Will the FDA create an impending juice crisis?

#1

Once the regulations hit, most e-liquid companies will either give up or be shut down because they won’t/can’t adhere to the FDA’s regs.

This means that the abundant supply of juice out there right now will no longer be available…

Prices will rise
Selection will fall
vape shops will lose purchasing power
E-liquid companies (that stay in business) will gain selling power

Will this be a good thing or a bad thing for juice companies?

From the shop owner’s perspective they will lose out because they can no longer negotiate prices by pitting two suppliers against each other.

What are your thoughts?

#2

Does anyone have a list of eliquid companies who really are trying to meet the FDA requirements ? I know AEMSA is trying to form a group of suppliers that will meet the new regulations, but there is no guarantee that even these companies will make it. I also see the beginnings of VIBE trying to address this problem, but it seems to have a long way to go. There are companies out there who are much bigger than any of the ones listed by these organizations but who are not participating in these organizations efforts.

I suspect that the glut of eliquid brands on the market right now are trying to dump their stores of eliquid supplies/ingredients on the market and have no plan to meet the regulations and may actually accept that fact and hope to sell as much stuff as they can before they are shut down, or perhaps be saved by some sort of legislative maneuver.

I also suspect that we will see more and more use of ‘synthetic’ nicotine to try and skirt the FDA regulations.

#3

You are right that a firesale is likely when the regs really start hitting. VIBE is certainly in the beginning stages but has a strong core group of people that will come through.

The project of creating a “master list” of FDA-compliant juice brands is certainly daunting, but as you have pointed out it’s very necessary. How else would vape shops feel confident in the future without assurance their juices are going to be sellable?

I do not know of one and I do think AEMSA may have the most complete list so far. The problem is, there are no universally accepted policies right now (or at least very few) so a “certification” is not really possible. AEMSA uses its own guidelines and those could be obsolete…

#4

The real question is how long is it going to take for the FDA to officially pass all of this. They’ve been talking about it for quite a long time now. Will it be sooner or later?

#5

Yes, and it does certainly call into question the efficacy of trying to adapt to anything right now. Why invest if there is no certainty?