The implementation of Iowa’s law regulating e-cigarettes and vaping products has been delayed following a lawsuit filed by a group of local businesses called Iowans For Alternatives to Smoking & Tobacco (IFAST) on December 17, 2022. The state agreed to postpone enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect on February 3, 2023.
Under the contested law, vaping products had to be marketed by August 2016 and a product application submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by September 9, 2020. Only products approved by the FDA and added to the state’s registry of vaping products would be allowed for sale in Iowa.
Vicki Comegys, CEO of Central Iowa Vapors and an IFAST board member, expressed concerns about the law’s potential impact on local businesses, stating, “Work with us because vaping is here to stay. If they’re not going to get it in Iowa, they’re going to get it on the internet, go across the borders. And that just is not accomplishing what needs to be accomplished.”
IFAST’s lawsuit alleges that the state’s law will disproportionately hurt smaller, local businesses and result in many vaping products being pulled from shelves. While the businesses support certain aspects of the law, such as regulating products for people 21 and older, they argue that the rest of the legislation is ambiguous.
With the enforcement of the law delayed, a hearing for a temporary injunction is scheduled for early March. The Iowa Attorney General’s office, representing the state in the case, declined to comment at this time.
As the legal battle unfolds, the future of e-cigarettes and vaping products in Iowa remains uncertain, with local businesses fighting to protect their interests and the state aiming to regulate the industry.