Will Donald Trump Turn Vaping into a Highly Regarded Luxury Trend? (Text & Images)

No one really knows what Donald · Trump will do when he assumes the presidency in January, but insiders believe his policy decisions will fundamentally change and forever alter some of the peculiar culture of American vaping. And they are very cool about it.

Most vapor devices and e-cigarettes, as well as many small electronic devices, are made in China. President-elect Trump has already said he wants manufacturing jobs overseas to compete with Shenzhen factories rather than rely on their steady output. He has even suggested that Americans boycott Apple products until the company breaks away from Foxconn and creates more domestic jobs.

The potential pitfall, as many economists have mentioned, is that it could lead to a trade war with China. But even if it does, the flow of Chinese-made products into the U.S. is unlikely to stop.

Scott Rasak, vice president of sales and marketing at Volcano Fine Electronic Cigarettes, said he isn't concerned about getting the Chinese parts he needs to build his products.

Speaking of trade renegotiation, Rasak said, “It would be very strange behavior for Trump to phase out the vaping industry, and even worse, it contains some U.S.-made equipment and hardware. ”

Rasak's somewhat cavalier attitude makes sense, because whatever turmoil Trump causes on the supply side for U.S. vape makers, he's likely to make up for it by opposing regulations for a different U.S.-made product: “vape oils”. For e-cigarettes, vape oils are very aggressively regulated by the FDA, and sales of vape oils have been very low lately.

“We're hoping that he'll come in and relieve some of the government regulations,” Rasak said.

In August, the FDA mandated that vape makers need to submit premarket tobacco apps for the oils they want to sell in the U.S. Each app can cost between $117,00 and $466,000 to complete the FDA's rigorous testing.

“The FDA monitors vape oils, and it makes sense to a certain extent, but considering that the ingredients are mostly just vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, natural or artificial flavors, and nicotine, the FDA's involvement in it is a bit redundant,” said Draper, who is the administrator of Vape Nation's Facebook community. Draper said the FDA's regulations are frustrating, noting that the U.K. recognizes vaping as a safer (but not completely safe) alternative to smoking. “When it comes to FDA regulations, it's hard to see why they think they have the ability to even regulate devices they don't want to understand.

Draper said the vaping industry “has been self-regulating from the beginning, and the best thing for the vaping community, for the health of the citizens of the U.S., is to keep the regulation of the vaping industry away from the FDA.”

If Trump loosens regulations and sides with China, the future of vaping in the U.S. could become clearer. Equipment would cost more, but access to a wider variety of juice options, including homemade strains made illegal by the FDA's August ruling, might pay better.

Draper said he prefers U.S.-made products due to the diversity of models. Eliminating Chinese products from the market is going to come at a much worse (or more expensive) price. As vaping becomes popular creating the necessary conditions, e-cigarette enthusiasts will still be looking for the perfect pipe and the perfect oil, and they'll pay more for it just to get a better taste experience.

Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist spent a lot of money on the presidential campaign just to try to make vaping an issue, insisting that vapers constitute a vibrant and active voting bloc. Trump, somewhat shockingly, wasn't drawn to this bait. But there's reason to believe the president-elect will want to capitalize on that bloc. One in ten Americans use e-cigarettes, and the core of many vape companies' demographics are millennials. Reforming regulations would be the easiest way, and the simplest way, to convince an industry to get into the luxury business.