On August 8, 2016, new regulations by the FDA went into effect that have a profound impact on a major segment of the electronic cigarette industry: vape shops. The shops that mix flavors for vaping products are now considered to be manufacturers and subject to the same requirements as manufactures owned by the companies that make Marlboros, Camels, and Newports.
The new rules will require each and every flavor variation of electronic cigarettes to be approved by the FDA as a new tobacco product. The cost associated with each application is estimated by the agency to average over $300,000. Vape shops had typically created many dozens of varieties of “e-juice” every month and, under the new rules, the revenues from these flavor varieties would account for only a small fraction of the cost for submitting new tobacco product applications. This has led some vape shops to close their doors.
WGBH’s Isaiah Thompson reported on these developments for NPR’s All Things Considered (with an expanded written version). PHAI\’s executive director, Mark Gottlieb, is quoted in the piece.