vaping laws became the target of an FBI investigation.
- In the fall of 2016, all eyes were on the presidential election. The Nicopure lawsuit, the Cole Bishop Amendment, and other regulatory laws were put on hold.
- On November 8, Republican Donald Trump was elected. As Trump prepares to enter the White House, many in the vaping community hope that the new administration will be more lenient on vaping.
- In late November, Senator Ron Johnson joined with Senator Duncan Hunter to deliver another letter to Robert Califf, the FDA chairman, asking him to change the FDA rule immediately. The two mentioned that the Trump administration might repeal the rule. And Califf once again ignored the letter.
- In the first week of December, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a report that said e-cigarettes and vaping are the main cause of smoking among young people in the US. The report included data that has been refuted by scientists at home and abroad. Even the director of Health and Wellbeing at PHE responded bluntly, saying that “vaping is a huge public health opportunity.”
Now that 2016 is over, the vaping industry is preparing for the Trump administration. With Barack Obama now out of the White House, all eyes are now on Trump’s picks for the administration, such as the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Robert Califf’s replacement at the FDA. And while FDA regulations remain in place, vaping advocates around the world are hopeful that 2017 will be a positive year for vaping.
This article was posted on vape.com by Matt Rowland and translated by The Vape Club
