The vape world is being radically reshaped by regulatory changes right now. Even though it's hard to keep up at the rate things are changing, we want to make sure you know what is coming so you don't waste your money or get caught by surprise.
It's not just vape juice manufacturers that had to submit Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTA's) to the FDA by September 9th of last year. All hardware sold in the United States also has to meet the requirements in order to be sold legally.
Black and grey markets continue to flourish and most vape purveyors haven't yet pulled illegal inventory from the marketplace. That means that when you buy an electronic cigarette or replacement parts like fresh coils, there's a good chance those items are not FDA legal.
While there's not yet much difference from a safety standpoint between PMTA-approved and non-PMTA approved hardware because the FDA has not actually gotten to the scientific review phase of the PMTA process, there's still a reason you should be care that you're buying legal hardware.
The FDA has begun enforcement actions against vape juice and hardware manufacturers who are attempting to skirt the PMTA rules. That means that those illegal products will be disappearing from the marketplace--likely suddenly and without warning.
Generally, the FDA sends a warning letter to any black market manufacturer and the company is given 15 days to respond. Not surprisingly, in almost all cases, if you go back to check the company's website just after the 15 day mark, you'll see the website suddenly go dark.
If you just plunked down a pretty penny to buy a new e-cigarette, you'll likely be none too happy to suddenly find that you can no longer purchase replacement coils, essentially rendering your new e-cig model obsolete.
Kai's Virgin Vapor has already taken the step of making sure all the hardware we sell is PMTA-legal. We pulled all our e-cig hardware on September 10th and took the time to communicate with e-cig manufacturers to find out who had submitted PMTA applications. We ordered testers and spent weeks trying out various e-cig models. We selected only the very best, making sure we only sell e-cigs that are free from major design flaws like leaking or spit back, that showcase our organic and natural flavors to maximum effect, and that are easy to use.
The result: a hardware selection featuring only superior models that are fully compliant with current FDA regulations so coils and replacement parts will remain readily available.
We've managed to survive the vape mail ban against all odds!
