Reynolds introduces Vuse / Could e-cigarettes sales surpass traditional cigarettes?

[Bill Godshall]

Reynolds introduces new vapor product Vuse
Big tobacco lights up new e-cigarette - YouTube

Bonnie Herzog on Fox Business: Could e-cigarettes sales surpass traditional cigarettes?
Could E-Cigarettes Sales Surpass Traditional Cigarettes? | Fox Business Video

Am concerned that RJ Reynolds and Bonnie Herzog are now saying that they and the industry "expect" the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes (as I've repeatedly informed Reynolds and Herzog that the FDA deeming regulation would ban all e-cigs that weren't on the market prior to Feb. 15, 2007, unless it is Substantially Equivalent to a product on the market at that time).

But since Reynolds is now touting Vuse as having new "new technology" that makes it better than other e-cig brands on the market, the FDA can simply cite Reynolds' promo for Vuse in rejecting any Substantial Equivalent application submitted by Reynolds for Vuse.

 

[Petrodus]

I suggest the FDA won't attempt to ban e-cigs that weren't on the market prior to Feb. 15, 2007
simply because such attempts will not be enforceable. I suggest the FDA is simply putting off
any attempts to regulate because they don't want to deal with opening Pandora's box
and the HUGE negative PR backlashes from the e-cig community...Not to speak of the public
ignoring such over-reaches of government intrusions (yet again) in our lives.

I was joking with a friend recently ...
Told him we should declare the e-cig movement as a conservative right wing movement
and put the word out the government is unfairly targeting us ... That would make everyone
back-off and rethink everything before continuing their attacks.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Ad Age article

R.J. Reynolds Returns to TV to Advertise 'Digital Vapor' Cigarette
R.J. Reynolds Back on TV With 'Digital Vapor' Cigarette | Media - Advertising Age

 

[Bill Godshall]

Petrodus wrote

I suggest the FDA is simply putting off any attempts to regulate because they don't want to deal with opening Pandora's box and the HUGE negative PR backlashes from the e-cig community.

I suggest that the FDA has been delaying the issuing of the "deeming" regulation and additional regulations on e-cigs because they don't want to lose in federal court again. Every time the agency thought it had a foolproof regulation drafted, I and others pointed out legal ramifications that the FDA lawyers failed to consider.

The agency doesn't give a damn about the criticisms by the vaping community.

While I suspect the FDA will extend the 2007 grandfather date to 2013 or 2014 to avoid losing a lawsuit (and to appease the large e-cigarette companies currently in the market), once Mitch Zeller thinks his draft regs will withstand legal challenges, the agency will propose them ASAP.

 

[AttyPops]

It's "just" one more e-cig. That's good. The "problem" is....if they lock out internet sales and force everyone into pre-filled carts with proprietary connectors.

You can make an e-cig (well, many can). It's all about the nic. And BT is big on regulation that favors them and their distribution channels.

So +1 to them for getting into the market. Raises awareness even more. Not a bad looking product either.
-1 on no juice-quality info
-1 on sponsoring regulation to cut out internet sales (particularly of the nic).
-1 $3.00 per carto.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Next Tuesday, Philip Morris will reveal its plans (or at least some of its plans) for beginning to market e-cigarettes.

So be prepared for the antis to respond by launching a stepped up PR/lobbying war against e-cigs.

From now on, e-cigs will be referred to by e-cig prohibitonists as
"Big tobacco's new ploy to addict children, prevent smokers from quitting, and evade smokefree laws."

Within a year, most Americans will probably believe that PM, Reynolds and Lorillard invented e-cigs.

 

[Bill Godshall]

NY Post article on Vuse
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/smokes_no_joke_eMoafwVuIyWd0QN1M9b1kJ

 

[Bill Godshall]

AP article on Vuse (probably written by Felberbaum, but it didn't say)
Reynolds American launching revamped e-cigarette - Richmond Times Dispatch: Tobacco-industry

 

[AttyPops]

Yeah, but you, or I or anyone could start an e-cig company. I can't fault BT for making e-cigs. I can fault them for all other actions that cut out the other players though. So sponsoring legislation that kills internet juice sales = bad.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Please note that the bills introduced by Reynolds in OK, RI, NC, SC would not have banned Internet sales of any e-cigs, but rather would require 3rd party age verification service prior to purchases, and would require a state tobacco license to sell them.

