Tag: Tennessee

  • Third Time a Charm for Vape Ban in Nashville Bars

    Third Time a Charm for Vape Ban in Nashville Bars

    Credit: Adriano CZ

    It still has another step. However, Nashville, Tennessee’s, Metro Council passed a law to prohibit smoking and vaping products in Nashville bars and venues on its third reading Tuesday night.

    The rule overwhelming passed with 30 votes in approval and four against. One council member abstained from the vote, according to media reports. There will be one more vote to approve passage of the ordinance, however, the large amount of support for the ordinance almost guarantees it will become law.

    The law, BL2022-1383, was deferred at Metro Council’s meeting on Sept. 20 due to a late-filed amendment that would protect vapor bars that generate direct revenue from the on-site sale of vapor products and accessories related to this use.

    The law was then amended and passed on second reading as amended at Metro Council’s meeting on Oct. 4. Tennessee law previously allowed smoking in 21 and up bars at the owner’s discretion. If the rule passes, it wouldn’t go into effect until March of 2023 to give businesses time to adjust.

    The council said they are not permitted to prohibit smoking or vaping at establishments that are specifically cigar bars, tobacco retail stores and vape retail stores due to state law. A law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly last year gives local governments the authority to prohibit the use of tobacco products on public property by ordinance.

  • Hookah, Cannabis Holding up Nashville’s Vape Ban in Bars

    Hookah, Cannabis Holding up Nashville’s Vape Ban in Bars

    Credit: Aleksandr Kondratov

    A Metro Council proposal in Nasheville, Tennessee that would ban vaping and smoking, even in 21-and-up bars, makes an exception for cigar bars. But hookah lounges and a new cannabis restaurant could be forced to change their businesses if the ordinance passes.

    Anyone who works at or patronizes Alladin’s Hookah Lounge & Bar on Elliston Place in Nashville knows they will be surrounded by tobacco smoke. Bar manager Amy Abrecht says communal smoking is the whole point, according to WLPN.

    Members of the Metro Council acknowledged in a hearing this month that hookah bars were an oversight. Sponsor Jeff Syracuse also said a new cannabis restaurant called Buds & Brews that offers vaping as part of the experience raised concerns.

    “I don’t want to drive out of business new businesses that weren’t expecting this,” Councilmember Freddie O’Connell said at the meeting Aug. 16, when the ordinance was deferred to Sept. 20. “I don’t want to have this conflict emerge that we can’t work around.”

    The problem is the Metro Council can’t simply amend the proposed ordinance. The city had to get legislation passed at the state level to be granted authority to ban smoking in 21-and-up bars. So adding an exception beyond cigar bars will take an act of the General Assembly too, which isn’t scheduled to meet again until next year.

  • Tennessee City to Ban Vaping on Most Public Properties

    Tennessee City to Ban Vaping on Most Public Properties

    Getting caught smoking vaping in most Johnson City, Tennessee, public properties may soon face a $50 fine. On Thursday, city commissioners approved on first reading an ordinance banning the use of vapor and tobacco products in public parks, public playgrounds, public greenways and any public property accessible to youth.

    Credit: Andre Ykr

    Smoking is already prohibited in parks as a result of city policy, but because it’s not an ordinance, the restrictions are not comprehensively applied and can be difficult to enforce, according to the Johnson City Press.

    Assistant City Manager Charlie Stahl said tobacco was originally prohibited in the park system because officials were receiving complaints about parents smoking in the bleachers at sporting events, which would disturb other spectators and their children.

    A law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly this year gives local governments the authority to prohibit the use of tobacco products on public property by ordinance. Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill on May 27, and the law becomes effective on July 1.

    If commissioners approve the changes on three readings, the ordinance would become effective after July 15.

  • First Tennessee Vapor Shipping Reports Due May 10

    First Tennessee Vapor Shipping Reports Due May 10

    Tennessee has announced the starting date for its PACT Act requirements. The state’s Department of Revenue states that beginning May 10, 2021, and the 10th of every month thereafter, any entity shipping electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) or related products into Tennessee from another state is required to report all such shipments to the department.

