Trump Should Save the Vaping Industry from FDA Regulations

<\/p>

If President Donald Trump is looking for a simple way to adapt to his current job in the U.S. without imposing tariffs, building walls, or implementing other big government policies, he could start by repealing the new vaping regulations approved by the FDA in August.<\/p>

The FDA's e-cigarette regulations passed in the last year of the Obama administration, if maintained, would severely impact the vaping industry. The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, as an e-cigarette industry organization, believes that up to 99% of vaping products could be affected.<\/p>

Of course, this would lower job costs, but it would also undermine the potential health benefits for Americans transitioning from smoking to vaping.<\/p>

A new report released this week by the Washington D.C. free-market think tank R Street Institute suggests that the Trump administration should take immediate action to overturn the FDA's determinations and other federal sanctions against the growth of vaping.<\/p>

Clive Bates, former director of the UN Smoking and Health Action Organization, wrote: "Improper tobacco policies are detrimental to the American public, and thousands of small vaping businesses that could be part of the solution will soon be devastated."<\/p>

Among the eight recommendations in the report, perhaps the most important is the elimination of the 2009 law, which was reinterpreted in 2016 to grant the FDA authority to regulate e-cigarettes and e-liquids under the same standards as tobacco products (like cigarettes), even though some e-cigarettes do not contain tobacco.<\/p>

<\/p>

As Jacob Sullum wrote, this is essentially a slow-motion ban on many vaping products. The FDA's application process could cost up to $1 million, and each product requires a separate application. Smaller manufacturers cannot afford the expensive application process and are likely to be driven out of the market or acquired by larger companies. Any product introduced since 2009 must comply with the new regulations, and manufacturers will have to pull their products from shelves by the end of this year or pay and get approval.<\/p>

So far, the Trump administration has not signaled whether it will continue to enforce the Obama-era policies on e-cigarettes or move in a new direction. No significant policy announcements are expected until Trump selects a new FDA commissioner, which he cannot do until he runs the Department of Health and Human Services, and Congressman Tom Graves (R-Georgia) is confirmed by the Senate.<\/p>

Jim O'Neill, managing director of Mithril Capital, an investment firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, is reportedly on Trump's candidate list for running the FDA.<\/p>

Vaping businesses hope to see swift action from the new administration.<\/p>

"We believe something needs to be done to protect thousands of businesses as part of a global strategy to reduce tobacco harm and help those eager to quit smoking easily access vaping products," said Patricia Kovacevic, general counsel at Nicopure Labs, a Florida-based e-liquid manufacturer that has initiated a lawsuit challenging the FDA's presumptive rules.<\/p>

Another significant change recommended in the report is how vaping products will be marketed: as healthier than traditional cigarettes.<\/p>

<\/p>

Guy Bentley is a researcher at the Reason Foundation (which publishes this blog) and serves as a reviewer in Washington, noting that in 2015, over 480,000 Americans died from smoking-related diseases. This number is nearly equal to the total deaths from alcohol, cars, illegal drugs, HIV, and guns combined. The cause of death is the inhalation of deadly smoke into the lungs, not nicotine.<\/p>

As an alternative to traditional smoking, the development of vaping means that "smokers can mimic the experience of smoking, get the nicotine they want, while significantly reducing the risk of deadly diseases," Bentley wrote.<\/p>

If the federal government continues to take a hardline stance against vaping, or makes vaping products expensive or difficult to obtain, it will only hinder Americans' future healthy lifestyles.<\/p>