A long-term study was released in February, according to which vaping is safer than smoking cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seems to be leaning toward the idea that if people are using tobacco, it should be in the form of vaping.
Tobacco Regulation
The FDA has recently announced that the agency is going to take a new approach to tobacco regulation, including an initiative to make nicotine levels in cigarettes “non-addictive.” This business-friendly approach to regulation, at least to the business of e-cigarettes and other vapor products, can be viewed as a much more sensible policy toward vapor products under new FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
President Obama signed the Tobacco Control Act in June 2009. At the signing ceremony in the Rose Garden, Obama called the law as a victory against Big Tobacco. It’s interesting to note that Philip Morris was one of the key supporters of the law. Philip Morris is the owner of Marlboro, the best-selling cigarette brand in the US.
The FDA aimed to strictly regulate the e-cigarettes market in 2016 by using the same regulatory regime it had used for cigarettes. Due to that plan, any vapor products introduced after 2007 (basically all of them) would have to retroactively apply for pre-market approval, otherwise, they could be ordered off the market. Critics called the law the “Marlboro Monopoly Act.”
What Has Changed?
The deadline for submitting tobacco product review applications was in late 2018. Now, the FDA has extended timelines to submit applications for newly-regulated products that were on the market as of August 8, 2016.
With the industry changes in mind, it’s critical for e-cig merchants to secure a reliable and low-cost e-cig merchant account with a reputable payment processor like eMerchnatbroker.com. EMB offers exceptional merchant account services for high risk businesses and unmatched chargeback prevention programs in the industry. eMerchantbroker.com is voted the nation’s #1 high risk credit card processor and boasts an A+ rating with the BBB.
According to the revised timelines:
- Applications to market newly-regulated combustible products, such as cigars, pipe tobacco, and hookah tobacco, must be submitted by August 8, 2021.
- Applications to market newly-regulated non-combustible products, such as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or e-cigarettes, must be submitted by August 8, 2022.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, e-cigarettes will be a gateway drug to the real thing. However, youth smoking rates have dropped by half even as vaping has gained more popularity. Also, it’s becoming more apparent that e-cigarettes can help smokers quit.