Get Off Your A*@es Everyone!

In an email from Innokin today, was a link to today's Vaping Weekly by Benedict Jones. In addition to more news about Canada's up-coming restrictions on most flavored vape products...the following was included, about Washington, DC:

"On Tuesday, June 15, The District of Columbia Council voted to prohibit the sale of flavoured vaping and tobacco products (including menthol cigarettes and cigars).

The bill will be voted on a second time Tuesday, June 29, but it is expected to pass this stage without significant change. After the second vote, the bill must be approved by the mayor, and pass a 30-day congressional review period before the law takes effect.

The bill also covers synthetic nicotine products, which have, at times, been suggested as a way of side-stepping legislation which restricts “tobacco products” in the U.S. Since synthetic nicotine products are covered by the bill, it would appear that other next-generation nicotine products, such as pouches, will be affected by the flavour ban."

So, little by little it continues....  

So I have been coming on here and reading posts from people like say, in Washington State who are desperately trying to come up with something vapable after the flavor bans came crashing down, and I went on a pretty serious letter writing campaign in response. Here is the answer I got:

"Thank you for writing me regarding your thoughts on banning smoke-free alternatives to combustible tobacco. I appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns.

The Trump Administration recently announced plans to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes as officials in Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continue to investigate more than 450 health cases, including six deaths, related to e-cigarette use. According to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the FDA intends to introduce a policy that will remove the sale of all flavored e-cigarette flavors except tobacco, until otherwise specified.

I understand that this is an important issue for parents and consumers of e-cigarettes in our district. As your Representative, I will continue to monitor this situation as it develops and will keep your thoughts in mind if any legislative action is taken on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Again, thank you for contacting my office about this important issue. If you would like to receive regular updates on this and other matters, please visit my website (www.demings.house.gov/) to sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Val Butler Demings
Member of Congress"

The part that instantly grabbed my attention was this:

FDA intends to introduce a policy that will remove the sale of all flavored e-cigarette flavors except tobacco, until otherwise specified.

Is this going to happen ahead of the deeming regulations? Is the FDA going to come up behind us and slip this over our heads while we aren't looking? And while vaping is coming under a full frontal assault, tobacco companies are laughing as they continue to kill 1200 people a day - because the spotlight ain't on them anymore.  

...if you do nothing.

Federal Flavor Ban & Vape Taxation
Goes Up for Vote This
Thursday 2/27/2020 in the House.
HR 2339

Go here to notify your Congress people and the President (easy peasy)...
Vaping Prohibition & Taxation is On the Table in Congress

From CASAA...
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"This [Federal Flavor Ban] legislation is being supported by an army of Bloomberg-funded anti-harm reduction groups to the tune of $160,000,000.

At the same time, it is likely that a tax bill, HR 4742, which is attempting to enact tax parity between vapor products and combustible cigarettes, will also be taken up by the full House."
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
​
Text - H.R.4742 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose a tax on nicotine used in vaping, etc.
‘‘“(h) Nicotine.—On taxable nicotine, manufactured in or imported into the United States, there shall be imposed a tax equal to the dollar amount specified in section 5701(b)(1) (or, if greater, $50.33) per 1,810 milligrams of nicotine (and a proportionate tax at the like rate on any fractional part thereof).”
Click to expand...

You wanna pay $2,780.00 extra (plus any state taxes)
for 1 liter of 100mg/ml nic base?

You wanna be forced to vape "tobacco" flavors only?​

By all means, do nothing.

​
 

And so it begins......

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Wednesday it plans to ban the sale of non-tobacco-flavored electronic cigarettes amid a vaping crisis.

“The Trump Administration is making it clear that we intend to clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes to reverse the deeply concerning epidemic of youth e-cigarette use that is impacting children, families, schools and communities,” Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. “We will not stand idly by as these products become an on-ramp to combustible cigarettes or nicotine addiction for a generation of youth.”

Michigan became the first state to prohibit sales of most flavored e-cigarettes last week in a bold move to curb the underage vaping epidemic. The ban, which will take effect in a few weeks, will cover both online and in-store sales of all e-cigarette flavors except tobacco.

Trump administration plans to ban sale of flavored electronic cigarettes  

The best strategy according Demetris and PBusardo is to hire a professional PR company to combat the false information that the news media and anti-vaping crowd has been churning out every day/nite on TV and social media. That will take a LOT of money (millions according to D & P). The US vaping industry doesn't have that type of money, but the big manufacturers in China do. China manufacturers will be affected by this if the US vaping industry fails, because it will fail if a flavor ban is successful.



Trump is the key person in all of this. He's the one who will make the final call by using his John Hancock, and he's been known to go against the grain of "The Swamp" in Washington. He is basically only interested in satisfying his voter base. All vapers need to personally contact Trump via the White House and tell him, as a voter, that if he is going to get your vote in 2020 he needs to NOT go forward with a flavor ban. Regardless of how you feel about Trump, or whether you'll actually vote for him when the time comes, this must be done and would take each of us only about 5 - 10 minutes of our time.

