Ray Story, founder of United Tobacco Vaper Group took time to speak with Jack Kocsis of The Daily Vaper. Ray Story can arguably single-handedly take credit for saving the vaping industry. He literally was and still is at the forefront in the fight to save vaping, which most agree to be a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. He is best known for initiating the litigation against the FDA, claiming the e-cigarette was indeed a tobacco product and not a drug delivery device. So on December 7, 2010, Ray and the e-cigarette community won a unanimous court decision siding with the industry position.

Ray explains that vaping sparked his interest because he knew that the majority of smokers were always looking for ways to quit. He understood that it is very important to have an alternative to smoking that is widely available for people that wanted to better improve their overall health by kicking the deadly habit of traditional cigarettes. Not only making it available but also socially acceptable.

Jack brings up the fact that Ray has played two key roles. One is on the business side with making products and achieving the goal of vaping’s acceptance as an alternative to smoking. And two is on the regulatory side of things, where Ray has fought the high taxation and would-be industry crushing regulations on vaping products. Ray responds, “The business side of the spectrum took off and naturally piqued an interest in the federal government.” Ray was faced with either standing his ground or shutting down his vaping business.

At the time the federal government maintained that e-cigarettes were a “drug delivery system.” Ray filed a lawsuit against the FDA, and used the FDA’s definition of a “drug delivery system” against them. He went to battle and won! He’s educated those on both sides of the battle about vaping, and its nicotine delivery specifications, and he smartly recognized that if vaping was regulated as a “drug delivery system,” then Big Pharma would’ve gotten their hands on it and never let go. Ray’s arguments gained traction among millions of people and could not be ignored. He stood up to the federal government’s bad decision and overturned what would have been a major blow to vaping future.

Ray eloquently states that if he didn’t label e-cigarettes as a tobacco product it would still be banned today, since the process for getting drugs and drug delivery systems approved by the FDA is so onerous.

Ray is aware that it is important that the vaping industry does need to be regulated. He says, in order to have a safe alternative to smoking, regulating products must take place in order to assure consumers that they are making a good decision in choosing vaping over cigarettes.

There you have it! Ray Story, a very prominent savior for the vaping industry.

WATCH The Interview: