Who, What, When & How?

The Break Down of PMTA!

Today we are going to be talking about PMTA. Now you might be wondering what the heck is PMTA and how it affects you, so we’re going to break it down so all of us can understand. It seems like not long ago we all thought that vaping was going to be crashing down.

In 2014, the draft rule was issued following with the finalization in 2016. Originally, vape businesses were allotted until 2222 to submit applications but due to black lash from anti-tobacco corporations and ultimately suing the FDA the deadline was pushed up much sooner. Thus, birthing the PMTA. In a nutshell, a PMTA is a “Pre-Market Tobacco Production Application.” This means businesses submit an application to file to the FDA to stay in business after the regulations come into effect.

For manufacturers this is a big deal, but when you dive more into what it is and what it means for the industry, you’ll realize it’s a big deal for you as a vaper too.

Here’s What You Need to Know

WHAT IS A PMTA?

Like stated before, a PMTA is a premarket tobacco application for manufacturers to submit to the FDA to continue marketing and selling their products as well as accessories. So, what does this mean moving forward? Well if you think back, we’ve actually been here before. In September 2016 all e vape products and accessories were stopped from coming into the market unless they had a PMTA. Basically, you needed to have new or in today’s case all e-juice resubmitted to be tested and approved before continuing to put it on the shelves. But in 2016 no one really produced any new products to the market due to the hassles.

Fast forward to 2020, a lot of manufactures and companies are coming out with more products, brands and devices that they know their customers will love. Definitely more than 25 a year than the FDA estimated. Ultimately, they ended up changing it to over 750 products that they will be reviewing, growing every day. In short, 99% of all vaping process will have to go through this process. This includes importers of e-liquid and even vape stores that also make e-liquid on the side. This is all intended to “appropriate for the protection of the public health.” It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that this application is a pretty high bar, and most smaller companies will struggle to gather the required evidence and documentation.

How Will it Affect You, the Vaper?

For vapers there will be some changes on the horizon. Since the deadline has been passed, customers won’t be able to purchase any products that have not been authorized. Because the PMTA process is rigorous and expensive, many smaller manufactures choose not to file applications at all, while some other companies submitted applications for only one or two products. Keep in mind that even if a manufacturer submitted an application there is no guarantee that the FDA will approve it.

While there will be tough times ahead, enough independent companies are going through the PMTA process that you will still be able to get quality vaporizer products. The FDA hasn’t thrown the industry many bones so far but provided they are somewhat fair when assessing the application, the world of vaping may be smaller, but won’t disappear completely.

Keep in mind, any product that did not go through the PMTA process is and will no longer be available for purchase. So this might be the time to think about starting to replace your vape lineup with products that did go through or before they are gone.