What Happened to Louisiana’s Vape Ban?

If we go back to March of this year you may have heard rumors that Louisiana had just banned disposable vaping products from being sold in it's borders, well if you look around now you'll see that plenty of vape and smoke shops are still up and running just fine. Well it is true that the state passed legislation on nicotine vapor products, as back in June of 2023 former Governor Edwards signed into law HB 635 which prohibited the sale of vapor alternative nicotine products that were not regulated by the FDA or not on the newly established Vape and Nicotine Alternative Directory. The law allows for products to be registered under the VAPE Directory where they must get certification through the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

The law was set to go into effect on July 1st of 2023 and would begin enforcement on November 1st of that same year, but an injunction was placed on the law due to a lawsuit filed by the Louisiana Convenience and Vape Store Association. A hearing was held in February on the matter but chatter on the matter would be quiet until March 12th of 2024. In March of this year the Louisiana Department of Revenue announced that the law would go into effect starting on March 18th.

Well if you're one of the people who bought into the idea that Louisiana was going to ban all vapes you probably felt a little odd when vapes shops continued to pop up all around. The VAPE Directory has just made it harder for unsafe nicotine and vape products to make it onto the market in the state.