BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A law to regulate nicotine vapes was passed during the 2023 Legislative Session. It creates a directory and attempts to remove products some products that are unapproved from the Louisiana market.
Act 414 by Rep. Paul Hollis was signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards on June 15 and was created to raise taxes on vape products. The bill went into effect July 1, but some requirements had an extended start date.
In an announcement from the Department of Revenue, the law states that starting Oct. 1, 2023, every vapor product manufacturer that sells products in Louisiana must register their products with the Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC) by Nov. 1.
To register products with the ATC and on the V.A.P.E. Directory, manufacturers must do one of the following:
- submit a form proving that the item was on the market in 2016.
- show they received a marketing order or other approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
If a product gets a no-marketing order from the FDA or otherwise loses permission to be sold in the U.S., the ATC and directory must be updated in 30 days.
On Sept. 29, an emergency rule was filed by ATC to protect the health of citizens from online sales and sales of tobacco items that are not aligned with state law. Any products not on the directory or deemed unsafe can’t be sold.
