Virginia Proposes Flavor Ban, Approved Product List

Virginia has long been the epicenter of the tobacco industry, Now, two bills that would ban flavored vaping products have been filed with the state’s General Assembly.

Sponsors say Virginia should step in where Washington has been ineffective in blocking unregulated flavored e-cigarettes, such as Elf Bar disposables, off of store shelves.

The bills, House Bill 1069 and Senate Bill 550, call for a fine of $1,000 a day for each product sold that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not authorized to be marketed in the U.S.

The Attorney General would maintain a directory of legal products, much like Alabama and Louisiana. Products not listed in that directory could not be legally sold in Virginia.

The bill states any retailer and wholesaler that sells or distributes any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product in the state is subject to scheduled or unscheduled compliance checks carried out by the Attorney General’s Office for enforcement purposes.

Manufacturers must certify, in a filing with the Attorney General, that their product is covered by an FDA marketing authorization order, or is exempt from that because it was sold in the U.S. before 2016 or subject to a premarket tobacco product application dating from before 2020.

“It’s a public health issue,” said Del. Rodney Willett, who sponsored the House of Delegates bill.

“They’re targeting kids with the flavors,” he said, according to media reports. “When I walk into a convenience store, I’m just stunned by the number of these products that are for sale.”