After seeing devastating news all over the world (India, USA), Lithuania's government is stubborn enough to kill everything I loved about e-cigarettes with a click of a button. Boom.
From 2020 onwards (ban is still pending though, but read below, you'll get your answer, knowing how my government blindly accepts ridiculous bans and such), shops won't carry e-liquids with anything other than bare bones tobacco flavored ones. It would be a miracle if one of the guys who came up with this stupid idea would make his mind.
It's devastating... Even our biggest vape shops couldn't do anything at the meeting, their remarks and talks were all ignored.
Funny enough, CEO of Philip Morris Lithuania actually said something about competition and started laughing afterwards. Soon after he was asked to leave the meeting. That's saying everything I wanted to know. BIG TOBACCO IS PAYING.
I'm like sitting at vape shop, reading these news. My hands are shaking.
EDIT: I'm adding one of the articles on this exact matter. Just translate it to English and you should understand 95% of the article without issue.
E.cigarečių pardavėjai kilo į mūšį dėl išgyvenimo – protestuoja prieš M.Majausko pataisą
Hi guys,
I am from Jakarta, Indonesia. Home of the 2nd largest smokers in the world.
Smoking is enjoyed by many under age children here. Many of them started smoking in the 6th grade.
You can watch the documentary of smoking in Indonesia here (by Vice News)
I have a couple of friends working in the media that says their boss are scared not to make positive news on ecig because it will make the tobacco company will not advertise on them anymore.
Right now, the tobacco giant is pushing hard on ecig. We can see all the negative news of ecig spreading in EVERY MEDIA NEWS in the country, on the newspaper, magazine, television, radio. The government even make an official public service advertisement on how bad ecig is and aired them everywhere.
The tobacco giant controls the media with their money. Tobacco advertising is still permittable in all media type here in Indonesia.
We have seen a lot of drop in ecig user in Indonesia since that negative movement. Many online/offline vape store here goes bankrupt because many people believe what the government are saying.
So right now, it comes to "The government want to ban ecig anytime soon", says all the media.
We would like to ask help from fellow friends here by signing the petition in change.org as below:
Petition · Menteri Perdagangan Rachmat Gobel: Menghapus atau Membatalkan Larangan Rokok Elektrik/Vaporizer · Change.org
Please dont write the comment in English though, we just need the supporters numbers to increase so we can bring this forward to the government.
Thank you
Note: If this thread is not where it is supposed to be, please kindly move to the appropriate sub-forum.
I mean I know why and I am right there with them opposing it. I am glad that many have prevailed (at least for now). When I say "why?" I mean that if I were a vape shop owner, I would be looking to liquidate all of my inventory long before May 2020, because at that point my shop will only have 3 or 4 disposable, non-refillable, over taxed pieces of junk to offer with just 2 flavors (tobacco and possibly menthol).
Are they just ignoring the writing on the wall or are they oblivious?
I mean obviously, for some, the bans came out of nowhere and they did not have time to liquidate, and maybe the legal fees were not over-the-top... but from this point on I would be looking at May if I were them and I would get out while I still can (or I would have already done so by now). As sad as it is, I just know that there are going to be all kinds of fantastic sales in April and early May.
Come May 2020, odds are that there will no longer be any vape shops in the US and it looks like online sales will be a thing of the past with the exception of from out of the country (if they will even ship here) and then you're taking the chance of it being confiscated by the FDA.
Friends,
I really have to stop reading the news.
Every single day there is a new article bashing and smearing vaping as a viable, healthy alternative to smoking the 'stink sticks' (I coined that yesterday, patent pending).
Anyway, it absolutely infuriates me when I read these one-sided articles that is backed by little to no research. Not to mention that these articles are most likely written with some sort of bias. Whether it be BT, BP or the numerous anti-smoking groups, very seldom do they actually ask anyone who knows anything about vaping and the initiative of the hobby/lifestyle and they sure don't interview actual vapers or want to hear the numerous stories of how vaping has saved so many lives.
They say they don't want to 'normalize or glamorize' smoking because it will make it more attractive to kids.
Well, you know what? The more you tell kids NOT to do something, the more they WILL do it. I know, I have 2 of them.
As a former smoker and now around 6 months smoke free, I detest smoking cigarettes. But having said that, I would rather see a kid puffing on a vape than on a Stink Stick.
So, yes, I can see the need for regulations, but the vaping industry does a good job with self-regulation and reputable businesses do not sell to minors.
But, kids will be kids and they will find a way to get their hands on cigarettes just like they do with alcohol.
Let's discuss and vape on!
I am somewhat curious why vape shops don't carry supplies to make your own e juice. I understand they make good money on their juices but for the people that do make their own, the shops are losing that sale all-together. Brew shops carry supplies to make beer and they also make good money; why then, can't vape shops do the same with juice?
I'm pretty disappointed with how this hysteria turns out. 3 months ago we just had a very good pro-vaping website from the government. And now the very same Ministry of Health is planning to propose legislation to ban all flavoured e-liquids except tobacco, mint and menthol
Currently, the vaping community and all vape stores in NZ are asking kiwi vapers to sign a petition to propose this plan. One example is this store
Oppose the flavour ban now! Keep your right to vape!