_________________________

Contact the White House | The White House

WHITE HOUSE: Comment line 202-456-1111 | Switch board 202-456-1414 (the switch board is the best approach as it will put you on hold and give you a chance to speak)
_________________________

Trump probably doesn't have a clue about vaping. He doesn't understand how important the use of flavored e-liquid is to the success to stop smoking. Having only "tobacco flavors" to choose from just won't cut it for the majority of vapers.

What he must understand is that a flavor ban will likely destroy the vaping industry in the US. Vape shops will not be able remain viable and will close - a loss of thousands of jobs and small businesses. This will affect his "sterling" numbers of the lowest unemployment in recent memory. There has to be at least 10,000 potential voters who have something to do with the vaping community (probably more), about the number of votes that gave him the presidency. He's not going to want to lose that many votes in the next election.

A flavor ban will result in creating its own Black Market. Many vapers will resort to making their own flavored e-liquid. How did that work out for the homemade black market THC vials that killed 6 people and put over 400 people in intensive care?

Smokers looking to quit smoking will no longer have vape shops or US based online vendors to purchase e-cigarettes. Many vapers will return to smoking, which will increase the 400,000 smokers who died last year.

Please tale a few minutes of your time to contact President Trump.  

At first I was not too concerned about a flavor ban because my wife and I use no flavoring and I mix my own... But now Romney and some dude named Jeff have a bill on the floor that includes banning refillable cartridges. That scared the holy bejesus out of me. It sounds like they want all e-cigs to be like the "Mojo" (a disposable closed system).

The frustrating part about this current situation is that all of this seems to have started from some black market THC cartridges, which has absolutely nothing to do with vaping. PG is used in children's asthma medication and nicotine is really not much more dangerous than caffeine, but everyone out there thinks that e-cigarettes are killing people.

I think our first mistake was calling them "e-cigarettes" instead of something like "nicotine delivery device"... The name "e-cigarettes" just causes those that are clueless group them in the same category as cigarettes. Big Tobacco and Big Pharma are probably loving this right now. Smoking kills 450-500k people per year, as far as I know vaping has killed 0, but sure, go ahead and put severe restrictions on vaping. I know it saved my life, 12 years ago I could not manage walking up a flight of stairs, every time I laughed it ended in a coughing fit. Then e-cigs came along and all of that changed.

I wish there was some way to educate the public, especially our government officials.  

Received this email this morning...

On Monday, November 4, or early in the week, we are anticipating an announcement from the Trump Administration regarding FDA guidance about sales of flavored vapor products. According to recent reports, this guidance is expected to go as far as banning every flavor other than tobacco and menthol. In spite of years of communications from consumers and meetings with industry stakeholders, it is clear that officials remain unknowledgeable about how the vapor industry functions and what customers need.

Two flavors will not sustain independent vapor retailers and
will unnecessarily make vaping less attractive
to people who want to switch away from smoking.


The White House needs to hear from adult vapers and anyone who loves a vaper! A flavor ban won’t protect our children, but it will kill their parents.

We need to
Light Up The Switchboard
At The White House!
Ph: 202-456-1111
(Comment Line)
or
202-456-1414
(Switchboard)


On your call:

The operator will likely ask where they can direct your call Simply tell them that flavored vapor products saved your life, Tobacco and Menthol aren't enough to save small businesses or help people quit smoking; and, tell them “We Vape, We Vote. Be polite, be brief, and say thank you.
On hold? Here's something to do while you wait: Send a Message! Share this Call to Action with your friends, family, and on social media!  

Thanks to @440BB for starting the first thread, but it got out of hand and was closed.

But this is an important topic and I believe we should have an active thread about it as it is still currently underway. And as events unfold (and possibly change) we should be discussing it.

Lets try this again without so much emotion and political beliefs such that it changes the thread's topic and deters other from participation. And maybe "reptilian shape shifters" might be better-off discussed on some other forum or in the "Outside" section of ECF.

And remember, this is a shipping ban, nothing to do with the FDA deeming regulations - there's a thread for that.

Effective dates for the following major carriers...

FedEx - March 1, 2021
DHL - March 1, 2021 (unclear)
UPS - April 5, 2021
USPS - after March 22, on the date the final rule is published, no later than April 26, 2021. There seems to be some major conflict among what various sources believe as to when this effective date will occur. However, it is for sure, as @440BB stated in the original thread, after March 22 and no later than April 26.

Note that all carriers accept USPS are not actually disallowed by law from transporting vape supplies, they volunteered not to, most likely for a combination of reasons - requirements are strict and probably not profitable (but politics most likely plays a role, too).

