Sign Petition to save the hookah from the FDA!

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You may have already heard that US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced their deeming regulations early in May 2016 and basically, what that means to us hookah lovers is that starting August 8, 2016 FDA will start regulating Hookah tobacco, pipes, and charcoal.

The regulations state that any product that wasn’t already on the market before February 15, 2007 must be approved by FDA to continue to be on the market. The predicate date of February 15, 2007 is considered to be an unfair date for 90% of the hookah products on the market today since most of them didn’t exist at that time.

In order for these products to continue to be on the market, it is going to cost the companies an estimated amount over 1 million dollars per product. FDA estimates that over 90% of businesses will not be able to afford those humongous fees.

FDA ignored calls to change the predicate date, which remains February 15, 2007. The good news is that at the moment there is a proposal in Congress that would change the predicate date from February 15, 2007 to August 8, 2016. This change would significantly lower the regulatory burden faced by hookah companies and would ensure the ability of companies without access to 02/15/2007 data to be able to comply.

This petition is in support of Rep Tom Coles amendment to HR 5054 - Which is simply a redate of the original HR 5054, that's more important than it seems! Here's why:

1. The original 5054 used the date of February 15, 2007, which was pulled out of a hat just to fill in the bill!
2. If the Coles-Bishop Amendment to 5054 is not passed then  products on the market after February 15, 2007 will not be allowed unless they pay millions to the FDA for approval.
3. Those fees will drive small businesses to a grinding halt. Hurting our economy when it is just beginning to recover.
4. Those fees will artificially inflate the prices of current products on the market to make sure companies just break even.
5. The average hookah, tobacco, and related products user will Not be able to afford a simple luxury.
6. Those in favor of keeping the date at 2007 are saying that anything made after the arbitrary date is less safe than products before it. When in fact, the opposite is true. Due to the growing market producers are able to make safer, more ecologically friendly products in 2016 and well into the future.
7. Keeping HR 5054 unchanged will essentially set innovation in products and in health into the past of 2007 and it will likely never recover. 

Why you should sign this petition:

1. Signing this petition means that you support industry, small business, and each person's right to choose.
2. Everyone should sign this petition, even if you don't use Hookah or related products. Becuase this is about supporting small businesses, innovation, our economy, and keeping arbitrary dates like this one at bay.
3. This Amendment will enable products to comply with FDA regulations that are safer than those in 2007 and stay current with customer demand.

The choice is simple, sign this petition, let your voice be heard. Let's support Rep. Tom Cole in his fight to keep small businesses opperating, our economy growing, and allow for innovation to happen!