The e-cigarette debate: Big Tobacco, the FDA and the future of tobacco-less smoking

[blujeenz]

Im sure most of us have always suspected that "Big Tobacco" was behind the curtains pulling strings to get our vape devices demonised and then outlawed, this extract from http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/illinois/the-e-cigarette-debate/article_0c0d35e0-53cb-50f6-ba63-8b39f057db19.html also known as the granddaddy bill just fuels our convictions of what we suspected all along.

My red cliff hanger highlights.

But the most staunch defender of the devices is the industry itself. Frank Cantrell, owner of S.I. Vapors in Bradley, said the argument has more to do with the influence of big tobacco and taxation than with health.

“They've been demonizing this so badly. I'm all for regulating it so people are safe," Cantrell said. "They just want to see their money through taxes.”

Safety margins

For its part, the budding industry largely has regulated itself.

At Cantrell's shop, he has a lab analysis, a batch number, a chain of custody report and a list of ingredients for every liquid he sells — just like for foods or pharmaceutical products. All of the labs he buys from have certified laboratory quality standards recognized by other industries. He said the industry is protecting itself in adopting such practices.

The problem Cantrell has with proposed FDA regulations is a provision that would ban all electronic cigarette products dating back to 2007. At the time, the industry was limited only to a couple of products offered by big tobacco companies — before the $1.5 billion industry's boom.


“Everything that exists will go away. You'd have to buy something the big tobacco companies are selling," Cantrell said. "The industry has grown by leaps and bounds, and the government can't get a handle on it. That's what scares me."