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Vapor Industry Advocates
for Cole-Bishop Bill
Members of the Vapor Technology Association went to Washington
in support of the Cole-Bishop Appropriations Amendment.
In June, members of the Vapor Technol-
ogy Association (VTA) traveled to Capitol
Hill from all over the United States to ad-
vocate in support of the Cole-Bishop Ap-
propriations Amendment, legislation that
would “provide much needed regulation
of vapor products as the new technol-
ogy that they are, rather than the tobac-
co products that they are not,” explains
a VTA spokesperson. The effort came in
the wake of the regulatory policy issued
by FDA in May, which VTA says will “only
serve to eliminate vapor products from
the market, ultimately harming the broad-
er public health goal of deterring tobacco
use, and put thousands of small business-
es out of business.”
“There is no question that vapor prod-
ucts are a healthier alternative to tobacco
cigarettes for thousands of adult consum-
ers in this country,” says Tony Abboud,
VTA’s national legislative director. “While
FDA’s recent rulemaking threatens to
eliminate them entirely from the market,
the Cole-Bishop Amendment takes the
responsible approach by preserving the
industry, while implementing common-
sense regulations that will protect youth
and ensure the safety of consumers.”
Part of the Agriculture, Rural Develop-
ment, Food and Drug Administration bill,
the amendment authored by U.S. Reps
Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Sanford Bishop
(D-Ga.) would amend the “predicate date”
from February 15, 2007 to the effective
date of the final deeming regulations. The
Cole-Bishop Amendment restricts youth
marketing and youth access to vapor
products by:
• Limiting newspaper, magazine or oth-
er print advertising of vapor products to
adult publications;
• Requiring face to-face sales, thereby
banning self-service displays and vend-
ing machines, except at age-restricted
venues;
• Requiring FDA to issue labeling reg-
ulations within 12 months to include
“Keep Out of Reach of Children,” “Un-
derage Sale Prohibited,” and accurate
nicotine content.
The Cole-Bishop Amendment also re-
quires retailers to register their estab-
lishments, unless the retailer is already
required to register under a state law or
federal law.
49%
OF VAPERS
say they will go
back to smoking
if e-cigs are off
the market
Source: V2 survey of 300 adult vapers
8
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2016
NEWS & TRENDS
JULY/AUGUST 2016