To say that the vaping industry has been in the news
lately would be an understatement, but as the vaping community knows, this new
press is not for the best of reasons.
Due to a recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses over the last couple
of months, the vaping industry has been under fire, even more than it has been
in the past. This outbreak has led to
many lawmakers contemplating whether or not the industry deserves to exist in
the future as it does in this present moment.
In an attempt for clarity, the White
House hosted a meeting on the future of vaping,
with guests from both sides of the argument being present. Representatives from the American Cancer
Society and the American Lung Association, as well as the head of the Campaign
for Tobacco-Free Kids, sat at a table along with pro-vaping activists, as well as
the President, Kellyanne Conway and Senator Mitt Romney of Utah.
If you didn’t catch the portion of the meeting that
was televised, allow us to catch you up.
As you’ll see, this meeting was very important in regard to the future
of the vaping industry.
What Happened at the Meeting?
The meeting was televised during the first hour, and
so the public was able to hear a good amount of the conversation that was
had. One point that vaping activists
continued to make was that the CDC has officially determined that the
respiratory illnesses have been caused by black market THC vapes, and that zero
percent of the cases have been traced to nicotine vapes. Even the President had a hard time disputing
this fact.
However, Senator Romney made it clear that he supports
a banning of all flavored vapes, claiming that 100 minors are addicted to
nicotine per vape shop employee – it’s worth noting that this number is not
factual, but was made up in the moment for the sake of dramatic effect. Another lie that was told during the meeting
was that the majority of minors who vape are attracted to tobacco flavors,
which simply is not true.
Gregory Conley, president of the American Vaping
Association, and Tony Abboud, director of the Vapor Technology Association,
spoke directly to the President, separating fact from fiction and providing
plenty of evidence along the way. Not
only did they correct the lie that nicotine vapes are responsible for this
recent wave of illnesses, but they discussed the importance of independent vape
shops in today’s economy.
What Can This Mean for the Future of the
Vaping Industry?
What we can take away from the meeting is that the
vaping industry is not going to go down without a fight. Thanks to the leaders of these organizations,
the message was heard loud and clear that the vaping industry is not to blame
for this wave of respiratory illnesses that is sweeping across the world. It’s also clear that there is hypocrisy going
on, as cigarettes continue to kill hundreds of thousands each year while remaining
legal.
What we can hope is that the President will respond to
the vaping industry by recognizing that this industry does not need to go
anywhere anytime soon.
A Possible Win For Our Industry
The meeting that took place this past Friday at the
White House made one thing very clear: the lies made up about the vaping
industry cannot stand up to the truth.
It’s also evident that vaping activists will continue to fight against
propaganda that’s being spewed in order to demonize the vaping market. We’re eager to see what happens in the future
following this important meeting.
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