AP: FDA Sending Warning Letters

Status
Not open for further replies.

Vocalek

CASAA Activist
Supporting Member
ECF Veteran
Probably not, at least not anytime soon nor without spending a lot of money to have the products tested and approved as being safe.



The Federal Tax on a pack of cigarettes is $1.01 I believe. The average state tax on cigarettes $1.45 per pack. In actuality, the state tax ranges from $0.30 (Virginia) to $4.35 (New York) per pack.

I used to work for a small state selling tax stamps to tobacco distributors. The state's tax rate was just over one dollar per pack and we collected anywhere from $1-2 Million dollars a day. Again, that was a small under-populated state with a relatively low tax rate.

You should be able to find out exactly how much is collected by state, and possibly the federal government if you a put a little effort into it... these figures are usually not hidden.



I have a few ideas, I will contact you soon.

Email addresses for all board members is here: About CASAA.org
 

wardge76

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Jul 14, 2010
118
2
Grand Rapids, MI
Vocalek-I also just sent a donation...thx for the info! Will give more later...when I figure out how to NOT order every juice out there lol. Seriously, thx for all the work you & the committee do!

Carol

I hear ya Carol... LOL I have the same problem...

If I stop and think about the amount of money I spend on vaping supplies, setting aside a little bit to donate to CASAA should be very easy to do ;)
 

MoonRose

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 3, 2010
698
77
Indiana, USA
Moon Rose, that is a powerful letter.

Well they got my dander up when I saw their underhanded tatics. I'm sick and tired of being treated like some 2 year old who can't make an intelligent decision concerning my own health. I don't need the FDA telling me that e-cigs *might* not be 100% safe, I know they aren't but they are definitely better for me than smoking tobacco cigarettes. Yes there needs to be some regulation to insure the safety, accuracy and consistancy of the e-liquid, but that should be done under the Tobacco Act, not as a drug delivery device.
 

PoliticallyIncorrect

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 31, 2010
4,118
6,562
SoCal

Drozd

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
4,156
789
49
NW Ohio
You're absolutely right, it is not being ignored in any way, shape, or form.
Right now the FDA is attempting to essentially ban electronic cigarettes by regulating them as drug delivery devices.

This is a fact, and the actions by the FDA are already in progress, the only thing stopping them is the ruling in the current court case.
That ruling is under appeal, and arguments on the appeal are scheduled to begin any day now.

But the last thing in the world anybody who knows what is going on wants is for these to be regulated as drug delivery devices.
That would mean they would be pulled of the market until someone does millions of dollars worth of testing and approval processes.
And that would mean years and years of clinical trials as well.

All of nothing more than the hope that they will eventually be approved.

But the FDA could and can regulate electronic cigarettes just fine by treating them as tobacco products.
They have the power and authority to do that right now.
They just don't want to.

The FDA wants them off the market.

first off remember that the court case only applies to njoy...they're the only ones that sued...

secondly.... we went round and round a while back over the case and whether e-cigs should be lumped into the recreational tobacco alternative category...
the people that were against that idea are now seeing the consequences..
the 5 companies that got letters continued to make health claims or use other drugs as additives and are now being hit as drug delivery devices...
all the arguments in the court case and the appeals have been about distancing from making health claims and the drug device classification....and here are these 5 companies that are providing the FDA with amunition by doing just that... presenting their products as nicotine cessation (remember the FDA doesnt draw a line between nicotine cessation and smoking cessation) and making health claims....

the only part I find troubling is that the JC letter was based on customer testimonials not direct company marketing in addition to the fact that they sell other things like syringes
 

HeatherC

Ultra Member
ECF Veteran
Jun 30, 2010
1,731
11
53
New York
Ok I read the entire letter to Johnson's Creek. In that letter they cite nicotine addiction as a disease... it then could be considered a disability then if it impairs your ability to function normally. Apply for SSI or SSDI......they get enuff apps in someone's gonna stop the BS. This is a clear violation of every right we americans hold dear and it really pisses me off. The letter to JC cites CONSUMER TESTIMONIALS as violations ummm isn't freedom of speech covered under the 1st amendment or does the constitution not exist for the FDA? I really think this is an endrun around the appeals system because the FDA knows they don't have a real case and wants at least a few companies that sell these to admit to being a drug delivery system. I hope there are people smart enough in those companies to see the scare tactic for what it is, the FDA can't win on the 23rd so they're trying to get by sneaking around telling people that they already ARE drug delivery devices and can be governed as such... as far as I know they can't even SAY that until after the appeal. A stay of a previous verdict does NOT make it so.
I feel this is a scare tactic. If we let it work I think we're just playing into their hands. I have no idea how best to handle this as I am not an attorney but I'm sure there are smarter people than I out there who can figure a way through this mess to a conclusion that will hopefully not harm us.
 