Here is a link to the legislation that was passed that made this shipping ban possible.
Text - S.1253 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act
Notice that all vape is being banned for shipment by USPS as it states "any other substance", not just nicotine vape.

All online retailers that have sent notice about this seem to be saying they will refuse to take new orders after March 22. The dates each retailer has set range from March 23 to March 27 from what I have seen, so time is running out fast to order supplies online.

There is talk by some of the larger retailers that they have secured a new carrier that will be focusing on major urban areas. It remains to be seen if it will fly and if it will be a viable solution.

After this, barring some other major nail in the coffin, where B&M stores cannot get inventory, the only way to get anything will be in a local B&M storefront, where selection will be limited and priced high, and it will be rare to find nic base stocked for DIY.

As @440BB said in the original thread... "Time is near to get creative or be fully stocked up!".

But we are getting too close now that you don't have much, if any, time to make an informed decision on what hardware to buy and stocks are running out. As far as atomizers go, rebuildable atomizers WILL be your salvation as we enter into the vapocalypse.

But if you have enough gear and/or if money is tight, you should focus on nicotine base so you can DIY your own juice, unless you prefer store bought juice and are willing to vape whatever your local vape shop has in stock at any given moment. A list of nicotine base and glass bottle suppliers can be found here...
List of US Retailers Still Shipping 100mg Nicotine Base | E-Cigarette Forum

Please keep in mind that person to person (consumer to consumer aka C2C) shipments are still allowed but the current postal regulations severely restrict it. A summary of the C2C tobacco products postal regulations (well actually, only cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) (as I understand them) are as follows, but this could possibly change.

- Total package weight must be no more than 10 oz.

- Must be shipped using face-to-face service. In other words, must present package to postal worker at USPS counter. No pickups allowed. Proof of age and identity of sender must be verified with govt issued photo ID.

- Must be sent with "Express Mail" (I take this to mean Priority Express? - expensive, minimum $25 but more if Adult 21+ Signature service is required to be purchased - not clear on that. You will be paying retail rates since you have to buy this postage at the post office, so it might even be closer to $30+ all tolled just to ship one small package).

- Shipping label must bear real, full names of both shipper and recipient.

- Outside of package must be labeled with wording "PERMITTED TOBACCO MAILING – DELIVER ONLY TO AGE-VERIFIED ADULT OF LEGAL AGE"

- USPS will not deliver package to recipient. Package will be held at local post office for pickup and successful pickup will require proof of age and identity of recipient, verified with govt issued photo ID. Recipient must sign PS Form 3849.

- One person cannot mail more than 10 such shipments a 30-day period (meaning, you will likely be put in a database in order to track your identity and how many C2C tobacco product shipments you made in the last 30-days, which is why you have to ship it via a trip to the post office).

DMM Revision: Treatment of Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco as Nonmailable Matter​
 

The news of a looming flavor ban is sickening! As an adult former smoker who used ecigs to liberate myself from cigarettes, I am appalled!

It is not my fault that kids are vaping flavors and nicotine intended for adults.
It is not my fault that people are vaping dangerous chemicals in THC mixes.
It is not my fault that people who lack knowledge about vaping consider it on par with smoking.

Parents need to own up to monitoring their own kids! These teens would be smoking cigarettes if they weren't vaping- just as they were doing before vaping came along. Teen smoking numbers are down because of vaping. It is this teenage generation's alternative to cigarettes. This should be part of our national conjecture on the topic!!!

We (legitimate adult users of vaping supplies) need to stand up for ourselves!!! There are millions of us.

Let us be heard!

We need to stand together and protest around our country on the same days/times to have our voices heard.

I say we all go to our local city halls and/or right outside of our workplaces near smoking areas on the same day/time with signs of protest to demand that our opinions be heard.

I also say that we compile lists of pro-vaping and anti-vaping elected representatives so that we may be able to vote our haters out of office!!!  

tomorrow in Massachusetts I was told by Gary at MVS during the 4 month ban of vape gear while investigating why people in the US have gotten very sick or died from vaping NON VAPING related marijuana oil products.

So find your friends out of state or get online tonight to order your coils and juices.

Maybe the investigation should be why people in other countries haven’t been getting sick and why this is JUST happening now after a couple of decades of people vaping e juice. Could be something to do with the government and politicians trading in a multi billion dollar industry and let’s not forget the lobbyists errr donors.

And yes I emailed and called my knee jerk reacting guv Baker to express my embarrassment that one of the states with the highest quality Universities aren’t asking for FACTS.

Big Tobacco (and Pharm) and the governments reason of losing $7 billion dollars to people switching from known carcinogenic cigarettes to less harmful vaping products.

As more bans get put into place and more people get sick or die from contaminated black market ejuice and THC products.

Just as planned so they can point their fingers and scream - we told you it was dangerous!!