Vaping Regulations per State

Jun 22, 2022Updated Sep 17, 20266 min readIndustry News

Vaping laws in the United States are stacked in layers. Federal rules apply everywhere, each state adds its own, and many cities and counties go further still. What you can buy, where you can vape and even how an order ships can change when you cross a state line.

This guide explains how those layers fit together, the kinds of rules states usually set, what the state-by-state picture looked like back in 2016, and how to find the rules that apply to you today.

The federal baseline

A few rules apply nationwide, whatever your state says:

• Minimum age of 21. Since December 2019, federal law has set 21 as the minimum age to buy any tobacco or vaping product, including vape juice and disposables. Retailers, online stores included, have to verify age.
• FDA premarket authorization. Every vaping product needs FDA authorization to be sold legally. Applications for products already on the market were due in September 2020, and many products are still under review.
• Shipping limits. Since 2021, the PACT Act has restricted mailing vaping products. The US Postal Service does not deliver them to consumers, private carriers require an adult signature, and online sellers must follow the tax and sales rules of the place they ship to.
• Packaging and warnings. Liquid nicotine has to come in child-resistant packaging, and products that contain nicotine carry a warning that nicotine is an addictive chemical.

The FDA’s tobacco products site has the current federal rules. For the story of how vaping came under federal law in the first place, see our post on the 2016 FDA deeming rule.

What states and cities add

States and local governments can build on the federal rules, and most do. The details vary widely, but they tend to fall into the same groups:

• Retail licensing. Many states and cities require shops that sell vaping products to hold a tobacco or vapor retail license.
• Taxes. Many states tax vaping products, some by the milliliter of liquid and some as a percentage of the price. Some cities and counties add their own tax on top.
• Flavor restrictions. Some states and many cities limit or ban flavored vaping products. The rules differ on which flavors count and which stores they cover, and they change often.
• Where you can vape. Many indoor air laws treat vaping like smoking, which rules it out in workplaces, restaurants, bars and other indoor public places. Parks, public transit and government buildings often have their own bans.
• Online and delivery sales. Some states restrict or ban shipping vaping products to consumers, or require online sellers to register and collect state taxes.
• Approved product lists. Some states only allow the sale of vaping products that appear on a state list, usually tied to each product’s FDA status.

Because a city can be stricter than its state, the rules can change from one town to the next. A flavor you can buy in one city may be off the shelves a few miles away.

A look back: the state-by-state picture in 2016

In June 2016, the Public Health Law Center published a 50-state review of e-cigarette regulation. The report ran to 87 pages and showed how uneven the rules were at the time:

• Minimum ages varied. Most states set 18. Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah used 19, and Hawaii and California had already moved to 21.
• Packaging rules were spreading. California, Indiana, New York and Texas were among the states that already required child-resistant packaging for nicotine liquid.
• Licensing depended on the state. Arkansas, California and Connecticut were among those requiring sellers to get a license or register.
• Taxes were just getting started. Kansas, Louisiana and North Carolina taxed vape liquid by the milliliter, while Minnesota and Pennsylvania taxed a percentage of the wholesale price.
• Indoor rules were a patchwork. Some states folded vaping into their smoke-free laws. Others banned it only in specific places, such as schools, child care facilities or state buildings.

Nearly all of those details have changed since. The federal age of 21 replaced the mix of 18 and 19, vape taxes have spread and changed, and flavor rules barely existed then. Treat the 2016 snapshot as history, not as a guide to current law.

How to check the rules where you live

Laws change faster than any article can keep up with, so go to the source. These places usually have the current answer:

1. Your state health department. Most have a tobacco control page that covers age limits, where you can vape and flavor rules.
2. Your state revenue or tax department. This is usually where vape taxes and retail licenses are explained.
3. Your city or county website. Local flavor bans, extra taxes and smoke-free rules are set by local ordinance.
4. Federal agencies. The FDA covers federal rules, and the CDC has public health guidance.

A good local shop has to follow the rules in its area and can often tell you what has changed recently, but confirm with an official source before you rely on it.

Traveling and ordering online

Rules follow the place, not you. A product that is legal to buy at home may not be sold where you are going, and vaping may be banned in places you would not expect, such as parks or beaches. Air travel has its own rules for devices and batteries; our guide to flying with vape gear covers the basics.

When you order online, the seller has to follow the laws of your delivery address, which is why some products may not ship to some states. ZampleBox ships from Vista, California, to US addresses, sells only to adults 21 and older and verifies age at checkout. See our shipping page for details, or email hello@zamplebox.com with questions.

Common questions

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. For adults 21+ only.