THE REGULATORY HAMMER HAS COME DOWN
Since the first FDA document issues in May, we had been informing our customers regularly that August 8th was on its way, but I really think there was a general feeling among both customers and those of us behind the counter who thought this would pass with some kind of court case or lawsuit directly before the laws went into effect and we would be handy-dandy. Incorrect.
Photo: @dburklen and his bro battling it out
A little background on me and my vape history can be found here
As a GM of one of the first vapor stores in the area community of 200,000 that we serve, I have been asked to speak on the subject multiple times at advocacy rallies, educational seminars, have been on the news (for better or worse...chop jobs mostly), and even made the Sunday Business section of the Springfield News-Leader in an interview. This is a passion of mine.
Photo: Took this photo of the newspaper so I could show my mom. "Look, ma, I'm above the fold!"
If you already vape, you are assuredly familiar with some of these changes, and are undoubtedly familiar with the FDA Deeming Regulations published officially in May of 2016 and subsequently went into effect August 08th of this year.
If you are interested in reading the 499 pages, I have linked to the official FDA site in the external links below, and will be referencing information contained within frequently.
Here are only some of the services shops are no longer allowed to do or services to provide for their customers (and some of these are serious gray areas which I will also explain).
Photo: Vape shoot at Springfield Lake
1. No more "custom" anything and no repairs.
This includes mixing together preexisting house flavors for a "custom" flavor.
This includes any in-store coil build, install, or recottoning for specifically RDA and advanced devices.
2. No careful walkthroughs with customers about how the products work.
It has also been debated whether or not we are even allowed to touch the device once the customer has purchased it, and it seems the general consensus is that is not acceptable but may be part of the "Gray Area Territory" (referred to as GAT from here on out).
Essentially (and in some opinions) no safety explanations; specifically and especially on the most advanced and unregulated devices. These devices only make up about 5% of our market at my shop at this point, but they are the most dangerous because of the volatility of unregulated Lithium Ion batteries. Editorial note: it can (not always) be the equivalent of putting someone in a race car equipped with nitrous and saying, "Well have fun with that and don't blow up!"
3. No more free flavor testing and no more "free samples"
I know there are juice companies still sending out free samples and I worry for them if they get audited. Both from the perspective of not liking it when a brother gets squashed by the government but also understanding it's a risk that is probably paying off in droves for them.
Most Brick-and-Mortar locations have adopted a fee to sample flavors. The FDA text reads (again, you can check it out in the links below) that vapor shops are not allowed to charge an "insufficient amount" to sample--yet NOWHERE in the document does it mention how much is sufficient. GAT all day long. This is very frustrating to shop managers and employees as having to explain this ridiculousness on a regular basis. The store that employs me has amazing customers who really seem to "get it," however; there are others who are not nearly as accepting of the way it is now.
This is also why you have seen a variance in price between a penny all the way up to $5.00USD to sample juice between shops. It's because all the shops are taking advice from our advocacy attorneys who also seem confused about the text of some of this jargon. It's intentionally confusing
4. The introduction of new products or ejuice lines are frozen
Completely. At least one unit of any "new" product or juice line had to be sold before August 08 at 00:00:01. Nothing more until something changes.
Inevitably, the process to get products on the shelf, even the ones that are "established products" will have so many hoops to jump through to even release a product we will definitely see a decline in technology (and that's assuming the Grandfather date does go into effect because that could potentially make this way better or worse depending on which way it swings). More info there below as well at any of the CASAA resources
5. The cost for most small business who produce their juice lines in-house will not be able to survive the speculated fees (again GAT on all the fees involved).
6. Essentially, the FDA reserves the right to not take any of the Manufacturer as well as Retail applications seriously (special file in the trash can) and hand it ALL over to Big Tobacco or a combination of Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, and include a number of caveats to that effect in their text. (see FDA Deeming Regs Link Below)
7. Regardless of what headlines seem to say on social media and various media outlets, there is solid science backing this up. The science is being ignored.
-my scientist friend
There are a number of effects these deeming regulations are already having on small business and large businesses alike, in a very underrated industry as far as total revenue is concerned. In the 2016 Issue 4 of Vapor Voice Magazine, it was reported that Management Science Associates conducted a study in 2015 which shows that most vapor stores were, "reporting monthly incomes between $10,000 and $50,000," and while that may seem like chump change to some, the overhead has been very low, and the margins have been good to those who were early into the industry.
Over the course of the next week or so, I will be addressing these issues in a bit more depth, and the implications of these regulations on the vaping community as a whole.
Photo: Vape selfie turned psychedelic
I will be citing these sources below as well as others I will add to the list. I highly recommend checking out the links below, as I will be citing them at large over this series, and they're just great resources in general.
Intro Photo: The first Clapton coil I ever built, and I wound that thing by hand.
External Links and Sources
Don't take anyone's word for it--no one truly understands the full implications of these Deeming Regulations yet. I encourage you to read further into some of these articles, research reviews, interviews, and studies I've cited for this article. There are a million more out there as well.
Read for yourself:
Historical Timeline of Ecigarettes (They're Older Than You Might Think)
CASAA: Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association
Editorial Note: CASAA has a literal plethora of amazing resources and FREE PRINTABLES and images that can be used in just about every possible scenerio where people have questions. Also-membership is FREE and keeps you up-to-date on all the latest news. Even an RSS Feed, if that's your bag.
New York Times article about British Royal College of Physicians
Public Health England's Offical Report
CASAA Compilation of Scientific Research and Published Data Regarding "The Science" of Vaping
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They regulate it the wrong way.
Here in Norway or under the EU they wan't to sideline it with regular cigarettes with the taxation and regulations that brings with.
@harand I dont agree with the way it is being dealt in regard to putting them in the same category as a tobacco product.
@jessamynorchard It's giving those who quit cigarettes the finger. While nicorette and other smoke-stop substances are free to consume, lobbying is what it is.
@harand Completely agree. Following the money trail makes the outcomes very apparent.
I wrote an article here on Steemit about a month and a half ago about what the regulations were going to do to the business I work at (a brick-and-mortar chain with three stores in AL), but it's nothing compared to yours. Excellent work, and keep it up!
I liked the "special file in the trash bin" bit you put in there. It's like they want vaping stores to fail meeting their guidelines so they can shut them down with fines.
@anarcho-andrei Would you mind dropping a link to your article here? I would like to read it.
https://steemit.com/vaping/@anarcho-andrei/how-vaping-is-awesome-which-means-the-government-has-to-shut-it-down
That's the one I wrote. It was really more of a rant than anything particularly informative, but here it is :D
Rants are good (and important) too. In fact, if it okay with you, in one of my upcoming parts in this series I would like to link to your rant in my article.
I'd be thrilled! Thank you for the consideration!
@anarcho-andrei, #steemitvape is a new tag for vape-related posts as well if you want to use it please do. @dburklen and myself trying to cultivate a community of Steemian vapers who talk to each other and interact on a more regular basis.
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@virtualgrowth Thank you!