Unless there are some big guys in the government help us, I'm not sure if this petition really affects the outcome
Every day I scour Google News for new news articles about anything related to restricting e-cigarettes and I have probably read well over 300 articles in the past month... On a few articles (probably only 3 or so) they have spoken about a 30-day deadline for the FDA... But I cannot find any information on when that started and when it ends, if in fact it actually even exists. Does anyone have any information about this?
for example:
With the CDC no closer to identifying a sole culprit (or even culprits) behind the epidemic, and with the 30-day deadline for the FDA’s revision of its guidelines removing flavored e-cigarettes from the market rapidly approaching, here’s what we know so far about the three different tracks of the vaping health crisis, and what public health officials are doing to try to slow the trains down.
Click to expand...
There’s Not Just One Vape Crisis — There’s Three
IL – Public Meeting 09.23.19 – Mental Health Committee to Discuss a Response to “The Vaping Crisis” - CASAA
The Illinois General Assembly’s Mental Health Committee will hold a hearing on the subject of “Addressing the Vaping Crisis” on
Monday, September 23, 2019
2:00 PM
Michael A. Bilandic Building
C-600, 6th Floor
160 N LaSalle St
Chicago, IL 60601
(notice)
The likely outcome of this meeting might be a recommendation that flavors other than tobacco be banned.
While this is a public meeting, many of the speakers are being selected in advance. If there is time left over, speaking will be limited to 2 – 3 minutes. Please be respectful and have your remarks prepared.
A witness slip is required whether you plan to speak or not, please submit a witness slip, here .
If you plan to speak, the witness slip is the only “sign up sheet” available.
Fill out the form with your contact information; under section III, select “Addressing the Vaping Crisis” from the drop down menu and click the “Opponent” radio dial; and specify written or oral testimony (Section IV).
Click Here to Send a Witness Slip
If you would like to have written testimony delivered to the committee, please send it to board@sfacoil.org.
Even if you do not plan to speak, your presence is important as it demonstrates the large numbers of people affected by this issue.
In addition to participating in this meeting, Illinois residents who vape and are not “sick from vaping” are being asked to fill out this survey from the IL Dept. of Public Health (IDPH). THIS SURVEY IS FOR ILLINOIS RESIDENTS ONLY! Do not encourage people outside of Illinois to participate by misrepresenting where they live.
Click Here to Take the IDPH Anonymous Survey
_________________________
I will be there - hope to tell my story.
Illinois - ONLY - residents - if you haven't yet Please take the survey.
Can't make it or don't want to speak? Please send a witness slip.
Let's pack this place!
Here in Oregon we have several bills that, if passed, would more or less make vaping illegal in its current form, and I know this isn't just happening here. I have to wonder how far they will be able to go with the bans and regulations, how "effective" they will be and how best to prepare for them. I think it's likely they will make high concentration nicotine solutions impossible to obtain for consumers, so at the least, it's probably a good call to stock up on unflavored nicotine, especially considering that whatever ejuice they do allow will no doubt be taxed to the point of being unaffordable.
The rest of their proposed bans would, in my mind (hopefully) be ineffectual in the long term. They want to ban flavored ejuice, but if the juice is zero nicotine, I don't see how they could get away with that since of course they can't ban PG, VG, or flavors, they just couldn't get away with that, yet, and the same goes for things like kanthal and cotton/rayon, too many uses outside of vaping.
They want to ban online sales from vape companies to our state which we all know would be a devastating blow to vapers. As for mechanical/regulated mods and other gear, what's to stop companies from selling them with a disclaimer that they are intended only for ornamental purposes, or for zero nic juice. What's to stop a vape shop from renaming itself "Functional Mechanical and Electronic Galleries" who operate on the assumption that people only use their products to vape zero nic juice.
It's insane to me that in a country that glorifies alcohol abuse, and has finally started to see the light on decriminalizing ........., that all this hysteria comes up about vaping, which is possibly the most benign chemical someone could enjoy (probably better for you than caffeine) and has given millions a way of breaking free from a habit that is far worse... you think the world is getting somewhere, but then something new comes out and the same old ignorance and fear rears its ugly head all over again, which is in turn milked by our politicians and backed by big tobacco, it all seems to be coming together for a perfect storm and it's not looking good in Oregon.
Your thoughts, what are you doing to prepare? What do you think is necessary?
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.
Hi guys! First of all sorry for my bad english. I started to vape at February and I love it, thanks to the e-cig I don't want a tobacco cigarette anymore. By the way, for some reason, about 15 days ago I realized that e-liquid nicotine gives me agitation and jittery that I've never had before. Sure, nicotine is a stimulant like coffeine but as we know it's a relaxant, too. And this stimulant/relaxant combo is what I've had with tobacco cigarettes and with vaping until 15 days ago. To be sure that (liquid) nicotine is the culprit, I've tried everything. With nic free e-liquid I have no agitation, even though I become a little sad because actually I can't stay without nicotine for a whole day. You may say: "reduce the nic dosage" and that's what I did, but unfortunately even with 1.5 mg/ml I have this issue And I don't vape too much. So I decided to do another test: for one day I smoked tobacco cigarettes. Guess what? No agitation and jittery. This is so weird, I can't believe it! Because I can expect it if I vape too much at high nic dosage, but I vape at only 3 mg/ml and not too much. And as I said before even with 1.5 mg/ml. I started to vape at February with 9 mg/ml, then I gradually lowered the dose without any problem (until 15 days ago). Also, I've tried different nicotine e-liquids but nothing has changed. Now I don't know what to think other than I suddenly become intolerant to liquid nicotine, even though I don't have nausea, dizziness, headache, stomach problems and other symptoms that make me think: "you're intolerant for sure". What do you think guys? Is there something that I can do? I don't want stop vaping, especially because I don't want to smoke again Thank you so much in advance guys.