Louisiana has implemented new regulations on vaping products, severely limiting the items smoke shops are allowed to sell. Store owners across the state say the restrictions have decimated revenue and threaten the survival of their businesses.
Vape Ban Leaves Shelves Bare
Mohamad Nofel, owner of several Deja Vu Smoke Shops in Baton Rouge, spent an afternoon removing banned vaping products from his stores. With a blue tarp, Nofel covered a wall filled with now-prohibited items to keep them out of sight.
"Today I turned away five, six customers," Nofel said.
Like smoke shop owners statewide, Nofel has had to pull nearly all disposable vapes off his shelves per the new regulations, slashing his revenue substantially.
"Our walls are empty," said Omar Dawud, owner of Shreveport-area shops 318 Cloudz. "It's really affecting me, to the point I'm thinking of moving out of this state."
State Registry Strictly Limits Products
On November 10th, Louisiana's Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC 414) released a product registry dictating what retailers can legally sell. Smoke shop owners say while the list contains 397 entries, most vapes they stock don't qualify.
Dawud had sold 31 vape juice brands across his 5 stores. Only 2 made the registry. "That's almost $450,000. That’s a lot of money," Dawud said of the lost sales. His revenue has dropped 60% under the new regulations.
The ATC list includes alternative nicotine items like pouches, gum, and lozenges. It also lists trivial product variations - 17 similar Vuse e-liquid pod types, differing only in flavor and nicotine strength.
Disposable Vape Ban Impacts Customers
When Orese Alford visited Deja Vu Smoke Shop hoping to buy a vape after the regulations took effect, none of his usual brands were available.
Alford says vaping helped him quit smoking. The regulations will cause problems, though he'll adjust by switching to sugar-free candy. More ex-smokers will likely revert to cigarettes due to the disposable vape ban, Alford believes.
At another Baton Rouge shop, Fly High Smoke Shop, sales associate Phill Oso said the near-absence of customers revealed vapes as their top seller. Furious customers have even threatened violence when denied banned vaping products.
"I feel like there could have been other ways to regulate or keep the kids from getting them,” Oso said regarding the strict new rules.
Legal Challenge Questions Tax Implications
Smoke shops have sued to overturn the regulations, arguing they violate Louisiana's constitution by gutting expected tax revenue from the original vaping tax law.
Attorney Tom Clark contends meeting revenue targets is impossible by banning the vapor products generating taxes. State Alcohol and Tobacco Control head Ernest Legier disputes this notion, stating the regulations enable capturing far more untaxed online sales.
Legier says the state previously collected little of the tax revenue from vapes purchased online, with most retailers not declaring taxable imports. By restricting legal sales to certified wholesalers, Louisiana can now tax all documented vaping products entering the state.
"100% of a known market is probably less than 100% to 20% of an unknown and uncontrollable market,” Legier argues. The tax implications remain central to the legal challenge awaiting judicial ruling.