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The U.S. vapor industry stands at a piv-
otal crossroads as we head into the final
stretch of 2016. To ensure our survival
in 2017 and beyond, it is imperative that
all members of the vaping community
unite to fight to protect vapor products
while underscoring that our industry
spurs job creation, entrepreneurship
and economic growth.
Our greatest hurdle remains on the
federal level. As of August 8, 2016, the
FDA started regulating the vaping in-
dustry under the 2009 Tobacco Control
Act, which states, among other provi-
sions, that any product that was not on
the market prior to February 15, 2007
(aka “the predicate date”) must be sub-
mitted for a lengthy approval process
that will cost upwards of $1 million per
SKU. This rule will force most vaping
products off the shelves, cause thou-
sands of small businesses to close their
doors and likely prompt adult vapers to
revert to tobacco products or turn to
the black market to purchase the prod-
ucts they enjoy.
Fortunately, we have a solution. U.S.
Rep. Cole (R-Okla.) and Rep. Bishop
(D-Ga.) have sponsored the biparti-
san “Cole-Bishop Amendment” to the
2017 Agricultural Appropriations Bill
that would change the “predicate date”
for newly deemed products to August
8, 2016. The amendment has already
passed the House Appropriations Com-
mittee and could be headed to the floor
by the end of this year as part of an
Omnibus bill, if our U.S. representatives
and U.S. senators will impress upon their
leadership the importance of this issue.
This proposal simply calls for a com-
mon sense adjustment of a date that was
set in an old law to account for today’s
modern-day vapor products that simply
didn’t exist on the date listed in the 2009
tobacco act. All of the other regulations
in the law, which have applied to ciga-
rettes and smokeless tobacco since the
law was originally passed, will continue
to apply to vapor products if this date is
changed in the law. But we must get the
bill passed with this amendment intact!
Our industry is encouraging every local
business owner and consumer of these
products to reach out to their congres-
sional elected officials so that appropri-
ate action may be taken.
There have been many promising de-
velopments that point to a bright future
for our industry. Our neighbors across
the Atlantic have taken a more evidence-
based approach to vaping that can serve
as a viable model for federal and state
policy makers across the country. In an
April report, Britain’s Royal College of
Physicians, one of the world’s most re-
spected medical associations, spoke
favorably about vaping, and the British
government earlier this year authorized
its National Health Service to cover vap-
ing products.
The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade
Association (SFATA), the vapor indus-
try’s largest trade organization, is com-
bating the industry’s challenges head
on. Since we were founded in 2012,
SFATA has been at the forefront of vapor
advocacy, lobbying for sensible regula-
tion of vapor products, such as prohibi-
tions on selling to minors and support
of child-resistant packaging, and our
current largest national effort yet, get-
ting the 2007 predicate date modernized
through an act of Congress.
In addition to our federal lobbying ef-
forts in Washington D.C. and our grass-
tops/grass-roots efforts in the states fight-
ing onerous taxation, we’re participating
in and helping sponsor the Right to Vape
Tour. This grass-roots cross-country ad-
vocacy bus tour is stopping in various cit-
ies, registering voters who vape, engag-
ing public officials in their districts, and
activating businesses and consumers
to urge members of Congress to talk to
their party leadership about keeping the
predicate date change (aka Cole-Bishop
Amendment) in the Omnibus bill during
end-of-year negotiations.
Advocacy works, but we can’t do it
alone. There is strength in numbers. We
need to unite all industry stakeholders
so that the vapor community can over-
come current hurdles. Together, we are
building coalitions to show voters, as
well as legislators and policymakers,
that we need a regulatory environment
that makes sense for our industry, that
doesn’t punish us for being something
we are not, and that allows us to grow
in a meaningful way. The time for ag-
gressive action is now. Our survival is
at stake.
Pamela Gorman is the executive di-
rector of the Smoke-Free Alternatives
Trade Association, which represents
the vapor industry through 1,400 mem-
bers and 28 state chapters.
9
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
SFATA SPEAKS
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
Strength
in Numbers
The industry’s stakeholders must unite
to combat challenges threatening its future.
By Pamela Gorman
Advocacy works,
but we can’t do
it alone. There
is strength in
numbers. We
need to unite
all industry
stakeholders so
that the vapor
community
can overcome
current hurdles.”