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HARTLAND — Close to a million jobs could vanish and nearly 30,000 businesses could close because of federal regulations on vaping.

The federal Food and Drug Administration last month decided to implement rules that will put at risk vape shops, e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors and retailers in Wisconsin and across the United States.

You would think the FDA considers vaping products and e-cigarettes so harmful to the public, and so utterly devoid of beneficial attributes, that it must act swiftly to rid us of these dangerous products.

Actually, the FDA has no idea whether they’re dangerous. The FDA has admitted it does not have enough information to determine this. But that hasn’t stopped the agency from imposing some of the most onerous and expensive regulations in years.

In 2007, I founded Johnson Creek Vapor Co. in the basement of my home in Wisconsin. Johnson Creek was the first company in the country to create and sell e-liquid, the ingredients used in e-cigarettes and vaping products. We worked 18-hour days growing Johnson Creek from a small basement operation to a multimillion-dollar company we are intensely proud of. Almost a decade later, we have a 52,000-square-foot lab and facility and have employed over 100 dedicated employees.