We've talked about the potential for the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulating e-cigs before on the ThunderHead Vapor.com blog, but many people are still wondering how this will effect them. With regulation on the horizon, there's a growing concern among e-cig users that the government may take away some of their liberties. In an effort to separate the facts from the fiction, we're going to dive a little deeper into this subject, revealing how exactly regulation will affect consumers.

Earlier this year, the FDA proposed a set of new regulations regarding the use, production, sale and distribution of the smokeless nicotine delivery devices known as e-cigs. Some of these proposed regulations include the following:

New products can only be marketed after receiving FDA approval.

Prohibit sales to minors.

Register products to the FDA.

Display ingredients on label.

Prohibit companies and vape shops from handing out free samples.

Prohibit the use of e-cig vending machines, unless it's set up in an area where minors are not allowed to enter.

Companies must display health warnings.

The proposed regulations went through a period of public commenting in which consumers and business owners could share their thoughts and concerns. Tens of thousands of concerned users took advantage of this opportunity, flooding the FDA's system and forcing them to extend the deadline to August 8.

Now for the million dollar question: how will these proposed regulations impact e-cig users? Assuming all of these proposed regulations are approved, the average user won't see much of a change. Products may have new labels that list their respective ingredients, and new e-cigs and e-liquid may take longer to be approved, but that's really the only noticeable changes consumers will likely see.

And just because the public commenting period is over doesn't necessarily mean we'll see the FDA's proposed regulations take effect anytime soon. Industry analysts believe it could several years before the regulations take effect. Of course, this only makes sense given the fact that the FDA recently invested some $270 million to fund 45 different electronic cigarette studies, some of which may take years to complete (source).

"Tobacco remains the leading cause of death and disease in this country. This is an important moment for consumer protection and a significant proposal that if finalized as written would bring FDA oversight to many new tobacco products," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "Science-based product regulation is a powerful form of consumer protection that can help reduce the public health burden of tobacco use on the American public, including youth."