If we all sent Obama e-cigs, Obama would probably like the e-cig, and appoint a czar to regulate and tax it until the market was nearly dead, then inject massive amounts of capital to keep the market alive.
Instead of stocking up....
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Has anyone considered the possibility that if the federal government were to really get focused on outlawing e-cigs that the resulting black market could be enormously profitable. Once you forbid a product or behavior, the profit margins associated with providing that product or behavior skyrocket.
I truly believe that the e-cigarette is going to be to 2010 what pot was to 1967.
There is going to be a long, long period of legal maneuvers, attempted outlawing, or possible overall outlawing. This will be followed by decades of underground e-cig usage that keeps on getting more and more popular, and cannot be stamped out.
Finally after 40 years, there will be CAUTIOUS steps at the state level to SLOWLY make e-cigs legal with a prescription.
It's the way things are done here in America, folks. Get used to it.
There is going to be a long, long period of legal maneuvers, attempted outlawing, or possible overall outlawing. This will be followed by decades of underground e-cig usage that keeps on getting more and more popular, and cannot be stamped out.
Finally after 40 years, there will be CAUTIOUS steps at the state level to SLOWLY make e-cigs legal with a prescription.
It's the way things are done here in America, folks. Get used to it.
Funny. But in a not-so-funny way, true. The jack-booted soldiers probably are collecting IP addresses as we speak.
When I read the thread title, I thought, "instead of stocking up... we should start privately networking and making connections so that they'll be dealing with the biggest damned black market problem since bathtub gin."
(I'm a nice, law-abiding old lady with lilac trees and a cat on my lap. I think they'll probably win. And I don't plan on giving up what lifted me overnight out of a cigarette habit from hell.)
(I'm a nice, law-abiding old lady with lilac trees and a cat on my lap. I think they'll probably win. And I don't plan on giving up what lifted me overnight out of a cigarette habit from hell.)
For those vapers who were smokers and who's doctors have seen health improvements how about having a signed statement from your Dr to send to these reps organizations? If you're going to protest would make a good sign too.
I like where we are going with this black market, networking idea.
but somewhat disagree with the profit margins skyrocketing. unlike pot, theres nothing "fun" about vaping. its a healthier and more cost effective alternative to smoking. skyrocket price... and ur just left with nicotine mist on a stick.
at the rate we are vaping, it might just be cheaper to pay for the smokes and drugs.
but somewhat disagree with the profit margins skyrocketing. unlike pot, theres nothing "fun" about vaping. its a healthier and more cost effective alternative to smoking. skyrocket price... and ur just left with nicotine mist on a stick.
at the rate we are vaping, it might just be cheaper to pay for the smokes and drugs.
I'm from NY. My Attorney General is busy trying to figure out how to afford hiring 2,000 Federal agents in addition to 50% of the State Police so they can stage armed assaults on three Indian reservations and occupy them to stop the sale of tax-free cigarettes.
Same state that has the single highest cigarette tax in the entire country.
Same state that a recent audit discovered had spend precisely ZERO dollars of the Big Tobacco settlement money on health care or smoking cessation. Literally billions of dollars directly into the general coffer. After this was discovered, the Governor's response was to raise cigarette taxes again...THIS time he swears it's actually going to pay for TV ads.
So yeah. Good luck to the rest of you with the letters...
As for "going underground", the only thing that would need to be regularly supplied would be the e-liquid. Probably, underground labs would produce high-strength nicotine liquid and then you'd mix it at home.
The difference in price to the consumer between an all-out ban and FDA "regulation" is minimal. Both would involve a 100%-200% increase in price. The only difference would be which pack of criminals gets your money, same as with analogs.
If the FDA wants to make this a war, they'll start in with the high-powered government-funded disinformation soon. My guess would be it'll be the "Think of the Children!" approach, because that works really, really well in America. TV ads with little kids getting a drop of mommy or daddy's poorly secured e-liquid and dropping dead before whispering "Why?" to the camera. Or getting handed a 510 loaded with bubblegum e-liquid at the mall and "getting hooked".
This is the formula they use for twisting the public's mind into banning things. Historically, it has worked very well. Watch for it.
The difference in price to the consumer between an all-out ban and FDA "regulation" is minimal. Both would involve a 100%-200% increase in price. The only difference would be which pack of criminals gets your money, same as with analogs.
If the FDA wants to make this a war, they'll start in with the high-powered government-funded disinformation soon. My guess would be it'll be the "Think of the Children!" approach, because that works really, really well in America. TV ads with little kids getting a drop of mommy or daddy's poorly secured e-liquid and dropping dead before whispering "Why?" to the camera. Or getting handed a 510 loaded with bubblegum e-liquid at the mall and "getting hooked".
This is the formula they use for twisting the public's mind into banning things. Historically, it has worked very well. Watch for it.
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Addendum: If the FDA decides to ban vaping, they'll simply declare that all nicotine liquid over a certain concentration (ironically the same level used by Nicotrol and Nicorette) is hereby classified as a poison.
This would allow them to arrest any e-liquid dealer as a "purveyor of poisonous materials", same as if you sold cyanide, and give them lengthy jail sentences.
My guess is they won't even bother with the actual e-cigarettes, since they come in multiple components and (like the "water pipes" at head shops) can be used to vaporize many things. It's simply too easy to vilify the liquid itself.
This would allow them to arrest any e-liquid dealer as a "purveyor of poisonous materials", same as if you sold cyanide, and give them lengthy jail sentences.
My guess is they won't even bother with the actual e-cigarettes, since they come in multiple components and (like the "water pipes" at head shops) can be used to vaporize many things. It's simply too easy to vilify the liquid itself.
Aubergine, these are my thoughts exactly ! I've often felt it would be a good idea to know where the other vapers nearest to me are; we might really need each other one day ! (And I'm a not-so-young, law-abiding lady with cats too !)
LOL. Sounds like the high school scare-tactic movies of the 60s, or an episode of Dragnet circa 1967. Which makes me think of a comment I made in another thread:
If not 2010, then the next year, or the year after that... and of course just being sarcastic. Then I read your comment and thought, yeah knowing this country in the state it's in, I wouldn't be surprised.
Seriously, I don't think they would go to these lengths unless the e-cig becomes so popular it can't be stamped out by silence and ignorance alone (fast-track laws under public radar, kill off start-up distributors through incessant import blocking). It will have to be loudness and ignorance (public scare campaigns), if it comes to that.
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Being a distributor of e-cigs I am somewhat curious. There are so many of us in the United States now that if we were to contact our retailers selling these units, I am sure that most (if not all) of them would be more than willing to place a petition in their stores for their customers to sign. After all, as retailers they are going to be drastically effected by any legislation.
Speaking for ourselves we would be more than willing to contact our resellers (Approx. 282) and request this. Would any other sellers be willing to do the same? Together we may be able to get enough signatures to actually get someones attention.
Just a thought.....
Speaking for ourselves we would be more than willing to contact our resellers (Approx. 282) and request this. Would any other sellers be willing to do the same? Together we may be able to get enough signatures to actually get someones attention.
Just a thought.....
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