The countdown begins....

August 8th, 2018

In two years, on this day, a multi-billion dollar industry will be illegal to produce and sell in the United States.  This industry has spawned thousands of small businesses and has the potential to save a billion lives by the turn of the century.  It has created severe controversy within the political ring and has also created several online communities for people who are passionate about the products and the people.

I am speaking about the vaping industry.  A virtual boon that has erupted on the scene over the past several years.  The technology has redefined itself almost as quickly as it has come onto the market.  Businesses have created flavors including strawberry cheesecake, apple pie moonshine, cotton candy, and even a few candy relics from our youth.  Virtually every flavor under the sun has been crafted into a flavor for people to vape.  Keep in mind, this is not done to "appeal to kids" or to try and lure non-vapers into trying the product.  The idea is to slowly ween the smoker off of nicotine and to remove the toxic chemicals from a smokers body.  

The effects have been mind-blowing.  Royal College of Physicians have stated that this technology is over 95 percent effective in helping people quit using tobacco products.  That's a staggering number when compared to items such as Chantix, Nicorette, and other gums, patches, and lozenges.  The proof is showing in the statistics too.  Tobacco sales have dropped dramatically over recent years.  The downside is that a lot of government agencies and states have banked their budgets off of the multi-billion dollar tobacco industries that are presently loosing money.  California, for example, is trying to pass a 62%-69% tax on all vapor products.  

In May 2016, the FDA passed their "deeming regulations" on the vaping industry.  What that means is that several laws have been enacted in regards to the vaping industry.  No sale to anyone under the age of 18, no free sampling of product, and the only major thing to be in contention right now is the classification of vapor products as "tobacco".

Tobacco products go through an extensive (and expensive) process to be available on the market. The Pre-Market Tobacco Application (or PMTA) is the process that all vaping companies will have to go through in order to be available on the market.  As I mentioned earlier, these are small businesses (couples, retired, father and son) that cannot afford this process, which is estimated to cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars per SKU item.  Possibly even upwards of $1,000,000 per flavor and per variance.

Have I caught your attention yet?  

Visit august8th.org to read more. Also, please check out my website at coffeefuel.net