Vapouround magazine Issue 08 | Page 83

F E AT U R E 2014 FDA releases proposed regulation attempting to exert regulatory authority of e-cigarettes as tobacco products. First Global Forum on Nicotine (GFN) took place in Warsaw, Poland, in June 2014. The event attracted around 200 people from 26 countries and featured presentations from many of the world’s leading nicotine researchers and policy analysts. Oxford Dictionaries announces the word of the year is “vape.” 2013 2010 Singapore bans e-cigarette importation, distribution and sales. 2011 A study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reporting that electronic cigarettes are a promising tool to help smokers quit. Argentina bans the importation, distribution, commercialisation and advertising of e-cigarettes and related products. Holland bans the sale and import of electronic cigarettes which will now require a pharmaceutical license. Despite all these bans and dire warnings of the past years, vaping, where it is allowed, is seen as cool, interesting and exciting. People meet in local vaping groups, online and set up blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to vaping. Millions of dollars are spent on developing new and exciting juice flavours and mods now come in an amazing range of sizes, shapes and designs. E-cigarettes are no longer ‘one size fits all’ and variety is the order of the day. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency announces it will regulate e-cigarettes as medicines when new European tobacco laws come into force. E-cigarettes declared illegal in Punjab, India. The first E-Cigarette Summit was held at the Royal Society in London to provide a platform to present and scrutinize the available science and evidence on electronic cigarettes. Ban on vaping in public lifted in Italy. 2012 Consumer groups including CASAA, ECCA UK and ATACA (Australia) organize the first World Vaping Day. Soon we have a massive vaping sub-culture and fans start flocking to vape events and expos around the world. Just as in the electronics industry these events are used by manufacturers to highlight their latest products and launch new products to an eager market. When it is discovered that it possible to generate huge clouds of vapour by using the right combination of e-liquid and hardware then this leads to a subculture within a sub-culture. Now some vapers want to produce the biggest and thickest clouds possible and cloud-chasing contests soon follow and become very popular indeed. Vapers also discover that they can create vapour rings and videos of this begin to appear in the Internet. Soon there is another vaping sub-culture where the aim is to create intricate cloud designs and tricks. 2015 Public Health England announces its expert independent review concludes that e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than smoking and have the potential to help smokers quit smoking. 2016 US Department of Transportation bans e-cigarette use on planes. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that electronic smoking devices will be considered “tobacco products” and regulated accordingly. The UK’s Royal College of Physicians issued a 200-page report which said the public could be reassured that e-cigarettes were much safer than smoking. A 25 year old shopkeeper in India is sentenced to three years in jail for selling e-cigarettes. The documentary “A Billion Lives” makes its world premiere at the 2016 Doc Edge Film Festival in New Zealand. Pennsylvania enacts a 40% wholesale tax on “other tobacco products” (smokeless tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, pipe tobacco, and e-cigarettes). In the last couple of years we have seen unprecedented levels of government regulation within the industry. Overzealous regulation has already put many vaping stores out of business and it seems that this is a trend which is likely to continue. Ironically this regulation comes at a time when we have a greater understanding of the health effects of vaping than ever before. What the future holds for the global vaping industry is unclear but this is an industry which will fight hard for its survival. Join us next issue to view how E-cigarettes have developed and visually changed over the years, creating a better usablilty and more enjoyable vaping experience. VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE ISSUE 08 83