The FDA is Why People Are Getting Hurt

[Cas002]

I haven't posted since May 2018 but now it's time.

I hate to say it, but I saw these health issues coming when they decided to go to war against teen vaping and ramped up regs, including making it very difficult for minors to obtain legal and semi-regulated nic products. I support changes to do this but there are unintended consequences the FDA should have been prepared for...and they weren't. The Black Market.

As investigations continue into the causes of these terrible health issues, which incidentally appear to have started after the last round of regs to prevent teen vaping, we will learn more about the common denominator in these cases. I suspect that counterfeit, low quality juices and pods are making their way to the streets...basically where kids can access it. Adults can just go to a shop or online, kids deal these pods in schools. I know because my son is a 10th grader and tells me all about it. Additionally, it wouldn't surprise me if China was the source of some of the counterfeits...they are masters at stealing IP without regard and quickly flooding the market with cheap alternatives and a history of poor safety standards (poison in dog food, dangerous baby products, etc.)...they have been doing it for years.

Unfortunately there has never been much wisdom in Washington DC and they are control freaks that want to dictate how we live our lives. Once a new reg is in place, it's often hard to unwind. However, in this case, I think it will end OK as long as they wait to see the evidence of what is causing this and start cracking down on the black market, the source of the illnesses IMO, although they should have started BEFORE the regs went into place.

There's going to be a bumpy road ahead to get to the destination but I think this will work itself out with an eventual solution that will reduce access for kids while giving adults the choices they need. Meanwhile, I have a few RTAs, plenty of different wire types and gauges to twist my claptons and lots of TFA melon flavors and 1mg nic 90/10 VG/PG...none of this stuff is going away soon so I'm not freaking out

Cas

 

[Rossum]

I'm afraid it's not really the FDA or their crack-down on under-age nicotine vapes, although it certainly has the potential to cause a similar situation.

Of the roughly 500 cases of "vape-related" lung problems so far, something like 85% of them have admitted that they weren't just vaping nicotine; that they were in fact vaping MJ extracts. As these are still outright illegal on the federal level, they are not under the FDA's purview at all. Moreover, the MJ extract crowd has this notion that higher viscosity product is more pure/potent, and within the last 6-8 months, a new, odorless, tasteless thickener based on vitamin E acetate was introduced into the market as a cutting agent. Now MJ extracts are legal for recreational use in about 1/4 of the states, but the states that have legalized it tend to tax it heavily, so the "informal market" stuff is cheaper (generally by about half).

Anyway, it really doesn't seem to have anything to do with nicotine vapes, but it's certainly being used as an utterly counter-productive excuse to restrict them even more.

 

[zoiDman]

...

Of the roughly 500 cases of "vape-related" lung problems so far, something like 85% of them have admitted that they weren't just vaping nicotine; that they were in fact vaping MJ extracts. ...

And of those remaining 15% or so, I wonder How Many were using THC, and just Didn't want to Admit It?

 

[stols001]

Hate to be cynical here, but I wouldn't want to admit it either, just think of being part of that large, class-action lawsuit that is on its way, named: "Children breaking the law to get rewarded for doing so,."

That is like, the best participation trophy EVER if you ask me.

One of the reasons I never allowed my kid to accept one. Heh. I could take the hate of the other moms JUST fine.

Anna

 

[CMD-Ky]

Hate to be cynical here, but I wouldn't want to admit it either, just think of being part of that large, class-action lawsuit that is on its way, named: "Children breaking the law to get rewarded for doing so,."

That is like, the best participation trophy EVER if you ask me.

One of the reasons I never allowed my kid to accept one. Heh. I could take the hate of the other moms JUST fine.

Anna

Agree and funny.