First the US Food and Drug Administration banned virtually all traditional vape products…now it turns its attention to synthetic nicotine vapes too.
President Joe Biden has dealt a devastating blow to the US vape industry by giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate synthetic nicotine.
Many vape manufacturers switched to synthetic nicotine when the FDA rejected or denied almost every application to authorise vape products containing tobacco-derived nicotine.
Now with that loophole closed it is possible that the FDA could order every product containing lab-made nicotine to be removed from sale.
To sell their products, manufacturers must submit a premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) with the FDA – exactly the same process that happened for tobacco-derived vape products.
However, industry experts believe the very short timeframe set for applications to be submitted would make it an almost impossible task.
The FDA has not indicated whether it would ban all synthetic nicotine products or allow them to remain on the shelves until the approvals process is complete.
Amanda Wheeler, President of the American Vapor Manufacturers Association, said:
“The indisputable outcome will be countless more Americans pushed away from nicotine vaping and back into combustible smoking.”
Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association said synthetic nicotine was a ‘technological innovation’ which has given the vape industry ‘a true and complete break from tobacco.’
