Where is the alarm for candy flavored alcohol?

[Baditude]

The proposed FDA ban of e-liquid flavors because candy, fruit, desert or other sweet flavors appealing to children has me ...... off. Adults like these flavors too. The powers that be don't seem very concerned that the same flavors are in alcoholic adult beverages. WHERE IS THE ALARM? Seems pretty hypocritical of our government to pick on the vaping industry and not the alcohol industry for doing the same thing.

Adults should keep e-liquids out of reach of their children. Vendors need to do a better job of keeping e-liquids out of minor's hands and check ID's. Adults who purchase alcohol or e-liquids for minors should be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

We already have enough laws and regulations that are supposed to keep danger out of minors' hands. We only need better enforcement of those laws.

I sincerely hope every member on this message board filled out the Flavors Ban Poll!

 

[Topwater Elvis]

The attack on vaping isn't actually about flavors or anything besides money, the cry wolf phrases of 'flavors are to attract / appeal to kids' is used just to garner emotional reactions & support from the weak minded.

It was, is & always will be about the tobacco MSA & reduction in tobacco related illnesses, both create huge decreases in the money stream.

 

[Letitia]

Absolut Mandarin is pretty good. Right now the FDA is trying to get juice makers to change the labels. If these companies follow thru I believe the FDA will back down on the flavors. Whether the state and city governments do is a bigger issue I think.

 

[bwh79]

*Shhh!* I think it's good for us. We can just say our flavors aren't "candy" flavored, they're "candy-flavored-vodka" flavored. That's clearly not marketed towards children, as it's modeled after an alcoholic beverage which is marketed only to adults.

 

[bwh79]

I sincerely hope every member on this message board filled out the Flavors Ban Poll!

I mainly use unflavored, and would not go back to smoking if the few flavors I do use were no longer available. I'm not sure I helped the cause by answering honestly.

 

[Baditude]

I'm not sure I helped the cause by answering honestly.

I have two email addresses, so I filled out two polls. The first one I answered honestly. After giving that more thought, I answered a second poll and swayed my answers to be more flavor-friendly to help our cause.

 

[Letitia]

I have two email addresses, so I filled out two polls. The first one I answered honestly. After giving that more thought, I answered a second poll and swayed my answers to be more flavor-friendly to help our cause.

Shame you did that. They were very clear about not wanting scewed answers that could affect the viability of the survey.

 

[Baditude]

Shame you did that. They were very clear about not wanting scewed answers that could affect the viability of the survey.

I'm not clear how they could tell I answered the poll twice. Like I said, two different emails with different poll results.

I'm not optimistic that it makes any difference. I believe the FDA already had its mind made up to do whatever they plan to do, based on how they have ignored every piece of scientific facts provided to them to this point.

 

[mackman]

The persuasion of a powerful Lobby on the oh so easily influenced legislators

 

[untar]

The proposed FDA ban of e-liquid flavors because candy, fruit, desert or other sweet flavors appeal to children has me ...... off. Adults like these flavors too.

That's why "marketed to children" is only a thing of the press and talking to the public in general.
If I understand it correctly the FDA doesn't have the power to tell manufacturers what to put on their labels (except 30% reserved for warnings). Behind the scenes it's very probable the FDA alerted the FTC to trademark violations (saw the FTC guy on the image with Scott Gottlieb?) and trademark violations is what it's all about.

Looking at the warning letters without exception only companies were warned about their juice that have labels pretty much copy/pasted or at least heavily inspired from known food product brands, which leads me to believe the trademark issue is the real one and the "children" are just sophistry and smoke walls.

Is there "captn crunch" or "oreo" vodka without permission from the trademark owner?

 

[zoiDman]

The proposed FDA ban of e-liquid flavors because candy, fruit, desert or other sweet flavors appeal to children has me ...... off. Adults like these flavors too. The powers that be don't seem very concerned that the same flavors are in alcoholic adult beverages. WHERE IS THE ALARM? Seems pretty hypocritical of our government to pick on the vaping industry and not the alcohol industry for doing the same thing.

I sincerely hope every member on this message board filled out the Flavors Ban Poll!

Alcohol is Taxed both on the State and the Federal Level.

U.S. - alcohol tax revenue, 2000 to 2022 | Forecast

And Everyone knows that things that bring in Ginormous Tax Revenues get more lenient treatment than those that Don't.

