It is no secret that the vape industry is booming. Financial expectations of the industry predict that it will grow to a staggering $43 billion by 2023. The perception of e-cigarettes is changing worldwide, with the practice gaining more acceptance than traditional tobacco cigarettes. However, with any industry, there is bound to be regulation both at the state and federal level. Travelers need to know about the regulations affecting this industry. We will give a brief snapshot of e-cigarette regulation in this article.
Tobacco and e-cigarettes in the United States
Tobacco and e-cigarette products, including vape pens and portable vaporizers are regulated in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A few years ago, the FDA introduced regulations requiring that e-juices must undergo expensive testing to determine exactly what ingredients are placed into them. However, implementing the regulation was delayed from 2016 to 2021 for combustible products like cigars and until 2022 for non-combustible products like e-juices and e-cigarettes.
Several groups, including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Truth Initiative, American Academy of Pediatrics, Democracy Forward and several individual pediatricians are suing the FDA for this decision.
FDA statistics
According to the FDA, neither an e-juice manufacturer or an e-cigarette manufacturer may claim that their products are a “healthy alternative to smoking.” Additionally, they may not market their product as “containing less of an ingredient” or as being less likely to “cause smoking-related illness.”
A more recent piece of legislation, Submitted to Congress, is seeking to ban flavored vape juice or e-juice on the basis that this appeals to younger, possibly underage non-smokers. Legislators feel that there is evidence that young people who begin vaping will eventually move on to cigarettes, particularly in situations where, perhaps, their battery has died or their disposable e-cigarette has run out of flavor.
When it comes to state-by-state regulations, these can vary widely. Nationally, the age to purchase any tobacco product, including e-juice and vape hardware is 18. In New York, for example, vaping is prohibited where smoking is prohibited, which includes most restaurants and indoor public places. California has similar legislation. For a state-by-state look at e-cigarette regulations, including your own state, go here, and see this map for potential new laws:
International Considerations
Internationally, there are some 83 countries that have e-cigarette regulation. Forty-two of those countries, including the United States, have federal or national laws and decrees covering the e-cigarette industry. 11 of those countries use existing tobacco legislation to include vaping products and 8 countries have amended their existing tobacco regulations to include vape products. The other remaining countries have either combined existing legislation with new or amended legislation covering vaping products.
Vaping and the sale of vape products are banned in 21 countries, including Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, and Uruguay.
For a look at what legislation exists internationally regarding vaping, there is a good source located here.
If you vape and intend to travel, either nationally or internationally, it is a good idea to know the various state, federal, and national regulation concerning e-cigarettes. It is a widely changing industry, with both detractors and supporters. As we learn more about the health benefits and risks, expect the laws to change.
Author
Michael is a marketing and creative content specialist at GotVape.com with a primary focus on customer satisfaction. Technology and fitness combined with healthy lifestyle obsession are his main talking points.
About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.