Last edited:

Drozd

Vaping Master
ECF Veteran
Nov 7, 2009
4,156
789
49
NW Ohio
I'm not a researcher so I don't know how to find this but wouldn't it be interesting to see how much tax money is collected in tobacco tax by the year and/or month. I'd like to know if its going up or down and if e cigs have really had an impact on tobacco sales and tax.

of all the places you can actually find that info per state through the ALA... Tobacco Laws and Public Smoking Policy -- American Lung Association SLATI
Public Smoking Laws, Smoking Policy Summary Reports -- American Lung Association SLATI
 

Hudsonkm

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 7, 2010
161
14
49
Illinois, US
Ok I read the entire letter to Johnson's Creek. In that letter they cite nicotine addiction as a disease... it then could be considered a disability then if it impairs your ability to function normally. Apply for SSI or SSDI......they get enuff apps in someone's gonna stop the BS. This is a clear violation of every right we americans hold dear and it really pisses me off. The letter to JC cites CONSUMER TESTIMONIALS as violations ummm isn't freedom of speech covered under the 1st amendment or does the constitution not exist for the FDA? I really think this is an endrun around the appeals system because the FDA knows they don't have a real case and wants at least a few companies that sell these to admit to being a drug delivery system. I hope there are people smart enough in those companies to see the scare tactic for what it is, the FDA can't win on the 23rd so they're trying to get by sneaking around telling people that they already ARE drug delivery devices and can be governed as such... as far as I know they can't even SAY that until after the appeal. A stay of a previous verdict does NOT make it so.
I feel this is a scare tactic. If we let it work I think we're just playing into their hands. I have no idea how best to handle this as I am not an attorney but I'm sure there are smarter people than I out there who can figure a way through this mess to a conclusion that will hopefully not harm us.


This is much the same as when we were still fighting the ban here in Illinois. They worded it in a way that re-categorized E-Cigarettes as something that the state already had full control of.

McDonalds hamburgers are bad for you but not illegal. Lets write a bill to re-categorize them as Toyota's and make them subject to the mass recall.
 

MoonRose

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Aug 3, 2010
698
77
Indiana, USA
States definitely don't want all smokers switching over to e-cigs, they would lose millions in tax dollars and the federal government is in much the same position. Both the states and the federal government rely on smokers continuing to smoke cigarettes for the millions in tax dollars that they pay in.
 

lmrasch

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Verified Member
Jul 21, 2010
889
43
Oregon
"The agency encouraged the industry group to work with the FDA to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the devices to help people quit smoking traditional cigarettes through usually expensive clinical trials."

Am I interpreting the above statement wrong?..... does it not eqaul:

"The agency encouraged the industry group to work with the FDA to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the devices to help people to quit smoking traditional cigarettes WHICH WILL be through expensive clinical trials.....not to mention the YEARS it will take and as someone else mentioned, the "additives" big Pharma piece of the pie wil include side effects such as suicide, homicidal thoughts and ...........The side effects will discourage people from using them, thus rendering them ineffective....WHICH will then make Tobacco industry happy...AND the Feds won't loose thier precious tax dollars nor will they have to pay Social Security to the 500,000 people who will CONTINUE to die each year from smoking related illnesses....

FDA Approval = Companies with enough money in their coffers to play the game
FDA + Tobacco + Big Pharma = Electronic Cigarette NRT "APPROVED!"
No?

Just checking in case my interpretor is broken, lol!
 
Last edited:

CooL_SpoT

Senior Member
ECF Veteran
Aug 30, 2010
143
0
Trenton, Ontario
"The agency encouraged the industry group to work with the FDA to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the devices to help people quit smoking traditional cigarettes through usually expensive clinical trials."

Am I interpreting the above statement wrong?..... does it not eqaul:

*snip*

I interpret it more as, "See! They cooperated! TOLD you they were drug delivery devices! Bring on the effective 20 year ban!"
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread