Every business owner knows that running a small business in Hawaii is no easy task. Since my partner and I opened our business seven years ago, each day has brought with it new uncertainties, but also great satisfaction. Through it all, we have been fortunate to have the support of so many loyal customers who tell us we are providing a much-needed alternative to cigarettes.
But now, new overbearing regulations from Food and Drug Administration could shut us down. Without intervention by Congress, our company, our 13 retail stores, and the 80 jobs we have created across Hawaii will no longer exist in August 2018.
Vapor products and electronic cigarettes have been the subject of great debate in Hawaii and across the world. While there is a universal consensus among public health advocates that vapor products should be regulated, a growing number of voices are warning against the consequences of over-regulation.
With a recent survey released by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention showing that 2.5 million former smokers are using vapor products, it is clear these products represent the No. 1 competitor not only to the global cigarette market, but also to large pharmaceutical companies that sell ineffective smoking cessation products.
Earlier this year, the FDA “deemed” vapor products to be tobacco products. Some elements of that regulation make perfect sense, like product registration and ingredient disclosure. Others, however, go far beyond reasonable and are so heavy-handed, there are no reasonable ways to comply.
The regulation being considered is retroactive to 2007 and will require every product we currently sell to go through a “pre-approval” process in order to remain on the market past 2018. Even using the FDA’s unrealistic estimate of $330,000 per application, it would take hundreds of millions of dollars for our company to merely ask the FDA permission to continue doing business.
This is not a process that all tobacco products must go through, as Big Tobacco lobbied Congress to ensure that Marlboros and Camels would be forever protected from this process.
There is, however, some hope. In April, the House Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan amendment to an agriculture spending bill that addresses the FDA’s looming prohibition of these products. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), would negate the need for current products on the market as of August 2016 to go through the potentially multimillion-dollar pre-approvals process. The Cole-Bishop Amendment also contains a series of provisions relating to battery standards and youth access that will actually strengthen the FDA’s regulation.
As a combat veteran and advocate for small businesses, Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard should see why this issue matters. As she likely knows, veterans who fight for our country often turn to smoking to relieve stress. Many companies in this industry support the nonprofit Vape-a-Vet Project, which has provided free vapor products to over 17,000 active-duty and veterans looking to quit cigarettes. Absurdly, even the existence of charitable operations like Vape-a-Vet are threatened by these rules.
On behalf of the 500 locals employed by this industry and the thousands of citizens who have used vapor products to kick the habit, we implore Hawaii’s congressional delegates to speak to their leaders in the House and Senate about how important it is that the Cole-Bishop Amendment be included in this year’s omnibus funding bill. Without it, we and others simply won’t be able to remain open for business.
Cory Smith is the co-owner and CEO of VOLCANO Fine Electronic Cigarettes, based in Honolulu.
