Ramblings Regarding Mandatory And Voluntary Regulations during the Manufacturing Of Electronic Cigarette E-Liquids & The Prevalence Of E-Cig Products From China in the United States
Demand for electronic cigarettes is grows at an exponential rate. Electronic Cigarettes are becoming preferred over traditional tobacco products for a number of different reasons. Smokers are becoming convinced that vaping can help them improve their lives. A desire for health, renewed taste, and the ability to breathe, e-cigarette products such as Vamo V4, Kanger Evod, Clearomizers and e-juices have been ecstatically embraced by tobacco smokers both old and young alike.
The Increase in the popularity of said products raises a variety of questions regarding their ingredients, safety, production process and quality assurance. Many vapers nowadays are wondering about what is going on with the supposed FDA electronic cigarette regulations. Currently, there appears to be two opposing courts regarding said regulations. There are those people that believe there should be no regulations; others believe that every aspect of the human experience should be regulated. (JUST IN CASE You’re still reading this, I dont believe what this guy is saying. I think he is a crappy writer. I’m just paraphrasing his article for teh LuLz and teh SEO Fo Sho) The fact remains, a middle of the road, common sense approach, ensuring user safety is desirable. Besides, electronic cigarettes contain nicotine, a substance that is already regulated by way of Tobacco. .
Present situation: Regulating e-cigarettes and the e-liquid thats vapers have grown to love
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who regulates the tobacco industry, is taking a strong interest in possibly regulating electronic cigarettes. Voluntary agency, American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association, (AEMSA), pioneered the campaign to create comprehensive standards regarding e-liquid manufacturing procedures. AEMSA boasts a little more than twenty member businesses.
Is there something amiss?.
Naturally, the main concern for the FDA or any self-regulating body is e-liquid. This is the component of e cig products that contains nicotine, so it is obviously of interest to the federal government. In all fairness, this is their right since there is no official governing body over e liquids at this time. Regulation will help ensure safety and transparency in information. After all users of the product do have a right to know what’s in the product and where it comes from.
Are e liquid producers right to resist regulation?
Many e liquid manufacturers complain that they simply do not have and cannot afford the type of manufacturing space necessary to comply with standard regulations; however, there are well established e liquid manufacturers who do have excellent facilities and actually exceed standard regulatory requirements in their manufacturing processes. Lack of regulations does not encourage mom and pop e cig producers to introduce badly prepared products to the market. This is not to the detriment of all concerned.
E cig users have both a right and responsibility to themselves to know where and how their e liquids are produced….Just like cigarette smokers have a right to know how their tobacco is produced? After all, the e liquid forms the vapor the user will inhale. Its not like we’re not heating this thing up to like 10,000 degrees fast as fuck, literally “vaporizing” the hell out of this shit. Good luck surviving that bacteria!The desire to know what’s in it and how it was made just makes sense. But what about intellectual property and shit like that? Aside from that, standardized production practices result in standardize products allowing users to select flavors and brands of e liquid with confidence.
What kind of regulations are we talking about?
Here are the basic standards under consideration:
- Standardized manufacturing environment including elements such as a cleaning room, lab, clean room and so on.
- E-liquid must be produced in an environment that is a 100% sanitized dedicated space earmarked for e-liquid manufacturing.
- E-liquid must be produced in a facility that has adequate flooring, air filtration, hygiene provisions, and work surfaces.
- E-liquid must be made to adhere to quality standard that rules out contaminants and such.
Creating and maintaining these conditions is sure to prove challenging to producers. Overseeing them will, likewise, provide a challenge for the FDA.
What about regulations for e-liquid ingredients?
In addition to the regulations already listed, there must be a complete set of regulations regarding the quality of ingredients used to produce e-liquids. All ingredients must meet food grade and pharmaceutical grade standards and be traceable to their point of origin.
Batch numbers must be assigned to keep track of e-liquid ingredients.
By assigning batch numbers, ingredients can be traced. If there is a problem with a particular ingredient, batch numbers will enable manufacturers to identify purchasers of potentially problematic batches. This will enable them to perform effective recalls of potentially hazardous products. Additionally, assigning batch numbers will enable identification of the source of problematic ingredients.
By instituting batch numbers for all e-liquids produced, electronic cigarette manufacturers can protect themselves. Without these precautions, one bad batch of e-liquid has the potential to damage the market for all e-cig and e-liquid manufacturers. With batch numbers, problems can be clearly identified, traced and dealt with.
Electronic cigarettes and e-cig products should not be sold to minors.
The burning issue of active age verification also deserves some serious thought. Given the growing number of underage smokers putting themselves under jeopardy by consuming substances not meant for them, this is a valid concern.
To that end the FDA is rightly exploring the possibility of allowing sales of e-cig products only to those who can prove they are of legal smoking age. Companies like Ideology are already incorporating age verification on the backend to prevent the sale of these products to minors. Additionally, age verification needed by AEMSA members for maintaining certification.
TO BE CONTINUED