Eliquid approval

[Kate]

Right to Vape has been discussing a scheme to check and approve eliquid for consumers. The idea is similar to the approval process used by organisations such as The Vegetarian Society which checks ingredients using their own criteria and grants the use of their approval symbol for compliant foods. Vegsoc Approved Approval by the Veg Soc reassures consumers that the products meet the independent standards of a consumer organisation, For an annual fee the producer gets independent testing and approval, the use of the 'approved' trademark on packaging and marketing materials, some product promotion by the society, links, inclusion in a product database and the general goodwill and trust generated by a reputable consumer group.

What RtV are considering is testing by an independent lab of ingredients and nicotine levels and the production of a toxicology report. This is hoped to confirm that the product is not contaminated, contents are as described and there are thought to be no unexpected health risks from inhaling. Another aspect of approval by RtV would be to do with packaging meeting good standards.

The most efficient way to bring reliable products to the market is to have manufacturers join the scheme and have all flavours and formulas assessed. Any distributor of a particular product which has been assessed and found compliant would be entitled to the benefits of RtV approval.

So we want to connect and generate interest with manufacturers of eliquid. We want them to pay us an annual fee for approval of each formula which they then could sell as approved by RtV.

There are some things I'd like further ideas on if anyone would like to share their thoughts.

• Selling approval by RtV is going to depend on the credibility value of that approval. How do we maximise the profile and reliability of the group and testing system to generate trust and consumer support?
• We can't sell a scheme to manufacturers without a good idea of what it will entail and how much it will cost. Does anyone have any expertise in testing, chemistry, or any relevant field who could offer advice on how to determine what process we need to set up for our system? Please have a look at this thread to see some information we already have - Eliquid Tests - what are we looking for?
• What do you think is the best way to approach manufacturers once we have an idea of what we are proposing? Traders who deal with and already have a relationship with particular makers might be a good introduction ... or should RtV approach the manufacturers cold and try to build a relationship from scratch?

Any constructive thoughts on any points here are greatly appreciated, thanks.

[praga]

RtV has my support.

Let me know when you have a proposal ready and I'll pass it on to the manufacturers that I deal with.

[Kate]

Thanks very much Brandon, I'll be sure to let you know when we have something worth presenting.

[J W in Texas]

Kate,

I would be willing to donate to this. I was also wondering if anyone has contacted Johnson Creek directly regarding their process and what testing they perform. They are the only company that I know of that is outside China, being U.S. based and they have some paperwork with the FDA. I know it isn't much paperwork but I think they began a process.

Just a thought...


Posted at RTV too.

[Kate]

Thanks JW.

Just a word to the wise - thanks very much for your offer of cash help but don't make any donations to anybody until you're sure they are representing the community and not vested interests and they have a proper set up to manage charitable funds.

RtV is still not organised enough to manage money and to be honest I don't think it needs much more than enough to run a website at the moment so it's not a big issue yet.

Johnson Creek have not published any research and are only registered with the FDA under terrorism provisions, nothing to do with eliquid or standards of production.

There's a thread at RtV about where different manufacturers are based. Some are in China, some in Europe and JC is in North America. Hopefully we will be able to approach all of them when we have worked out some proposals.

[moogguy]

I think this is a good idea...I can't offer any help, only my support....

[Kate]

... and a thread bump, thanks

[strayling]

If/when this takes off I'll make a point of only purchasing from suppliers who have the RtV Kate Mark.

[franklyspeaking]

Very good idea! I offer to help in any way I can.

[franklyspeaking]

Some things that I think could add value to RTV are some high quality reviews and such. A website where both the hardware and juice are unbiasedly reviewed and rated on a thorough scale. I have a full broadcast quality HD video rig and would be more than willing to shoot these reviews. What has held me back from doing so yet is the development of a good review structure. Anyway, I think a site that offered a comprehensive breakdown of models and offered quality reviews with some production value behind them would mean something. A super e-cig wikapedia of sorts...