Have you heard of Larry W. Faircloth?
If you vape, love someone who vapes, are considering vaping or have any other interest in seeing vaping continue in the United States, you may want to be familiar with him.
Mr. Faircloth is kind of a one-man-show in the battle to keep vaping legal and available to those of age.
What’s so special about this guy?
Now, don’t misunderstand me, there’s a good number of organizations that are trying to gain support to battle the Federal Food and Drug Administration.
What makes Mr. Faircloth different is that he personally filed a law suit against the FDA in June 2016.
Faircloth, a West Virginia state representative, filed suit, basically claiming that the FDA’s “deeming” laws were a load of horseshit.
The lawsuit claims that grouping vaping products into the tobacco product category is a violation of not just federal laws but our great nation’s beloved Constitution as well.
Now, let’s pause on that for a moment.
The FDA chooses to regulate our vape juice in the same category as cigarettes – as tobacco products.
I’m looking at a bottle of vape juice right now, Director’s Cut’s The Lost One that I got in my VapeBox this month. It’s what I’m currently running through my Fireluke.
It lists ingredients as: USP vegetable glycerin, USP Proplene gycol, natural and artificial flavoring and nicotine.
Don’t see any tobacco there myself, maybe I missed it somewhere.
And, just for the record, nicotine isn’t only found in tobacco. It’s found in several different plants.
So, I have to say that so far it sounds like Mr. Faircloth may be right on point.
What’s up with the lawsuit?
In the lawsuit, Faircloth cites the Administrative Procedure Act. Now, that was a new one to me, but apparently the act prohibits federal agencies from making decisions in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner.
Basically, you can’t just lump in things with others because you want to pass laws and regulate them.
I have to say I’m following why Faircloth would claim this in his lawsuit.
Faircloth claims that the stated date of February 15. 2007 is “arbitrary and capricious” because e-cigarettes and juices weren’t big on the market then. Most of the current companies came after that date and that the required “premarket review process” will “stifle innovation and advances in public health, turning him and similar users back to the more harmful conventional cigarettes he previously used.”
Why this lawsuit is important
How many vapers are former smokers? I can personally think of far more than I can count that I know that gave up the nasty stinky sticks and turned to vaping. They are able to give up the cancer sticks, improve their overall health – and certainly their ability to take a good deep breath – by having vaping as an option.
Now, imagine if vaping wasn’t an option.
Imagine if stinky sticks, chewing tobacco and other cancer-causing tobacco products were the option?
I bet we’d have a much higher level of smokers and more than likely many of the former smokers I know wouldn’t be with us at all any more.
It seems it’s a frequent thing for our government to try to regulate something before there are really details to support it. Especially when there’s a ton of money involved.
Money?
Yes, gobs of it.
Think of all the money generated annually in the form of tobacco taxes. Pack after pack being sold, you can almost hear state and federal bank accounts growing. Federal tax rate is $1.01 per pack, but in some areas the combined state and local tax rates really make the price of a pack of smokes sky rocket. For example, tax alone on a pack of stinky sticks is $6.16 in Chicago.
Damn.
And I thought paying $20 for a bottle of juice was bad.
But when you think that that $20 bottle of juice – out the door – will last about two weeks, has some pretty rocking flavors – I’m sure you can find pretty much any flavor you can imagine at that price – and lacks the cancer causing ingredients of those over taxed nasty sticks, it ain’t so bad at all.
In fact, I’m happy for that $20 bottle of juice.
I’m more than happy for the massive array of ever-changing flavors to choose from.
I’m happy with the huge variety of devices with which to use that juice, from drippers to tanks and mods and mechs.
So many options for customization, so many options for fun and experimentation.
Oh, and if I haven’t already mentioned, the lack of the cancer causing agents.
Hmmm.
Think on that for a minute … Yup, Mr. Faircloth has the right idea. And the bravery to fight it on this own and in his own name. And, damn, that can’t be cheap.
And, the wonderful world of vapers has been helping. A recent week long donation drive was run by at least 10 vaping social media groups to raise money to support the law suit.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to check it out.
We all benefit from his success in this venture and it goes without saying that we will all suffer if things continue in the way the FDA is headed.
If you enjoy vaping, if you enjoy having the many options it offers, than be willing to step up.
Be willing to support.
And, bottom line, do not be willing to back down.
This fight involves all of us and we can’t expect others to fight it for us.
Fight for your right to vape, before it’s gone.