And in an Election Year, are you Really going to Piss Off an Adult Beverage PAC(s)?

 

[untar]

Here are some of the labels and claimed-to-be-imitated food packaging from the warning letters

Some are arguably ripped off designs, some are at least close and the intent to invoke a certain association is clear. I think for the vapeheads and juice box the FTC would have a good chance to sue for infringing on trademark, the other two may be ambiguous.

 

[untar]

Absolut Mandarin is pretty good.

His post was meant to be about flavors and vaping, not as a suggestion for your personal bar yer brandy blossom

 

[ScottP]

The flavored alcohol contradiction has been been mentioned probably a hundred times on this forum. The same could be said of toothpaste which hospitalizes hundreds of children each year and yet no one says a word. Possibly even worse is FD&C Red 40 food dye which is listed as a "highly probable carcinogen", has been linked to ADD and ADHD, and is used in all sorts of products marketed towards kids from candy to red sodas, and especially in breakfast cereals. It would be hard to claim FD&C Red 40 isn't being targeted toward kids when products using it have slogans like "Trix are for KIDS!".

 

[zoiDman]

Here are some of the labels and claimed-to-be-imitated food packaging from the warning letters

Some are arguably ripped off designs, some are at least close and the intent to invoke a certain association is clear. I think for the vapeheads and juice box the FTC would have a good chance to sue for infringing on trademark, the other two may be ambiguous.

What is referred to above is Really a Separate Issue than what Bad is Ticked about.

Because the FDA Warning Letters that were sent Really Didn't have to do with a "Flavor" being marketed to Children. ie: Need for a Flavor Ban.

It was with regards to the Packaging being Too Similar to what a Child might see as a Consumable Product.

 

[ScottP]

It was with regards to the Packaging being Too Similar to what a Child might see as a Consumable Product.

I would argue that with the number of children that are hospitalized every year from consuming bleach, Comet, Windex, and other household cleaners, that kids consider pretty much everything a "consumable product". The key is parents should be responsible for keeping such items out of their children's reach. This includes eliquid.

 

[untar]

They may be legally separate but they're certainly not treated that way when it comes to propaganda.
The label issue was also sold as "marketing to children" when really it's trademark issues behind the scenes.
Next they'll take that "marketing to children" from the packaging to argue for flavor bans even though it wasn't about the children.

 

[IgnorantCig]

Many people will have died worldwide from alcohol related causes by the time that I am finished writing this short post.

And in the same time, many lives will have possibly been saved today by all those people who decide to begin vaping and quit their cigs today.

It's a good thing that we have these genius politicians and nanny state, wanna-be dictators in making looking out for us and deciding that they should regulate and dictate what adults are allowed to do in this country. Land of the free? Any politician who wishes to curtail vaping would fit right in with the Taliban, in my humble opinion.

If they got their way, then soon virtually all good flavors will be banned and the only flavors left for us to vape will be things like Fish and dirty gym socks.

What a disgusting bunch of characters.

 

[untar]

Many people will have died worldwide from alcohol related causes by the time that I am finished writing this short post.

Oh god would you please just stop writing then

What a disgusting bunch of characters.

For a long while there was a moderate amount of ideologues in politics but I have the impression that it's creeping in strongly for about 2 decades and we should brace ourselves. It's a cultural war about freedoms.
Maybe I'm mistaken and generalize too much but that's how I see it atm and it's not restricted to just one western country either.

 

[Eskie]

Some are arguably ripped off designs, some are at least close and the intent to invoke a certain association is clear. I think for the vapeheads and juice box the FTC would have a good chance to sue for infringing on trademark, the other two may be ambiguous.

Just to clarify, in the US, and I would assume elsewhere with similar agencies, enforcement of any trademark or copyright infringement falls to the owner of the trademark, not the FTC. The FTC will only enforce issues relating to false and misleading advertising and misleading labeling. Redi Whip would have to send a cease and desist letter to whoever ripped off the Redi Whip can design. The FTC can can go after them for making a person believe that is really whipped cream instead of e juice.

I do have to say the fruit juice box packaging that looks like Apple juice or something you'd throw in your kid's lunch box does not fill me with childish nostalgia. There were no juice boxes when I was a kid, so I miss the point of even offering e juice in them to appeal to adults. That's not a flavoring issue, it's a flat out bad idea by whoever sells that stuf.