In recent news, the newly founded SEVIA USA announces that China manufacturers appear as if they’re not interested in helping assist with US regulatory and litigation battles.
For those that aren’t familiar with SEVIA USA (Shenzhen Electronic Vaporizer Industry Association – USA Chapter), it’s an organization started by Dimitris Agrafiotis, claiming the role as the SEVIA USA Chairman. SEVIA USA was created on January 20th 2016, when over 100 e-cigarette manufacturers came together at a conference in Shenzhen China. The gathering was held “to commit resources and financial support in the fight against unfair and burdensome FDA regulations.” – In other words, they’ve formed a coalition of Chinese e-cigarette manufacturers to generate funds and resources in a push “to keep vapor products affordable, accessible, and with the variety needed in order to help smokers transition to a less harmful alternative.”
However, things aren’t going quite as expected. Since returning from the conference, Dimitris has attracted big names such as Innokin Technology, Aspire, KangerTech and Smok, but that’s when the organization came to a sudden stop. It was very expected for Innokin to jump on board, partly due to Dimitris’ hefty relationship with the manufacturer (and, of course because Innokin has always been involved in helping the vaping industry thrive for years). And, it can almost be expected that Aspire, Kanger and Smok would follow suit, since they are the largest names in vaping and want to protect their interests. However, it was completely unexpected that many other manufacturers and brands aren’t showing interest in becoming members of SEVIA USA.
Today, Dimitris Agrafiotis posted a status update on Facebook sharing acknowledgement and thanks to those 4 manufacturers that have become members, but also sharing light on the situation of others, saying “It appears not every Chinese manufacturer is interested in our fight and some seriously take profits over seeing the long-term benefits for their business and vapers.”
https://www.facebook.com/vapingreek/posts/10207465428567501
This is a serious cause for concern. There were 100 e-cigarette manufacturers to attend this conference, and only 4 of them committed to becoming a member and joining forces to battle in the fight that awaits them – a fight that can be the determining factor if this industry survives the FDA’s proposed regulations, and a fight that will ultimately protect their businesses.
I’m not quite sure if these non-participating manufacturers are just stupid, or simply do not care.
Anyhow, this status update by Dimitris has started gaining some traction from the vaping community, and by the time this news article makes its way to the masses, other China manufacturers will most likely begin to take notice. If you haven’t learned from my past articles, and the social networks we call Facebook and Twitter, situations can change drastically with the help of the vaping community.
The outcome of this situation could definitely affect consumers buying decisions, and could determine which manufacturers are in it for themselves and which ones are in it for the vaping industry as a whole.
If you’re interested in learning more about SEVIA USA, feel free to visit them at: http://seviausa.org
If you’re interested in encouraging China manufacturers to take notice to this organization, tag them in your status updates, share this article with them, provide the SEVIA USA link, and be sure to include the #seviausa hashtag.
