Glenn Jacobs

New FDA rules will require testing of every vaping system liquid mixture, a costly and time-consuming process.

Mom-and-pop vape shops do not have the financial resources to deal with such onerous, expensive regulations.

The winners will be the tobacco giants that have the financial ability to absorb the huge cost.

Millions of Americans now have access to alternatives to cigarettes. That’s thanks to what’s known as “vaping,” which uses electronic products to create a water vapor that can be inhaled instead of tobacco smoke. As of last year, this was a $3.7 billion industry in the U.S. alone, with more than 3,500 vaping stores — many of them independent shops — springing up.

Yet thanks to Food and Drug Administration rules that took effect this month, the vaping industry may soon go up in smoke.

Vaping will now be subject to the same rules that apply to tobacco. Once in effect, this mandate requires a costly approval process for all Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) introduced into the market after Feb. 15, 2007, including vaporizers, vape pens, hookah pens, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and e-pipes.

This regulatory process will not be simple. Most vaping products use unique liquid mixtures to produce the water vapor that serves as a replacement for tobacco smoke. There are thousands of varieties, providing the different flavors that vaping users expect.

But the new FDA rules will require every vaping system liquid mixture to be tested. Those seeking regulatory approval also must compare the safety of their products not only against cigarettes, but other products in their category.

The FDA admits that it will take up to 5,000 hours to complete the necessary paperwork, and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per product. The vaping industry puts the cost at $3 million to $20 million per product.

What’s worse is that vape shops that mix e-liquids or modify products will be considered manufacturers and “must comply with all of the legal requirements for tobacco product manufacturers.”

Obviously, mom-and-pop vape shops do not have the financial resources to deal with such onerous, expensive regulations. Many will be forced to close their doors. Other will no longer be able to offer custom e-liquid mixes, but only FDA-approved mixes, resulting in a massive consolidation of the industry.

As usual, the winners are those that have the financial ability to absorb the huge cost, as well as teams of lawyers to deal with the FDA’s byzantine regulatory schemes. In this case, that is the tobacco giants like Altira, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, which has already established a presence in the vaping industry.

The FDA also claims that these new regulations are a public health measure. When making their decision, the FDA will also take into account "the risks and benefits to the population as a whole,” including whether vaping acts as a “gateway” to cigarette smoking. This runs contrary to the findings of Britain’s Royal College of Physicians, which found that “large-scale substitution of e-cigarettes, or other non-tobacco nicotine products, for tobacco smoking has the potential to prevent almost all the harm from smoking in society.”

This could have a major impact in saving lives across our country. One 2014 article in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that vaping would be a vital part of a tobacco harm reduction initiative in the United States. If handled successfully, such an initiative could prevent 4.8 million smoking-related deaths.

With that in mind, is there any good reason for the FDA to make it harder for people to vape? Hardly. The FDA began as a consumer protection agency, originally mandated to ensure manufacturers were accurately labeling products and selling what they stated. Since then it has evolved into a nanny-state nightmare that decides what products Americans should or shouldn’t have access to, substituting the judgment of unelected bureaucrats in place of that of consumers.

Few things more clearly illustrate that the FDA has outlived its usefulness than its current war on vaping. With vaping and most other industries, the internet allows consumers to be more well-informed than ever before. Companies like Consumer Reports and Underwriters Laboratories prove that the private sector is capable of regulating itself, and without the political graft and corruption endemic in organizations like the FDA.

The facts are clear: Vaping is a healthy alternative to a far deadlier habit. Yet if the FDA gets its way, many consumers may lose access to that alternative. If the FDA truly has public health in mind, it absolutely must stop trying to snuff out the vaping industry.

Glenn Jacobs is the co-founder of the Tennessee Liberty Alliance and is known worldwide as World Wrestling Entertainment star Kane.