Thank you for all the comments that came before mine. I found it an interesting read. Informative at times.
I came to ECF tonight looking for this type of thread specifically. It has helped catch me up on FDA/regulation stuff with regards to the legal
vaping market.
I would note that prior to coming to ECF, I placed an order this evening for typical products that I get: batteries, eLiquid, clearos. Other than eLiquid vendor, I didn't get impression that all that much had changed. But as it is eLiquid vendor with (previously) 15 million flavor offerings, it was certainly noticeable that something has changed.
Now allow me to ramble....
As some reading this know, I used to be regular here that posted often in threads dealing with FDA and regulations. I've been
vaping since 2010. I still do not DIY and never really have (at level most of you do, daily). But in the past decade, I've vaped non-stop, at 18 mg. I continue to be keenly interested in vaping advocacy, but less so than about 3 years ago, and before that. I recall before 2016 elections claiming on ECF that vaping politics would be a big deal for US national elections. Then getting into online argument on the thread with someone that denied this, denied the idea that vaping would be seen as anything of consequence for national elections. Here in 2020, it is clear to me that person was right. Sort of.
I think the upcoming elections will determine how long the legal market will be whatever it is currently. Basically, sellers have a year's grace to get PMTA approved. As you all have discussed extensively in this thread. But as some have noted, it seems rather preposterous to assume FDA will be done in 1 year or less with their process. Possible for sure, but I agree with those who see it as unlikely. If election goes one way, I do think all states and TPTB will do as much squeezing of legal market as they can. If the election goes the other way, I think all that will be on hold, or again whatever we have going on now. For sure some states are squeezing the heck out of the legal market already. No point in denying that.
But the upcoming elections have almost nothing to do with vaping market, nor concerns. One thing about stepping away from ECF is you do fully realize how very little the politics around vaping matter. All the speculation about what FDA could mean, might mean, surely mean in their latest release is entertaining, but it seems to miss the mark on what really matters in terms of legal vaping industry. In the scheme of things that has been the year of 2020, I truly can't imagine anyone in national politics who thinks of vaping as anything of importance. Trivial concern is the way I'd put it. From vaper perspective, I fully get how it is BFD. I think it truly helps knowing a whole lot of PMTA's have been applied for and that FDA has continuously moved at a snail's pace on the vaping issue. I can still recall discussions from 2013 in online forums (here and elsewhere), in which it was 'quite certain' that within 3 years (from 2013) at the very very most, all products would be removed from the market. Argue against that and you were dead wrong for having no clue on how this works. It's now 4 years beyond that, and I think it'll be at least 5 years beyond that until it's truly a significant concern.
That's not to say there is no reason to be concerned. For at least the last 3 years of my vaping, I've grown in my level of concern. I imagine I could grow significantly more if the election goes a certain way. But I think it does come down to that, at this moment. If FDA is not under a certain party's control, I think things will continue to show up as moving rather slowly to get to that point where it's really hard to find many vaping products on the legal market.
I will note that 2 of the vendors I ordered from didn't have information (front and center) regarding them filing for PMTA. Given the way this thread has transpired, and what was being said in August 2020, it seems like Sept. 9th wasn't treated as enormous deal. For sure by some vendors, but also for sure by whatever enforcement was thought to surely occur post 9/9/20. The other vendor I ordered from, PMTA was front and center information and their sense of confidence surely gave me some confidence in their future. I for sure realize they may be way off base in their confidence for successful market authorization. But again, given how this thread transpired, and knowing it's 30 days after the 'big deadline' strikes me as that deadline was more like yet another signpost along the way.
In summary, I definitely think there is many reasons to be concerned. I think the upcoming election will be huge determining factor of the legal vaping market. I am pleased so many sellers have filed an enormous amount of paperwork with the FDA. And I'm glad to not be caught up anymore in the daily speculation of FDA-vaping concerns. I still think that is interesting, and at times, informative reading, but a lot of what is conveyed turns out to be, not all that accurate. Here's hoping vaping trumps antz now and on November 4th and beyond.
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