E-Cigerattes just barely saved from bad law

http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/19/v...mittee-passes-amendment-to-save-e-cigarettes/

E-Cigarettes just barely saved from Congressional Idiots who were trying to end one of the most successful endeavors ever for people trying to quit tobacco. You really have to watch what Congress is doing, the 20 years in prison that you might be doing one of these days because of some idiot law like this that was stopped at the last minute without people even knowing about it. Watch these people in Congress, they think they have a license to steal and they money they are stealing is your tax dollars.


The House Appropriations Committee passed an amendment Tuesday that could save 99 percent of e-cigarette products from prohibition.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to announce its so-called “deeming” regs, which would require all e-cigarette products that came on the market after February 15, 2007 (predicate date), to go through the onerous Pre-Market Tobacco Application (PMTA) process — which could cost millions of dollars per product.

Since almost all vapor products on the market were released after February 2007, hardly any would avoid a PMTA and almost no businesses, with the exception of major tobacco companies, would be able to bear the regulatory burden.

Only one product in the last six years has passed the PMTA, according to House Appropriations chairman Rep. Robert Aderholt 
55%
. (RELATED: One Imminent FDA Regulation Could Wipe Out 10 Years Of E-Cigarette Innovation)

“The agency’s economic analysis of the rule predicts that the cost of such approvals will be so high that approximately 99 percent of products on the market will not even be put through the application process,” says the American Vaping Association (AVA).

But the House Appropriations Committee delivered a much-needed win for vapers by passing an amendment which would change the predicate date for vapor products.

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Introduced by GOP Rep. Tom Cole 
40%
and Democrat Rep. Sanford Bishop, the amendment passed by 31-19 despite the protestations of Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz 
4%
.

“Unlike the US Food and Drug Administration, which is rumored to issue one-size-fits-all regulation of e-cigarettes as tobacco products as early as this month, the majority of members of the Appropriations Committee clearly understand that vapor products represent the first game-changing technology in the ongoing campaign to reduce cigarette smoking,” said Tony Abboud, the Vapor Technology Association’s national legislative director.

“Vapor products provide a healthier alternative to tobacco cigarettes for adult consumers, and by voting to approve the Cole/Bishop amendment today, members of the committee have taken a necessary step to ensure that these life-changing products remain on the market,” Abboud said.

“We are pleased to see the House Appropriations Committee has adopted an amendment to the agriculture bill that would change the predicate date for vapor products under FDA deeming regulations,” said the Smoke-Free Alternative Trade Association (SFATA).

“SFATA will continue to work hard behind the scenes to make sure the language on the predicate date is not changed and is passed by both the House and Senate.”

The committee’s decision doesn’t mean the amendment is law. It will now have the chance to go forward as part of an appropriations bill and be voted on in the House of Representatives.

Exploding e-cigs will soon be subject to regulatory oversight
The booming e-cig market has been largely unregulated

By Christina Vazquez - Reporter
Posted: 5:52 AM, May 18, 2016


PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - As the e-cigarette market grew in popularity, so did calls for oversight and regulation following reports from across the country of e-cigs exploding or catching fire.

From January 2015 to January 2016, scientists from the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products have identified 66 reports of e-cigs overheating, catching fire or exploding.

Dr. Carl Schulman of the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Burn Center said those numbers are probably only scratching the surface of what has become a new phenomenon.

Related link: http://surgery.med.miami.edu/burns/

"Locally we’ve seen several patients in the last couple of months who have had burns from electronic cigarettes, particularly exploding and catching fire in their clothing," said Shulman. "If it is just in their clothing, and they are not using it, then their clothing is catching fire and they are get a bad flame burn where that is, and our two patients actually needed surgery for their burns and if they are actually using it at the time it explodes there have been some reports of actual explosions so they get a blast injury and they catch fire."

The stories are harrowing. There’s a woman in New York who suffered third-degree burns to her leg after an e-cig caught fire in her pocket while driving; and dramatic surveillance video at a Kentucky gas station caught the moment an e-cig sparked and burst into flames in a customer’s pocket.

In the case of Florida resident Evan Spahlinger, the e-cig he was using exploded. His Fort Lauderdale-based attorney, John Uustal said it burst “into flames in his face, causing him to inhale flames, smoke, and scorching hot air,” and forced him into a medically-induced coma, Uustal filed a product liability lawsuit against Vaping American Made Products LLC, a foreign limited liability company; and Naples, Florida-based Vaping Station LLC.

Company owners and representatives never responded to repeated requests from Local 10 News for a statement about the pending lawsuit.

