Tennessee Vape Bill Proposing FDA Approval Requirement and 10% Tax Faces Industry Pushback
Tennessee legislators have introduced a bipartisan bill that would fundamentally transform the state’s vaping industry, sparking intense debate and forcing a one-week delay on the House committee vote originally scheduled for March 3rd.
The proposed legislation targets what sponsors describe as an “unregulated vaping market” and aims to protect Tennessee youth through several significant measures:
- Implementation of universal age verification requirements
- Introduction of a 10% tax on “open system” vape products
- Creation of a state registry limiting sales to FDA-approved products or those pending approval
- Prohibition of non-FDA approved vape products, many reportedly manufactured in China
Industry Representatives Warn of “Prohibition,” Not Regulation
During testimony before the House Government Operations Committee, Tennessee Smoke Free Association (TSFA) president Danny Gillis painted a grim picture of the bill’s potential consequences.
“This isn’t proper regulation—it’s prohibition,” Gillis argued. “It would force us to pull 99% of our products from shelves and shutter businesses that have helped thousands of Tennesseans quit smoking.”
Gillis and other industry representatives raised particular concerns about the proposed product registry, noting that the 34 products currently FDA-approved are all owned by major tobacco companies—a detail they claim reveals the legislation’s true beneficiaries.
“This bill hands control of the vaping industry back to Big Tobacco,” Gillis testified. “The very companies that profit from cigarette addiction would now control alternatives designed to help people quit.”
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