US vape companies braced for the worst after rule change on synthetic nicotine

The US vaping industry expects the decision to treat synthetic nicotine products the same as tobacco products to devastate parts of the industry that have come to rely on it, with some businesses forced to close and others having to hope for enforcement discretion.

Synthetic nicotine will be treated the same as tobacco-derived nicotine by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after president Joe Biden signed a sweeping $1.5tn omnibus spending bill.

The bill’s passing has caused a lot of concern among small businesses, which will no longer be able to compete, being less diversified and less able to leverage economies of scale or access capital markets.