Uustal said for his client, the explosion and subsequent injuries were like “a nightmare”.

Spahlinger suffered from severe burns on his face and neck with severe internal injuries to his lungs, esophagus and mouth. Luckily Spahlinger survived and is now recovering from his injuries. “I was shocked knowing how burned he was, how good he looks,” said Uustal. “It is a miracle.”

He believes manufacturers and retailers have failed to adequately warn consumers of the potential safety risks and product design defects, “when you buy an e-cigarette nobody says you might be blowing your face off so you must be very careful.”

What is causing e-cig batteries to explode?

According to a 2014 U.S. Fire Administration report most incidents of e-cigs exploding or catching fire occurred while the battery was charging.

“The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like “flaming rockets” when a battery fails,” explained the report. “Using power sources not approved by the manufacturer to recharge a lithium-ion battery can result in an explosion and fire.”

“It is a relatively new phenomenon. I guess it is in the same trend as all the lithium-ion battery-type devices that are sometimes catching fire and exploding and we are seeing that with e-cigarettes as well,” said Dr. Schulman. “Don't interchange the devices. Some of these injuries have occurred because people are using different batteries and different chargers and that is causing electrical problems and they are catching fire and exploding.”

“The device has no ventilation,” explained Uustal. “You think about a hoverboard catching fire that's not great, it is a bad situation, but if you put that in a small cylinder that has only two weak ends, one of those ends is going to blow off if the battery explodes and one of those ends is pointed at someone's face.”

The 2014 U.S. Fire Administration report goes on to say the devices’ lithium-ion batteries can fail, and noted a need for continued improvements in battery safety designs.

“If the person designing this e-cigarette cared at all for the safety of the user,” said Uustal; “there would be ventilation in the battery compartment, there would be a weak spot on the end that's facing away from the user so that if something went wrong it would explode out.”

The 2014 report also noted that, “no regulation, code or law applies to the safety of the electronics or batteries in e-cigarettes. While many consumer products are required to be tested by a nationally recognized test laboratory, such as UL, there are no requirements that e-cigarettes be subjected to product safety testing.”

In the vacuum of that regulatory oversight, sales of e-cigs soared.

NEW FEDERAL OVERSIGHT:

In May of 2016, the FDA finalized a rule to extend its regulatory power over e-cigs.

They will be looking at the ingredients, marketing and product design.

A recent FDA/CDC survey found e-cig use by high school kids is up a whopping 900% since 2011.

FDA/CDC Recent Survey

E-cig use amount high school students up 900% since 2011.

2015: 16%

2011: 1.5%

Before this month’s move by the FDA, there was no federal law prohibiting retailers from selling e-cigs to minors.

Now you will have to be 18 years old and prove it with a photo ID in order to buy an e-cigarette.

An FDA spokesman tells Local 10 News that new rule takes effect this August.

“We have more to do to help protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, especially our youth. As cigarette smoking among those under 18 has fallen, the use of other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, has taken a drastic leap. All of this is creating a new generation of Americans who are at risk of addiction,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell.

While Uustal thinks the new regulations are a step in the right direction, he believes those who make and sell e-cigs should have done more to warn consumers of the potential safety risks and should be held accountable for failures in product safety testing.

“These devices are prone to explode even if the user does everything right,” Uustal told the Call Christina team. “If you are designing a device that with a lithium-ion battery that might explode; and create a flaming rocket right into someone's face you have a certain responsibility when you are making money off these products, to include safety measures. It is not a question of if they are going to get burned, and the day is coming when the first person is going to die and we can prevent that and so we should.”

The Department of Transportation recently banned the devices from carry-on luggage due to the potential safety risk.

“We know from recent incidents that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous. Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent safety measure.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation banned e-cigarettes from checked baggage Thursday.

Passengers and crewmembers will also be prohibited "from charging these devices and their batteries on board the aircraft. However, these devices may continue to be carried in carry-on baggage."

"Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous, and a number of recent incidents have shown that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent and important safety measure."

truth is, for every person who quits tobacco, governments lose thousands of dollars in taxes per individual, and big tobacco loses the revenue they glean from an addict.

I can't remember what the taxes in Canada are on a pack of players light cigarettes but they are well over 10.00 cnd per pack of 20.
so every person who switches from tobacco to an ecig is costing government and big tobacco thousands in lost revenue per year and 10's of thousands over a lifetime.

bic lighters were reportedly exploding on people way back in the 80's and yet they are an every day item in life still, decades later.