Final guidance sets a risk-based approach to ENDS and oral nicotine pouches sold without premarket authorization. An enforcement posture is not an authorization and a pending application is not a safe harbor.
FDA maintains a short list of products that can legally be marketed — 39 vapes and 20 nicotine pouch products. Retailers should match every SKU against the real-time list.
Interstate ENDS sellers must register with ATF and destination states, and the USPS is banned from mailing vapes. Private carriers, age checks and package labeling are required.
California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island have full flavor bans; Utah allows only tobacco and menthol. New York currently exempts menthol.
Act 189 bans the sale of disposable electronic smoking devices from 1 January 2027, with penalties up to $100 per day for each violation.
Vaping taxes differ widely: California applies 52.92% of wholesale price, while Kansas and West Virginia charge per-milliliter rates. Check each state's rules.
The UK applies VPD on e-liquids from 1 October 2026, with HMRC registration and tax stamps following in 2027.
New restrictions on flavors, capacity and user-replaceable batteries are taking shape across the EU through 2026-2027.
Federal plain packaging laws and rising excise taxes continue to tighten the Canadian market.
China applies a 36% consumption tax at production/import and 11% at wholesale, alongside a regulated licensing system.
A new tobacco product, including ENDS, must receive FDA marketing authorization before it is legally sold. Products without an order are adulterated and misbranded. A pending application does not create a legal safe harbor, and an enforcement posture is not the same as authorization.
FDA's final guidance describes enforcement policies for certain ENDS and oral nicotine pouch products marketed without premarket authorization, using a risk-based approach. FDA can change these priorities at any time, so sellers should not rely on discretion long term.
New tobacco products (other than ENDS) lacking the required marketing authorization may be detained without physical examination at import because they are adulterated and misbranded. Removal from the red list requires evidence that the authorization issue is resolved.
It is illegal to sell any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, to anyone under 21. The rule applies to every retailer and sales channel with no exceptions, and is codified in 21 CFR 1140.14.
Retailers must verify the age of any customer who appears to be under 30 using a valid, unexpired, government-issued photo ID, and refuse the sale if the ID does not show the buyer is at least 21. Online sales require equivalent age verification.
Any business that sells, transfers or ships ENDS in interstate commerce must register with ATF (Form 5070.1) and with each state into which it ships. Delivery sales must also comply with applicable state, local and tribal excise taxes.
The amended PACT Act bans the U.S. Postal Service from mailing vapes and other smokeless tobacco products to consumers. There is no waiver for ENDS, so sellers must use private carriers for direct delivery.
Every delivery sale requires age verification of the customer, an adult with ID present to accept delivery, and shipping packages labeled to show they contain tobacco products. These rules apply across all interstate shipments.
California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island have full flavor bans, while Utah bans everything except tobacco and menthol. Menthol is included in the California, Massachusetts and New Jersey bans; New York currently exempts it.