Europe has taken a stance on the electronic cigarette industry, and they are standing down. After deliberation in their courts, they just want the industry to advertise for adults and verify the customer is 18 or older.
In the United States, it seems to be a tad bit more difficult. The FDA is fighting with the courts, and the court system has passed in favor of electronic cigarettes thus far. Over forty of our State Attorney Generals have asked that the advertising be banned. They have gathered in masses, accusing us that the ad campaigns are vested in our children. The answer will arrive at the end of October, as that is the deadline imposed by the FDA on itself.
As an owner
As a tobacco shop business owner, you need to be aware of this going on. Especially if you have electronic cigarettes in your stock and this stagnates what you have purchased.
Getting your smoke on
If you have chosen to move your products to the smokeless arena, you will need an e-cigarette merchant account to process your credit and debit card purchases. Without it, you won’t have a way to collect your funds for new customers.
Have a way to verify
The major concern of the courts, the FDA, and the Attorney Generals; is the age verification process by purchasers. They don’t want to pander to children under 18 and they want to make sure that the user is an adult.
This would be a good time to find a way to verify age. Don’t take it lightly. As a business owner, you should be the responsible one and find a program, or even design one that can verify the age of the cardholder. If the cardholder does not match the information, then you don’t have a sale. Unfortunate, but necessary with something like this.
The FDA
As said above, the end of this month will bring the ruling from the FDA. Let’s hope that their regulations are nothing more than concern for the kids. That makes sense, but not allowing free enterprise to continue on, begins to smell like regulation where they don’t belong. Sometimes too much of a good thing is just too much.
Have yourself set up
Get your account set up with a reputable merchant account servicer. You can start with your bank to see if they do that kind of account. Figure out if they have a virtual terminal and how safe their gateway is. Once you know all that, go online shopping and search for better deals. Look for those that work with e-cigarettes and all tobacco products, and for goodness sake, look them up to verify they are really in business. There is nothing worse than thieves taking money from honest working people.
So, the answer is coming, and for the sake of your business, keep on top of the information. Then make informed decisions on what you should do. Good luck with your business.
For more information, contact us today at 818-621-4893.