I was originally going to deliver all of this info in one post, but realized to adequately delve into this topic, I needed to split it into 4 segments (even that isn't enough, honestly) and tackle each one with a bit more depth than the overview can provide.
A little background on me and my vape history can be found here
One of the biggest issues I have personally and regularly encountered since the August 08 Deeming Regulations is the feeling that across the vape shop counter, in a number of ways, our hands are tied.
Photo: "On the Shelves"
1. No More Custom Anything
Many stores who make or mix their own House Juice have been able to "customize" the liquid to the preference of their customers. The store where I work has a made-from-scratch line of roughly 115 "boutique quality" flavors, and we used to have an advertising campaign at one point that boasted how the customer could do "endless combinations," from that amount of flavors to work with. Those combinations and options literally gave people something for everyone. As of August 08, that world is very different.
Photo: "Big Livin'"
Any juice manufacturer or ENDS producer (ENDS are essentially ANYTHING that has to deal with or could possibly deal with ecigs--see FDA Deeming Regs link at bottom) who wants even the possibility to stay in business, had to have all of their products in their respective POS systems and at least one unit sold before the 8th. After that they froze the market. The days of "endless combinations" are over. If it isn't already on the menu, we can't make it.
Photo: "Ohm"
Many retail locations offered coil building services to their customers who have Rebuildable Dripping or Tank Atomizers (hereafter referred to as RDA or RTA). This meant that a vaper who wanted to get into the more advanced and hobbyist level of vaping, without the time and effort of spending the time to build a coil, by just popping into their local shop and having a build made for your RDA or RTA, to your specifications.
Under no circumstances is this allowed anymore. I've had a few philosophical and semantic/jargon-twisting options thrown out to "get around" this part of the regulation, and I believe this is one part of the regulations that seems relatively clear. Because a handmade coil is a custom item (unless it is manufactured via a standardized machine), and it is clear that custom is out.
It is also notable that most shops I have consulted who offered builds for customers, always had a waiver system in place even before Deeming Regulations went into place. In theory, by making customers sign a waiver, that would free the store of any liability due to the customer's improper use of the build.
2. No More Careful Walkthroughs
This is the one that scares the shit out of me. I have personally worked very hard to build a community of educated vapers who know what they are doing. I have trained my staff to carefully walk new vapers through the use and applications of their newly-purchased products, and to answer any and all questions that a new vaper might have.
Photo: "The Face of Customer Service"
As an industry, our laurels have always been our customer service. We are all in this together. We are former smokers whose lives were changed for the better through the use of ecigarettes. We want to help people become former smokers. We want to show them the way, and then help them every step along that path. We want them to be successful, too.
Photo: "Team 417"
Starter products are not hard to use, and I've seen them get even easier in the three years I've been vaping. However, it is more difficult than pulling a stick out of a box and lighting it on fire, therefore a tutorial by a qualified vapor shop representative is very helpful for people in the beginning of their quit process.
By the FDA refusing to let us walk new vapers through their new products, this will inevitably make vaping "too hard" for some and drive them back to cigarettes.
According to research by Management Science Associates, and reported in 2016 Issue 04 of Vapor Voice, "62% of US adult ecigarette users currently still smoke cigarettes". To me, the implications of this means that the customer service aspect of this industry is crucial and critical. If we are not able to answer questions, frustrated people will go back to cigarettes. This is life and death.
I have consulted these sources below as well as others I will add to the list throughout the series. I highly recommend checking out the links below, as I will be citing them at large over this series, and they're just great resources in general.
External Links and Sources
Don't take anyone's word for it--no one truly understands the full implications of these Deeming Regulations yet. I encourage you to read further into some of these articles, research reviews, interviews, and studies I've cited for this article. There are a million more out there as well.
Read for yourself:
Historical Timeline of Ecigarettes (They're Older Than You Might Think)
CASAA: Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association
Editorial Note: CASAA has a literal plethora of amazing resources and FREE PRINTABLES and images that can be used in just about every possible scenerio where people have questions. Also-membership is FREE and keeps you up-to-date on all the latest news. Even an RSS Feed, if that's your bag.
New York Times article about British Royal College of Physicians
Public Health England's Offical Report
CASAA Compilation of Scientific Research and Published Data Regarding "The Science" of Vaping
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