The e-cigarette industry is a lawless Wild West in the world of legal recreational substances. State attorneys general, including those from Illinois and Indiana, are calling on the FDA to take a tougher stance on vaping.
The group of 29 state attorneys general submitted a 33-page letter to the FDA on Aug. 8, proposing restrictions on marketing and internet sales.
One regional distributor, based Evansville, says it would welcome regulation, but not if it means banning the flavors in vapor.
Vapor Bank makes batches of e-liquid flavors, such as Blue Razz Cotton Candy and Watermelon Smash, from the back of its 8,000 square foot retail store on South Green River Road.
Marketing Director Alex Jarvis says their liquid contains four ingredients: flavoring, nicotine, vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol – which gives e-cigarettes that white, vaporous cloud after each puff.
That vapor concerns health professionals like Stanton Glantz, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco.
"And while no one has studied the precise particles that e-cigarettes produce, we know it's delivering as many of them and in a smaller size than a cigarette does," Glantz said. "Those particles are causing the same kind of inflammatory processes that would be triggering heart attacks as a conventional cigarette."
Glantz says while e-cigarettes may be less harmful than the traditional burning tobacco variety, vaping more quickly sends chemicals to the brain.
"So while I think when the dust settles, e-cigarettes are going to be shown to be less dangerous than cigarettes, they're not as less dangerous as a lot of people think they are,” Glantz said.
Another concern is the flavoring of e-liquid, which the attorneys generals say, appeals to kids and teens. That’s why they're urging the FDA to ban the flavoring, as they have with tobacco cigarettes.
Vapor Bank’s Alex Jarvis said the anti-tobacco advocates have won their primary cause and have moved on to their next target, e-cigarettes.
“Go to any vodka aisle of the liquor store and you see every flavor combination imaginable: orange, peppermint whipped cream," Jarvis said. "You don’t see attorneys general trying to ban vodka."
Aside from banning flavoring, Jarvis says there is a need for guidelines in the business. He says he’d like to see requirements like publishing ingredient lists, regulating production practices and limiting marketing that could entice younger clientele.
And with Vapor Bank already having a near monopoly on the local market – they plan to open a store in Terre Haute next week – it seems regulation to some degree would help weed out competitors.
“The latest figures say it’s a 2 to 3 billion dollar industry, and it's expected to grow 6 to 10 next year alone," Jarivs said. "When we moved to this location a year and a half ago, we had lines out the door every day."
That growth embodies the challenge that e-cigarettes are posing to health and government officials – they hit the market and took off so fast, research hasn’t caught up in time to formulate regulations.
Until that happens, the market for vapor will stay sweet.
*CORRECTION: The broadcast story misstated the production assistant's name as "Kyle Carter." His name is Kyle Tharp. The web version of the story has been updated.
