Department of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health; George Washington Cancer Center, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Barker Bi-Coastal Health Consultants, Inc., Newport, RI.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Feb 16;23(3):535-542. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa138.
In the United States, prominent sources of vaping products are specialty vape shops, which are subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation. This study interviewed vape shop owners/managers to assess: (1) reasons for entering into or engaging in vape shop retail; (2) personnel training, particularly with regard to FDA and state regulations; and (3) how existing regulations are perceived and the anticipated impact of future regulation.
The current study involved phone-based semi-structured interviews of 45 vape shop owners/managers in six metropolitan statistical areas (Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, San Diego, and Seattle) during Summer 2018 as FDA regulations regarding minimum age verification, bans on product sampling, and health warnings (among others) were first being implemented.
Vape shop owners/managers reported: (1) entering the industry with positive intentions for their customers, (2) training their personnel to adhere to regulations and provide good customer service, and (3) significant concerns about the impact of FDA regulations. With regard to the latter, participants reported mistrust of the intentions of the FDA regulations, financial implications of the regulations (particularly for small businesses), difficulty understanding and interpreting the regulations, insufficient evidence to support the regulations, negative impact on customer service, negative impact on product offerings and product innovation/advancement, and negative implications of flavor bans and/or restrictions on sale of flavors.
These findings indicate the complexities in implementing tobacco regulations, particularly from the perspective of the vape shop industry. Current findings should inform future regulatory actions and efforts to assess compliance with regulations.
Current and impending FDA regulation of vaping products present a critical period for examining regulatory impact on the vape shop industry. Current results indicated that many vape shop owners/managers reporting positive intentions for engaging in the vaping product industry and in training vape shop personnel to adhere to regulations. However, the majority reported concerns about FDA regulation and other state/local regulations that could have negative implications for their industry. Particular concerns include difficulty understanding the regulations due to complexity, vagueness, and changes in language and/or interpretation over time. These issues have implications for compliance that must be addressed.
在美国，知名的 vaping 产品来源是专业的 vape 店，这些 vape 店受食品和药物管理局（FDA）监管。本研究采访了 vape 店店主/经理，以评估：（1）进入或从事 vape 店零售的原因；（2）人员培训，特别是关于 FDA 和州法规；（3）如何看待现有法规以及未来法规的预期影响。
本研究在 2018 年夏季，在六个大都市区（亚特兰大、波士顿、明尼阿波利斯、俄克拉荷马城、圣地亚哥和西雅图）通过电话进行了基于半结构式的 vape 店店主/经理访谈，当时 FDA 正在首次实施关于最低年龄验证、禁止产品抽样和健康警告（等等）的法规。
Vape 店店主/经理报告：（1）进入该行业是出于对客户的积极意图；（2）对员工进行培训，以遵守法规并提供良好的客户服务；（3）对 FDA 法规的影响表示极大关注。关于后者，参与者报告对 FDA 法规意图的不信任、法规对小企业的财务影响、对法规的理解和解释的困难、缺乏支持法规的证据、对客户服务的负面影响、对产品供应和产品创新/推进的负面影响，以及口味禁令和/或对口味销售的限制的负面影响。
这些发现表明，在实施烟草法规方面存在复杂性，特别是从 vape 店行业的角度来看。当前的研究结果应该为未来的监管行动和评估法规遵守情况提供信息。
当前和即将出台的 FDA 对 vaping 产品的监管为审查监管对 vape 店行业的影响提供了一个关键时期。目前的结果表明，许多 vape 店店主/经理表示，他们从事 vaping 产品行业并培训 vape 店员工遵守法规的意图是积极的。然而，大多数人表示担心 FDA 监管和其他州/地方法规，这些法规可能对他们的行业产生负面影响。特别关注的问题包括由于法规的复杂性、模糊性以及随着时间的推移语言和/或解释的变化而导致的难以理解法规。这些问题对合规性有影响，必须加以解决。
