CBD vape is a fast-growing category globally, particularly in the UK, EU and US. Currently, there are no regulations or standards created specifically for this category. As CBD vape products are not a Nicotine Containing Product (NCP), they broadly fall outside the scope of TPD/TRPR in Europe (with some exceptions) – and therefore there is no benchmark for ensuring product quality or safety, creating a grey area which can be both confusing and challenging for manufacturers.
Why are standards needed for CBD vaping products?
Regulatory and testing specifications are necessary to provide minimum product expectations and reassure both regulators and the public that product safety, quality and performance is maintained and can be reliably demonstrated with documentary evidence.
Without minimum standards, companies could be tempted to cut corners in an effort to reduce costs, potentially creating a low quality product, with little regard to product safety. This may have a negative impact on the industry and result in the erosion of consumer confidence.
Poorly designed standards may cause more harm than good
When creating product specifications, it is critical that both manufacturers and consumers are taken into consideration, otherwise poor regulations may have the following impact:
Applying strict, poorly designed regulations may hinder manufacturers in the following ways:
- Stifling innovation
- Minimising job creation
- Wasting limited resources
Consumers may be negatively impacted, and substandard regulations could:
- Inadvertently harm the people they are supposed to protect
- Erode the public’s confidence in our government
Our solution
The confusion and issues caused by the current lack of regulation could be eradicated with the creation of a BSI Publicly Available Specification (PAS) document. A PAS document is essential to provide reassurance to consumers and manufacturers that products are safe. This PAS would be used in the UK, Europe, USA and Canada but may be referred to globally.
In the case of CBD vape products, this document would need to cover;
- The requirements of raw materials and components used in the manufacturing process and prohibited ingredients
- The restrictions of prohibited compounds
- Safety and conformity specifications of electronic components (inc. battery) to relevant safety standards
- Manufacturing quality standards
- Chemical analysis of CBD vape products, safe limits and compliance
- Product quality (stability and limits of restricted compounds)
- Product labelling, traceability and packaging
- Vape product vigilance and adverse event reporting.
Next steps
We are taking the lead to generate a CBD vaping products PAS, and are looking to bring together a consortium of stakeholders within the category and combine experience and expertise to create a set of specifications and encourage a faster adoption of these best practices to protect public health. Get in touch if you would like to be involved in the creation of this industry standard.
We constantly contribute to expert working groups to set product standards and influence policy with governments in the areas of vaping devices. For example, our team was involved in the CEN TC 437 WG 2, 3 and 4 for the next generation of standards for ENDS in Europe.
We look forward to working with companies in the industry who are passionate about creating product standards for this growing category.
The post CBD vaping products ‘Black Hole’ and our proposed solution appeared first on Inter Scientific.
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