Government shutdown forces electronic cigarette trade organization SFATA to reschedule day of advocacy on the Hill.

Washington, DC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/02/2013 --The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA), the largest electronic cigarette industry trade organization, was forced to reschedule its Washington, DC Fly-In for November 3rd and 4th due to the government shutdown that began on the first of October. Originally scheduled for early October, the events schedule was rendered ineffective.

The core structure of the SFATA Fly-In will remain unchanged. Participating members will gather on November 4th to receive regulatory and legislative updates on the e-cig industry and the political landscape surrounding it. A cocktail reception will follow at 6:30PM at Tabula Rasa in the Barracks district of Washington D.C.; bringing together staffers, legislators, business owners, media and interested parties. The following day (November 5th), SFATA members and staff will visit Capital Hill for a day of meetings with representatives and staffers.

The Fly-In is a landmark event for the e-cig and personal electronic vaporizer unit (PEVU) industry; it's another in a line of firsts pioneered by SFATA.

“This will be the first time e-cig industry leaders have gathered to collectively advocate for fair, business-minded legislation on Capital Hill,” says SFATA executive director Cynthia Cabrera. “It is unfortunate that events forced us to reschedule, but we run effective meetings and events. While we can’t control the shutdown we can mitigate our losses and hit the hill when we have the full focus of legislators and staffers.”

The electronic cigarette and PEVU industry has been under intense scrutiny since it entered the U.S. market. Through this and other events, SFATA has been working to relieve pressure on the industry by fighting misinformation with education. Over the past two years SFATA has hosted educational workshops, seminars and regulatory updates to the industry and will continue working to maintain effective and productive collaboration between political and business players.

SFATA staff and members of law firm Venable LLP will be in attendance at the event. Venable LLP has provided legal and regulatory expertise to the electronic cigarette industry since the products first came to the U.S. market. SFATA has been working on behalf of the electronic cigarette industry since it was founded in early 2012.

SFATA's Fly-In is scheduled for November 4th and 5th. The cocktail reception is an open event, but meetings are exclusively for members of SFATA and registration is required. For more information about the reception or the fly-in, visit SFATA.org or email info@sfata.org.

About SFATA
The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association is the largest U.S.-based electronic cigarette industry trade organization. It is dedicated to the advocacy, education, and reputation of the electronic cigarette industry. Through its membership, SFATA builds the networks necessary to support campaigning and research endeavors paramount to the future of the industry. SFATA's primary concern is the fair regulation of electronic cigarettes in a way that creates an even playing field for all companies in the market. For more information, visit SFATA.org, email info@sfata.org or call 218-22-SFATA.