UK’s Largest Independent E-Cigarette Company Totally Wicked Forced Out of the U.S. Market!

Last Friday, the e-cigarette and e-liquid company Totally Wicked, based in Florida, announced that they have been forced out of the U.S. market by the FDA, detailing the fate that awaits all small vaping businesses.

Totally Wicked is a British company with operations in both the EU and the U.S. It entered the U.S. market in 2008, opening one of the first brick-and-mortar e-cigarette stores. The company is a reputable business that always advocates for consumer rights, which is why it decided to speak out about the facts.

 For the benefit of their customer base and industry peers, Totally Wicked believes it is best to disclose the tragic death sentence awaiting them if no action is taken. Like thousands of others, once the tobacco premarket application (PMTA) grace period ends, this vaping company will be forced to shut down in 2018.

A closer look at 2018

The fate awaiting small e-cigarette companies and shops is that they simply cannot afford the financial costs of completing the PMTA. In 2010, when the FDA decided to illegally seize their goods, Totally Wicked questioned the agency, and last year, they similarly questioned the EU's Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). However, so far, all of this has been in vain.

The FDA seems intent on shutting down small e-cigarette shops, businesses that genuinely love selling reduced-harm tobacco alternatives, while allowing big tobacco companies to survive, giving them a free pass to once again dominate the market.

Totally Wicked will not go quietly

“The FDA may want Americans to continue smoking; we do not,” said a spokesperson for Totally Wicked. Therefore, during these two years of operation, even though the company has left the U.S. market, they intend to do everything possible to participate in campaigns to educate people about the tragic consequences of this event—continuing health issues caused by smoking—while ensuring their products are even more accessible than before.

“We intend to make all our products available at more affordable prices to ensure that as many people as possible benefit from these products, which the UK Department of Public Health considers at least 95% safer than traditional tobacco, before the FDA truly shuts down our company.”