FDA Overreach Jumps Into Overdrive

FDA Overreach Jumps Into Overdrive

By Shari Dovale

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized a rule extending its authority to all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco and pipe tobacco, among others. However, they are listing non-tobacco products within this new rule, specifically electronic cigarettes.

The Federal government declared war on Big Tobacco and is winning. However, that has a downside. The Feds are not collecting the tobacco taxes that they are used to getting.

The Federal government makes no product to earn money. The only way they can earn money is through regulation and taxes.

Then the FDA noticed the ‘Vaping’ industry. They saw this new multi-billion dollar industry and they got greedy. They wanted a piece of that pie. So they, in all their wisdom and glory, have decided to regulate non-tobacco products under the Tobacco Control Act.

Again, these are Non-Tobacco products.

The current federal debt is over $19 TRILLION, so they need tons more money. They cannot get their spending under control, so they must overdo their taxing.

The proposed fees could top One Million dollars per application. A separate application would be required for each flavor, and each varying nicotine strength. The small manufacturer will be forced out of business, and the small retailer will most likely close their doors, as well, for lack of product to resell.

Unless you are Big Tobacco … again.

Forbes tells us that big tobacco companies like Reynolds and Altria have gotten into the e-cigarette business in the past several years, and they now own the four biggest brands, including VUSE and MarkTen, which are sold in convenience stores and big retailers like Wal-Mart.

Companies like Reynolds can afford to comply with the regulations, says Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping Association, while smaller players, who make more innovative products, will be driven out of business. “Big tobacco will be able to further expand its position in the market,” he says, “while thousands of smaller businesses will close and tens of thousands of people will be unemployed.”

The greed of the Federal government will backfire on them. While they salivate over the possible trillions of dollars they think they will collect, they will put thousands of small business out of work, send millions of people back to smoking, and return to the $300 billion in annual health care expenses for smoking-related illnesses.

What they are deliberately ignoring, however, is the fact that electronic cigarettes are not ‘tobacco’ products. The very nature of the products do not encourage tobacco at all. Some, though not all, contain nicotine. The FDA is not suggesting these regulations be applied to ‘nicotine’, as nicotine by itself is no more harmful than caffeine.

From TobaccoHarmReduction.org:

There is no evidence that nicotine causes any substantial risk for cancer, and the research shows that the risk for cardiovascular disease is minimal. The confusion about nicotine comes from anti-smoking activists talking about nicotine and smoking as if they were the same.

From the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH):

Public confusion reigns with 9 in 10 believing nicotine is harmful to health…Electronic cigarettes and Nicotine Replacement Therapy (gum, lozenges, and patches) contain nicotine but don’t contain the harmful substances found in cigarettes.

There is one other possibility than I can think of. A typical bait-n-switch. The government threatens millions of dollars in fees and fines to scare the people in the industry.

They will soon offer to bring down those fees to something less ridiculous. (Maybe a few hundred dollars.) The small business folks that make up the majority of the industry will be so relieved that they will jump to comply, and never actually question how non-tobacco products can be regulated by a tobacco law.

Regardless, the government has decided that, yet again, they know better than you how your life should be controlled. They desire to regulate every aspect of your life, and the lives of your friends and family, from cradle-to-grave. It is not just about the money. The bigger picture is the control.

Now, to be clear, I am not advocating tobacco use. I am not advocating using e-cigs, alcohol, marijuana, or any other product.

What I am advocating is that you know better than anyone else how to live your life. You know better than anyone else how to raise your kids. You do not need the government to come in and tell you that you are not smart enough to make decisions that concern YOU.

The general public does not realize that they can stop this overreach. The power of the government is only that which is granted by it’s citizens.

You get the government that you allow.