Electronic cigarette consumers are now more quality conscious. They want something that is US produced so that they could somehow feel certain that their safety is secured while they are vaping. With this in mind, more and more ecigarette companies are considering transferring their production line to the US from China.
Among these ecigarette companies are Mistic Ecigs and White Cloud Ecigs. One of the companies' CEO said that this decision was reached in order to improve profitability and quality control as well as to remove the stigma of working in China.
Mistic is based in Charlotte, North Carolina while White Cloud is headquartered in Tarpon Springs. They both announced their local ecig production very recently.
Ecigs Made In China
These days, most ecig products in the market are made in China. It is in China where the ecigarettes we know were invented and developed by Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist. Manufacturing devices and hardware is said to be less costly in China. Thus, many ecig companies choose to mix eliquids in the US and then ship the eliquid to China where it will be filled into assembled ecigarettes.
Mistic, for example, makes its eliquids in the US and then subcontracts it to Chima where the complete product is assembled. CEO John Wiesehan Jr. stated that eliminating the assembly in China will help improve the profitability and supply chain efficiency of the Mistic.
He added that a lot of business factors are considered for what they are now doing. They are very happy with the factory they are now using. They will still be making business with China, although the assembly and manufacturing will no longer be done there. He explained that while the stigma of working in China was not a major deciding factor, they still considered it in the decision making.
The general manager of an eliquid manufacturer based in the US works with ecig manufacturers in China. This manager said that the company also plans moving from China due to the bias of US made products against China made products.
When people think that something is made in China, they think about low quality products. He said that it could be true or not, but consumers are hard to convince. He added that even though they control the production, the stigma is still there so they now want to do away from it.
Mistic CEO said that the company will continue importing materials from its partners from China for its electronic cigarettes including battery and cartridge components.
Made In The US Eliquid
Like Mistic, White Cloud also makes its eliquids in the US. It has lately indicated its interest in moving its cartridge filling process from China to the US.
Co-founder Matthew Steingraber said that by moving the cartridge filling in the US, they could better ensure that each cartridge meets the standard for longevity, vapor and flavor.
White Cloud is well recognized for its product quality and the move will further help the company in building on this reputation. At present, the FDA does not regulate electronic cigarette devices or eliquids.
Supporter claim that ecigs are safer and healthier than tobacco cigarettes because they are not laden with tobacco and do not involve burning of tobacco. Yet, critics are not convinced; they say that there is no evidence to prove such claims.
Before April ended, the FDA released its proposed ecigarette policies that will essentially treat ecigarettes as tobacco products. There are provisions that are already implemented by many ecig companies such as not selling to minors and using labels where full ingredients list and warnings are indicated.