    It is expected that all states will require PACT Act reporting to begin on May 10. Effective March 28th, 2021, recipients of all vaping products purchased online will be required to present ID and sign for their delivery. The United States Postal Service mail ban on vaping products will go into effect on April 27th, 2021. After this date, customers will no longer be able to receive vaping products by way of USPS delivery.

    The amended PACT Act provides that any person who sells, transfers, or ships for profit ENDS in interstate commerce, or who advertises such products for sale, must register with the tobacco tax administrator of the state into which the shipment is made. The company must also file monthly reports with the tobacco tax administrator no later than the 10th day
    of each month.

    Under the PACT Act, a delivery seller faces violations that may result in civil penalties of up to
    $5,000 for the first violation, $10,000 for the second violation, or 2percent of the gross sales during the prior 12 months. Additionally, there are penalties for common carriers or other persons providing delivery services of up to $2,500 for a first violation or $5,000 for any other violation within one year of a prior violation.

  • Tennessee Revenue Dept. says ‘No Tobacco, No Tax’

    Tennessee Revenue Dept. says ‘No Tobacco, No Tax’

    The Tennessee Department of Revenue stated in a notice on Wednesday that e-cigarettes, vape devices and hemp and herbal cigarettes without tobacco aren’t subject to the state’s tobacco tax.

    tax papers
    Credit: ICB

    When hemp and herbal product cigarettes don’t contain tobacco, they aren’t subject to the state’s tobacco tax, according to Notice 20-21, according to an article on law360.com.

    E-cigarettes and vape devices transform liquids into gas and allow inhalation of vapor. While the liquid cartridges can contain nicotine and other compounds, they’re not subject to the tobacco tax because they don’t contain tobacco, the notice said. Smokeless oral nicotine patches also are not subject to the tobacco tax, the notice said.

    The notice also said that while many new products are being introduced in the state, some with nicotine and others packaged like tobacco products, the department will not apply the tobacco tax to nontobacco products without statutory clarification on what is considered a tobacco substitute.

    Tennessee imposes a tax on the privilege of selling cigarette and tobacco products. Cigarettes are taxed at 62 cents per pack of 20, and other tobacco products like cigars and snuff are taxed at 6.6% of the wholesale cost, the notice said.

  • TSFA Applauds Drop in Vapor Use by Teens

    TSFA Applauds Drop in Vapor Use by Teens

    The Tennessee Smoke Free Association (TSFA), a trade organization with a focus on tobacco harm reduction (THR) through the use of personal vaporizers, today applauded the news of dropping e-cigarette use among teens in the U.S.

    “There has been a significant effort on the part of the Tennessee Smoke Free Association, and other organizations like ours around the world, to discourage those under 21 years of age from using e-cigarette and vapor products,” said Dimitris Agrafiotis, executive director of the TSFA. “As with the previous studies, we have also been very encouraged by the confirmation that using vapor products does not typically lead to smoking traditional tobacco products. Many of our association members–myself included–are former cigarette smokers who have kicked the habit completely by responsibly using vapor products.”

    Credit: TSFA

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS) that showed a decline of almost 2 million in teens who reported vaping in 2020. The report comes on the heels of other studies that confirmed teen smoking overall has shown a dramatic decline in recent years.

    The CDC’s study comes as health organizations have raised the alarm about teen vaping, leading to regulations in some states that have nearly put those who sell vapor products out of business. Many of the retailers in Tennessee that sell the products are small business owners, who have been struggling during the pandemic and have had to deal with different lockdown orders across the state by adapting quickly–for example, offering curbside services, according to Agrafiotis .

    “The Tennessee Smoke Free Association continues to support regulations that prohibit teens from smoking or vaping. We do not market to teens or initiate vape use to non-smokers. We fully support strong regulations like limiting tobacco sales to those 21 and up, and harsher punishments for anyone caught selling nicotine-containing or illegal vape products to minors,” said Agrafiotis. “But we will continue to fight for responsible adults who use vaping as a way to kick the harmful and deadly habit of smoking.”