Since Nicotine can be sourced from other plants in the Nightshade family....

[darkstorm]

Could not a lot of the litigation and FDA control be removed if manufacturers of Nic concentrates sourced their nicotine from something other than tobacco? Its not found in as high quantities in eggplant, tomatoes and dozens of other common veggies but it could theoretically be done. If its not tobacco the FDA would lose any explicit control over the industry.

 

[rolygate]

Yes, this is true. However tobacco is one of the cheapest plants to grow, and produces nicotine at up to 9% of the weight of the plant. Those two factors together make it an unbeatable source of nicotine - which equates to price. The only other commercially viable source of nicotine is an Australian plant, and if that source is used the cost of the nicotine would most likely increase by a factor of at least ten. Using lower-yield plants like aubergine would raise the cost of nicotine even more.

There is also another legal avenue the FDA would then explore: that the equipment could be used to consume a tobacco product, since that was what it was designed for in the first place.

 

[Ande]

In any case- regulations on pharmaceutical nicotine are not dependant on the source. As is, there's a good chance the "tobacco product" category may stick.

If it were "alternative" source nicotine, I think we'd actually be more likely to see a "drug/delivery device" combination stick.

And that would be worse.

Best,
Ande

 

[DC2]

Yeah, good point Ande, nicotine is protected right now precisely because it is from tobacco.

If it were from a source other than tobacco it would almost certainly become a drug.
They might even classify it as a controlled substance.

 

[Bill Godshall]

A European company rep told me that they are now making a nicotine product from eggplant, which is probably the most viable and least costly source of nicotine other than tobacco.

But tobacco remains the most viable and economical source of nicotine.

 

[scinsc]

Entheology.org - Preserving Ancient Knowledge

 

[Ande]

And the question in my mind remains- WHY do they insist on all sorts of tomfoolery to prevent us from using tobacco (nicotine derived from it) in OUR way, when it's still perfectly legal for us to use the same drug THEIR way (cigarettes, NRT.)

The money trail is not hard to find.

Ande

 

[Vocalek]

And the question in my mind remains- WHY do they insist on all sorts of tomfoolery to prevent us from using tobacco (nicotine derived from it) in OUR way, when it's still perfectly legal for us to use the same drug THEIR way (cigarettes, NRT.)

The money trail is not hard to find.

Ande

Not all of the ANTZ are part of the money-making scheme. There are folks I have talked with who honestly believe that complete abstinence from nicotine equates to "harm elimination." They refuse to believe that switching to less hazardous sources would have any measurable positive impact on public health. They also refuse to believe that nicotine has any beneficial effects for anyone. They cite studies that show the opposite effect (nicotine causes depression, causes cognitive impairments, etc.) even though the authors themselves of such studies state that there is no definitive answer as of yet.

Example:

Similarly, smoking cessation may be associated with a reduction in depression symptom score in some individuals, but not others, while relapse may be associated with an increase in some and no change or even a decrease in others.

Importantly, our data provide support for both causal and confounding models of the relationship between depression and cigarette smoking, and suggest that the strength, nature, and direction of causation may differ across the trajectories that we identified.

Link to Abstract: Smoking patterns during pregnancy and postnatal period and depressive symptoms

http://ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/11/1609.full.pdf+html

 

[VapApe]

This why you cant confuse a fanatic with facts, they have their minds made up.
There is the right way, MY way and every other way is the wrong way.