Senator Johnson Demands Answer On Vape Regs In Second Letter to FDA

Last month Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, made headlines when he sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration questioning their recently finalized Deeming Regulations on electronic cigarettes. Read: Sen. Johnson Seeks Answers From FDA On Final Rule Over Vaping

In this letter, Sen. Johnson addressed several key points and questions he had regarding the FDA’s Final Deeming Rule questioning the entity’s motives behind the onerous regulations, which seem set to obliterate the vaping industry. At the bottom of his letter, Sen. Johnson asked for a reply by May 31, 2016 and into the first week of June, he and the rest of the industry is still awaiting a response.

Not the type to stand idly by, Senator Johnson has released his second letter to the FDA demanding a reply to his unanswered letter, reports HSGAC Majority Media. As a follow up to his first letter to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, Sen. Johnson again reiterates the truth that the FDA’s Final Deeming Regulations on vaping would create excessive burdens on small brick and mortar stores, put many out of a job and could possibly lead to people turning back to tobacco cigarettes.

“Since I sent my initial letter to you, I have heard from many small-business owners who manufacture or sell e-cigarette products. These job creators have contacted my office expressing their grave concerns about the FDA’s regulatory overreach. They fear that the FDA’s e-cigarette rule will force them out of business by requiring them to complete costly and time-consuming premarket applications for each e-cigarette product. In addition, a large number of individuals have contacted my office to tell their stories about how they use or have used e-cigarettes to quit smoking. They do not want the FDA to make access to e-cigarettes more difficult for them—or others like them—as they fight to kick an addiction to smoking.”

Read: Senator Ron Johnson’s Second Letter to the FDA In Its Entirety

Due to the overwhelming response from the public that his first letter received, Senator Johnson has felt the need to light a fire under the FDA in order to obtain a reply, asking Commissioner Califf to send his response no later than June 20, 2016 by 5:00PM.

“If the FDA does not provide an adequate response to these inquiries, the Committee may be forced to resort to other means to compel the production of this information.” Stated Sen. Johnson in the final line of his letter.