ATC releases list of approved vape products
La. moves forward with new vape law despite lawsuit
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Several popular vape products will soon no longer be available in Louisiana after not making the V.A.P.E. Directory’s cut.
The Louisiana ATC released its list of nearly 400 approved vape products on Friday, Nov. 10.
The list’s release came after a 19th Judicial District Court judge decided not to grant a temporary restraining order that would have stopped the Louisiana ATC from halting the sale of specific products.
Lawmakers during the 2023 legislative session passed HB 635 by state Rep. Paul Hollis (R) of Covington. It increased the state’s tax rate on vape products and also limited the sale of products to only those approved by the FDA.
“I mean there’s almost no regulation whatsoever. I mean you can open up a box from China and you never know was it a bucket mixed with chemicals and fragrances, and they put them on the shelves and sell it. I mean if that doesn’t cause you a great deal of fear, I don’t know what does,” said Hollis.
The law is being challenged by the Louisiana Convenience and Vape Association which argues it is unconstitutional. Whether or not the law remains on the books will be determined by a judge at the 19th Judicial District Court who will decide whether to stop the ban on those products in the coming weeks. With the time both parties have until they return to court, plaintiffs in the case will try to get the attorney general involved since a constitutional challenge is being made. We reached out to the LCVA for comment but did not hear back.
“It’s really not gonna go anywhere, if anything it might stall the implementation of some aspects of the bill but honestly, I think it’s just a colossal waste of time and resources,” Hollis added.
Hollis said his bill was aimed at protecting kids who he says are being directly targeted by these companies that make all kinds of fruity and sugary flavors.
“Some of the different products, the smells, the flavors, the names of the products like an Elf Bar, it just screams we’re trying to market these products to kids,” Hollis explained.
Part of the law raised the tax on vape liquid from 5¢ to 15¢ per milliliter. Those extra tax dollars are designated for state trooper salaries. But the LCVA argues the law will wipe out at least 60% of the products off their shelves and therefore not result in the revenue increase lawmakers expect.
“The bottom line is you had 130 somewhat legislators vote for it, only 11 people voted against it. On a beautiful sunny day, I don’t think you could get that many legislators to agree it’s a nice day outside. It’s just a high threshold to get two-thirds of the people to vote for something and we did on this bill,” Hollis continued.
The full product list is available here.
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