Trying to use logic to argue against the FDA's regulations is an exercise in futility. The FDA deliberately made the laws that way and we (vapers) don't have the power or numbers to make them change. I suggest that we use the *illogic* of the regulations to prove their ridiculousness and drag in other players that feel the same way.
*Intent* is the key phrase in the regulations. If anything is intended for use in any form of e-cigarette, it's automatically a 'tobacco product', right? So let's make *everything* a 'tobacco product'.
Let's say I go into my local drug store and buy a package of cotton. I ask to speak to the manager and tell him/her that I intend to use the cotton in my vaporizer which makes it a 'tobacco product'. Then I ask if the drugstore has paid the appropriate state/federal taxes associated with 'tobacco products' and is conforming to all the 'tobacco product' laws. Of course the manager will think I'm crazy but I point out that the FDA set the rules and I am a law-abiding citizen (
) who only wants to make sure everyone complies with the law. Etc., etc., etc.
Now multiply this by thousands. Maybe CASAA or SFATA can have lawyers send letters to the drugstore pointing out cotton is a potential 'tobacco product' and that the drugstore should be asking their customers how they plan to use the cotton. Maybe point out the applicable state laws they should be following for these products.
I know this is ridiculous - that's the point. But now we'd have drugstores all on our side protesting that cotton is not a 'tobacco product'.
Now carry it further. Grocery stores carry flavorings. WalMart carries VG. Home Depot carries wire and wood (some people make mods from wood). Beauty supply stores carry rayon. The list goes on and on. Heck, anything with a usb port can supply power. I could conceivably go to an auto dealer and say that my husband hates the smell of my vape so I'm buying this car simply to park in the yard and sit in and vape in air-conditioned comfort.
Yes, it's totally off the wall. But 'logic' isn't getting us anywhere because the FDA isn't operating 'logically'. The beauty of this is that we get others (big businesses) on our side protesting the regulations. And it doesn't require lawsuits by vapers or vaping organization - all it requires is concerned citizens (us) expressing our determination that *everyone* abides by the law.
Will this solve every problem? No, but if enough big companies protest, the FDA would be forced to clarify exactly what is and what is not covered by their regulations. *Intent* won't work. They'd probably try to get around the whole mess by saying their laws only apply to anything *marketed* as an e-cig and/or component. And, as we all know, everything we use can be *marketed* as something else.
kills them dead!
