5 Laws Every Vape Company Owner in the U.S. Should Know

It’s always an advantage to know the vaping laws governing the marketing, sales, and use of vape products, especially if you’re a company in the e-cigarette industry. In the U.S, the sales and use of vape pens, liquid nicotine, e-cigarettes, e-liquids, or bulk import of such products aren’t without a list of requirements and regulatory guidelines.

You need to ensure compliance for your company and employees. This calls for an in-depth understanding of the rules and regulations surrounding customer age verifications, product placements and displays, sampling, internet and mail orders, restricted store sections, and many more.

Like most laws in the U.S, there are state and federal regulations for nicotine devices. Certain states in the U.S consider vaping companies to be manufacturers and retailers. What this implies is that you’ll have to deal with additional rules and laws. Ensuring that you’re compliant will save you a lot of delays, fees, and fines.

This article covers five essential laws you should understand as a vape company in the U.S. But before diving into it, let’s look at a general overview of vape regulations.

A Quick Overview

In the latter part of December 2020, a budget package saw the light of day after its passing by Congress.

The package included the likes of the coronavirus relief bill, but what would interest most vape companies was a 5000-page document also located inside the package.

This document was the law called the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act.

It regulated several vape products, like the dual battery vape mods and the more sophisticated vape setups like the Tesla Punk Vape MOD. But this was just a piece of the iceberg, and laws such as these can easily go unnoticed if you’re not paying attention. So let’s take a closer look at five of them.

1.   Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act

President Trump signed this Act into law in 2020. In the vaping industry, this act is commonly called the “vape mail ban.”

However, vape companies will feel the effects of the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act reaching past the postal delivery. Despite its popularity since December 2020, this law isn’t new.

It had previously passed the House back in 2019 and, in July 2020, made its way to the Senate in somewhat different forms. However, the Senate received a call-to-action from CASAA concerning the bill before its passing in the summer.

Overall, few vape businesses and vapers are alarmed by the possible impacts of its passage, not knowing its full impacts.

2.   Preventing All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT)

All vendors of vapor products and businesses that deal in devices that deliver flavor, the nicotine from an aerosolized solution, or other substances that enable users to inhale will have to comply with Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) from late March 2021. This law also goes by the name Jenkins Act.

It regulates regular vapor products that deliver nicotine and non-nicotine vapor products, which the government might regard as containing hemp oil.

Failure to abide by the rules and regulations stipulated by the Jenkins/PACT Act exposes vape companies to the possibility of heavy fines in the sums of $5,000 to $10,000 for each violation.

3.   FDA Regulation of ENDS

Electronic nicotine delivery systems, otherwise termed ENDS, are devices such as vape pens, electronic cigarettes, vaporizers, and e-pipes, among many others. All these devices are non-combustible tobacco products.

The FDA in 2016 concluded a ruling that extended CTP’s regulatory domain to cover tobacco products, including ENDS that fall under the category of tobacco products.

Hence, the FDA controls the import, advertising, sale, packaging, distribution, labeling, and manufacture of all such products. Its regulations also cover the parts and components of ENDS. However, it excludes all accessories. Some examples of such components include:

4.   FDA Tobacco Regulations

Businesses that produce, modify fabricate, mix, fix, assemble, repack, label, import, or relabel ENDS must also abide by the requirements for manufactures, in addition to the first three laws.

If your company falls into this category, the FDA considers you a tobacco product “manufacture.” Even companies that import finished tobacco products must comply just like tobacco products distributors or manufacturers.

Therefore, you’ll have to register your company and submit the list of products, advertisements, and labeling. Per the regulations, other details you’ll need to submit include an ingredient listing and data.

5.   Protecting American Lungs And Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act

In February 2020, the U.S House of Representatives approved a bill to tackle the youth tobacco crisis. The name of this bill was the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020.

It bans most flavored tobacco and vaping products such as mint and menthol flavor. Plus, it imposes taxes on nicotine e-cigarettes and affects vape companies.

Conclusion

One vital fact to always keep in mind, law and regulations are always subject to modification via the passing of new legislation, federal decisions, ballot initiatives, high court rulings, or other approved methods. Therefore, It’s always necessary to follow the latest developments and know current information.

Often, understanding the complex rules and how they affect your business can be challenging. Therefore, you may need an attorney in addition to your legal research to clear all your doubts.