Lanham, MD – Beatrice Foster, the owner of Binky’s Vapes, urges U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to support the Cole-Bishop amendment and defend small businesses in Maryland and across the country.
The vaping industry as we know it, and all of the Maryland jobs created by the industry, may cease to exist by Aug. 2018, unless Rep. Hoyer intervenes. The FDA’s decision to regulate vapor products as ‘tobacco products’ will effectively bankrupt small businesses, displace thousands of employees, and harm public health.
“This regulation will hinder what the American Dream stands for – building success from the ground up,” Foster said. “As is, the regulation will put so many small businesses out of business in America, leaving consumers to turn to the black market or return to tobacco products.”
The Cole-Bishop amendment would modernize the FDA’s current standards and stop the agency from banning 99%-plus of vaping products in August 2018. If this amendment is not passed into law, all vaping products that have been released since February 2007 — every product on the market today – would have to retroactively undergo a potentially multimillion-dollar approvals process.
“If you were writing a regulation with the goal of helping major tobacco companies, destroying small businesses, and eliminating local jobs, this is how you would do it,” said Gregory Conley, President of the American Vaping Association, a nonprofit organization that champions vapor products as alternatives to combustible tobacco products.
At Binky’s Vapes, which has two stores in Maryland, three employees will be out of work and $200,000 in economic impact will cease to exist. Binky’s Vapes has been in business for two years, and has grown exponentially since its creation.
Binky’s Vapes is doing all they can to encourage the support of the Cole-Bishop amendment. They inform customers of the current FDA regulations in place and have a computer terminal set up in the shops for customers to write letters to their representatives. Foster believes in the prosperity of small business in America and is hopeful Congressman Hoyer will support and defend small businesses.
Between 9 and 10 million Americans regularly use vaping products, many as an alternative to or a transition away from tobacco products. Earlier this year, the Royal College of Physicians released a landmark report estimating that vaping is at least 95% less hazardous than smoking.
The Cole-Bishop amendment would save local businesses and jobs, while at the same time allowing the FDA to set product standards and uniformly regulate all vapor products. When Congress passes its omnibus funding bill later this year, Rep. Steny Hoyer should stand up for these life-changing technology products by fighting to keep the Cole-Bishop amendment in the final package.
To learn more about the American Vaping Association, visit: http://vaping.org.