Snus managed to get approved under the Tobacco Control Act. All it took was a filing of tens of thousands of pages, along with TWO full days of public hearings by an FDA panel. Presentations ranged from Swedish Match executives, their well compensated attorneys, and "expert" paid testimony. All for just one product.
Why the approval? Because after that kind of full court press by a deep pocketed company, rejection of the application would have led to serious litigation that might very well have compromised the FDA's ability to ever enforce the Tobacco Control Act mandate, which purportedly was not meant to outright ban tobacco products. However, the FDA will be more than happy to fight a small company as they have no litigation expense, and can overwhelm an opponent by tying them up until they either capitulate or go bankrupt. But against a company with the will and capital to fight them and downright threaten their regulatory reach? They'll make a deal
Now, what vaping company are you aware of with pockets deep enough to run that type of gauntlet? Vuse and Blu (Reynold America, which is the child of the RJ. Reynolds and Lorillard merger that took place about a year ago for ~$27 Billion dollars) and Mark Ten (Altira). The last financials of those companies show Reynolds America with a gross revenue of ~$10 Billion dollars with a net income of ~$3.2 Billion dollars, and Altria with a $25 Billion in gross revenue, net income of ~$5.5 Billion So yes, they're golden. And that's the kind of money on the table over the future of c-cigs.
I know there are successful vaping companies out there making hardware and juice. But someone point to one that is publicly traded (OK, even private if you know the financials), with a net income > $3 to $5 Billion dollars a year. It's just not there. Which is why lobbying for legislation that will temper the Deeming regulations remains the best opportunity to maintain the current vape market. Sure, the lawsuits recently filed might prove to be helpful as well, but I just don't know if a company even as successful as Halo will have the kind of deep pockets to see it all the way through with top quality litigators like Covington & Burling. Remember, even if the FDA loses in court, they get to appeal (same for Nicopure as well). Appeals are really, really expensive, and again the FDA can keep going back to court without incurring any expense.
