The We Vape We Vote DC Rally Nov. 4 2019

It has been devastating to watch what is happening to the legitimate, FDA regulated, and not-selling-to-minors/not-selling-tainted-THC products industry I love and work in.

The vape industry has gotten a bad wrap, and fast. With media hyping up the twisted "truths" that vape shops and e-liquid manufacturers are to blame for the sudden deaths popping up all over the USA. It just isn't true. I have read that people covering these stories (and that work for major news outlets) have been told to LIE. So by the time the officials* admit that it is black market products that are killing people, it is too late. The general public has lumped vape shops in with illicit THC and JUUL. ::cringe::

*Officials, as in the CDC and FDA, most politicians, government, and doctors. They all have no clue about the vape industry or what vape shops can provide to people trying to get off cigarettes.

If you work in this industry or are a vape user, then you know how frustrating it has been to try to convince people that what we do saves lives. Equally frustrating is trying to tell people that we are the biggest advocates for raising the legal age, for tighter regulations on what type of stores should sell these products, and we are the biggest supporters of helping people get off all tobacco products. 

The flicker of light near the tunnel? 

We Vape We Vote—this seemed to get attention. With an election year just around the corner, and a DC rally tomorrow, we should be seeing this in the headlines tomorrow. Not sure how the media will try to paint this since they do not seek the truth as news sources should, just ratings...but here's hoping to flip the coin and really show the public that what we do does help people. Show the public that we are small businesses making USA manufactured products. Hopefully, this will get the truth out to a much larger platform.

The Rally was actually on my birthday, what a treat to see fellow vape advocates fighting for the right to use nicotine alternatives!

11/15/2019 -Steph Hughes, Facility Manager