 

[Petrodus]

Money Talks and the rest including the FDA walks

I suggest the FDA can play any game they wish ...
However, the e-cig movement around the world will
find the "work arounds" and continue to thrive (period)

The E-cig movement is NOT confined to areas the FDA
can effectively regulate. Its an electronic hobby revolution
and will continue to evolve regardless of what "Mommie FDA" says.

We here on the ECF only represent a TINY TINY TINY portion of the movement.
Smokers are switching to e-smoking every day by the thousands !!!
The e-smoking public demands and will get what they want and that is
products that will continue to evolve over time. E-cigarettes and MODs are
here to stay.

E-smokers around the world are NOT going to buckle down and go with the FDA's
limits on products ... NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. The FDA simply can't shut down or
control an enormously enthusiastic popular world-wide e-smoking electronic hobby.

In other words ... The FDA can just go suck eggs.
The world is not going to accept only high priced e-cigs with pre-filled carts
sold only in stores ... The hobby will drive the market ... MILLIONS of Dollars
to be made satisfying the Hobby and Money Talks and the Rest Walks !!

There will always be "mainstream" consumers buying cig-a-ikes in stores
with pre-filled carts...However, the hobbyist will drive the market for
those who want more.

I sense the public has just about had it with the government and its agencies
sticking their over-reaching noses in the public's private lives including telling us
what we can and can't do.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Wall St. Journal article
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20130606-709150.html

 

[Bill Godshall]

Winston Salem Journal article
R.J. Reynolds expanding e-cigarettes to Colorado market - Winston-Salem Journal: Local

 

[Bill Godshall]

Business Journal article
Reynolds American subsidiary begins national launch of e-cig - Greensboro - The Business Journal

 

[DC2]

The agency doesn't give a damn about the criticisms by the vaping community.

Bill, I thought I remembered you saying previously that our 5,000+ comments on the FDA website had some effect on them?

 

[Bill Godshall]

Perhaps the best article yet from the Gothamist (as it discusses potential of FDA reg)
http://gothamist.com/2013/06/07/camels_new_e-cigarette.php

But he shifts into scripted legalese when I ask him about how his company is preparing for potential FDA regulations: "We look forward to interacting with the FDA as they promulgate rules and regulations for the market...If anybody can meet product standards, we can."

FDA spokeswoman Jennifer Haliski confirmed that the proposed rule—which could stipulate a wide variety of regulations, from how much nicotine e-cigs can dispense, to what flavors can be sold, to whether they can be marketed on TV, etc.—had not been published yet because it was "still in process," and declined to elaborate on the delay.

Jeff Stier, who studies public health issues for The National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, said he was impressed with the unveiling but acknowledged that it was "optimistic" of the Reynolds executives to think their product would escape FDA regulation relatively unscathed.

"Consumer demand drives innovation, but e-cigs are like a moving target—you want to meet consumer demand, but we just don't know what the FDA will do. We're in uncharted territory." Stier, whose think tank receives a small portion of its funding from Reynolds and other large tobacco companies, doesn't buy the argument that e-cigarettes could potentially start a whole new nicotine culture with kids who see smoke and think "cool."

"The irony is that a tobacco company is selling a product that could help more people effectively quit, and the government is standing in the way," Stier says, referencing the inability of e-cig companies to extoll the benefits of electronic cigarettes over traditional ones. "I believe the marketplace can do a better job than the government on the issue of public health."

 

[AttyPops]

Business Journal article
Reynolds American subsidiary begins national launch of e-cig - Greensboro - The Business Journal

But the Reynolds team developed a product whose cartridge includes a microchip that counts the number of puffs taken and ensures a consistent vapor.

“A cartridge is designed to equal a pack of cigarettes, which is about 200 puffs,” he said. “We want to make sure that the consumer gets consistent quality across all 200 puffs.”

The carto has a microchip in it. Counting puffs. If that article is correct.
(red bolding added by me)

It MAY mean you can't refill it too. IDK. We'll have to see.

 

[Talyon]

200 puffs = 1 pack of smokes LMAO, I do 200 puffs in a hour or 3.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Here is Reynolds' press release on Vuse
http://files.shareholder.com/downlo..._Co_bringing_VUSE_digital_vapor_cig_to_CO.pdf

 

[Petrodus]