Wading Through Legal Hurdles

vape shop - vaporizers

Owning a business is hardly a small endeavor.  If you are wanting to invest in your own vape shop, there are some legal hurdles you will have to bound over in order to be successful.  Before you make your first purchase do your research to make sure this is an investment that is going to be lucrative and financially sound.  If you are still ready to head down this path, follow these tips to wade through the legal mumbo jumbo.

Keep in mind that vaping is currently considered a nicotine product and closely affiliated with the tobacco industry.  To that end, you will need to follow all the laws affiliated with both the federal and state legislation.  You will need a license to operate within the state and many states will require a local license as well.  The technical term for vaping products is Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or ENDS for short.  While it is a different classification, they still mostly follow the same laws as cigarettes.

If you sell anything vape related, including accessories, cartridges, vapes, or e-liquids like cosmic fog milk and honey, you are considered an ENDS retailer and must carry the appropriate licenses.  This includes any convenience store that wants to carry JUUL.  This also means you are subject to the full extent of the law under penalties of fine per occurrence.  Remember, the FDA and FBI do send out agents regularly undercover to make sure these rules are enforced.

Many rules exist to own a vape shop on or offline.  It is recommended to go through these before opening a shop or investing too heavily.  Some of the major noes no’s include selling to minors, advertising, and free samples.  In August of 2016 selling any type of ENDS product to minors became illegal.  The law also requires carding of all individuals under the age of 27.   Federal law also mandates that no samples can be given out.  If you do, charge a small fee to counter it.  Lastly, make sure all products come with nicotine warning labels.

Once you meet all these steps, you will need to also make sure that no products can be reached by children.  This can be done via glass casing or shelving with some sort of divider between customer and clerk.  Then comes the submission phase.  You will need to submit a complete list of products, their ingredients and have tests performed on the products.  If you are a manufacturer, such as blending your own juices, you will also need to provide a PMTA for each product, which can be expensive.

Getting lost yet?  Fortunately, you are almost done.  Make sure that each of your employees completes the vape safety courses if the state requires them.  You will also need documentation visible in the store or on the website indicating nicotine and age warnings.  This list is not comprehensive, it gives the highest level to get started.  Before you do anything more, go and research the exact requirements in your state.  Good luck with pursuing a vape shop.