In reference to FDA Poised to Ban E-Liquid Flavors Nationwide; Claims Underage Vaping is an "Epidemic"

Why is it that we’re seeing this increase in regulation on electronic cigarettes right now? What are the driving factors behind the FDA’s announcement on Wednesday? The FDA is, by all intents and purposes, a governmental body designed to regulate products which could have a negative impact on the consumers health.

If the FDA’s number one concern is truly to increase consumer awareness and have a positive impact on the health of the American populous why are they trying to dismantle the vaping industry? I’ve written several articles detailing the scientific studies being done on the impacts of vaping across the world by health organizations and the data is always the same. The use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery systems is shown time and time again to have a measurable impact on smokers who want to quit using traditional tobacco cigarettes.

It certainly worked for me when no other cessation method would. I smoked cigarettes from the time I was 16 until my brother introduced me to vape devices when I was 23. It took me a few years to make the switch but I smoked my last pack of cigarettes when I was 25 and I haven’t looked back since. I quit cigarettes because of one thing and one thing only, the use of a vaping device was cheaper, more practical, and it tasted so much better than traditional tobacco.

If you ask me, this whole charade by the FDA to kill vaping all ties back to Big Tobacco. You see, in the past few years there’s been a drastic change to the electronic cigarette market in America. Before 2015 the electronic cigarette market was dominated by three companies. Blu, MarkTen, and Vuse, all of which are owned by Big Tobacco corporations. The FDA was perfectly fine with allowing these companies to roam almost regulation free for years. According to opensecrets.org the Reynolds American Tobacco Company has spent over 9.85 million dollars in the last four years lobbying the FDA, 1.2 million of that coming in the past year alone.

But in 2015 something changed, the JUUL device was born and swept the nation in one of the most successful product launches in history. In 2017 JUUL pulled in an estimated revenue of $245 million and they’re projected to make $940 million in 2018. Now Big Tobacco had something to worry about from Electronic Cigarettes. Those three e-cigarette companies that were owned by Big Tobacco no longer held the market share of Electronic Nicotine Delivery systems, they had lost it all to JUUL in the span of just a few months.

All of the sudden, almost too coincidentally, the FDA has stepped up its efforts to fight vaping nationwide. What was once announced as a 6 year period of time for e-cigarette companies to implement plans to curb underage usage has now turned into a 60 day deadline. From 6 years down to just 60 days, let that sink in for a moment. 

Why the rush now? Why target JUUL specifically instead of those companies owned by Big Tobacco groups? It all boils down to one thing, and anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see the truth. Big Tobacco has realized that their stranglehold on the health of the American public is at an end and they're lobbying the FDA to make changes. People no longer need to rely on cigarettes to satisfy their addiction when they have healthier vaping alternatives. And that scares the people whose profits rely on Americans getting cancer.