Real 3rd party testing - Policing ourselves

[N rustica]

I'm trying to form an intelligent opinion about how the e-liquid industry can police itself before something really bad happens.

When I heard that some e-liquid companies do 3rd party testing, I wrongly assumed it was done on a random retail level. Most 3rd party testing is just the company submitting their own sample to a contract lab of their choosing. The results aren't made public unless they approve.

Independent test organization - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Are we going to wait for the FDA to do this for us?

I'm educating myself about what the TVECA is doing about this and any proposed standards they may have. Aren't most of their member companies those that make pre-filled cartridges? Do they have a political bent toward that?

An hour with The TVECA 02/20 by kevbow | Blog Talk Radio

A trade group representing the e-liquid section of the business may prevent the consumer and the industry from being outlawed any further. A consumer ratings group could also do it, perhaps a trade group is out of this argument/proposal.

Smart people on ECF caused a company to recall their faulty product last year. The mishap was in November, what has happened since then? Perhaps ECF members can unite with other popular e-cig forum members and make this happen.

 

[rolygate]

Yes, it would certainly be far better if the trade organized to create standards and/or self-policing. But, realistically, this does not happen without intense pressure on them to do so. It has happened in the UK because they were forced to organize in the face of a ban. As a result, the UK now has the best-organized trade association and the best self-created standards - and now the government would have a very difficult time going to law to ban ecigs.

The TVECA is a conflicted organization because they exist strictly to promote the beginner models we call a mini - and only those that consist of 2-piece units. They will promote those interests to the exclusion of all other parts of the trade. Therefore they are not a trade association as such, they are a group that represents certain interests within the trade.

In terms of the products, they represent way less than 5% of the product out there. In terms of the turnover, they may well have 90% of it or more, because the newcomer market is vast.

In they end, they will work against the interests of the trade as a whole. One view is that it's better they exist than not, because they will certainly use their resources to protect the viability of ecigs. But as the situation matures, they will be a negative, since they will end up working with government agencies against the rest of the trade. TVECA will happily see everything except minis with sealed cartos and tobacco-only flavors banned - as that is what their business model is based on. In fact you might say that their products could easily be re-labelled as medical products, with very little alteration except to the packaging. These are not long-term consumer products with a good range of consumer choice. Polls show only 8% of long-term vapers use this type of product - 92% would be excluded if some form of regulatory system were to be based around the TVECA style of product.

As far as the consumer is concerned, they are a double-edged sword - currently useful, but a massive negative in the long term. The US needs a real trade association, not one that exists to help one section at the expense of the rest.