Virginia’s Attorney General Jay Jones and a handful of state lawmakers praised the passage of the Vape Enforcement Act Monday. The effort requires vape shops to register with the state and face big fines. And if they break state law, they could lose their licenses.
Virginia’s new vape registration law doesn’t kick in until 2027, but once it’s in place, Attorney General Jay Jones said his office is ready to enforce it.
“We are funded to do this, and we have the resources and tools to hold these shop owners accountable. And if they continue to break the law, they’re going to lose their licenses," Jones told the press Monday. "It’s a really simple thing; if the products are not legal you cannot sell them.”
The bill was carried by two Democrats, Arlington Delegate Patrick Hope and Henrico Senator Schuyler VanValkenburg. A teacher when not at the legislature, VanValkenburg said he was tired of seeing kids vaping in schools and he believes the law will make that stop.
“You’re having kids bringing them in, sharing them, using them in the bathroom, using them in the hallway," VanValkenburg said. "And I think the real important part is stopping it before they get access to it and that’s what this bill does.”
Advocates for the vape industry, meanwhile, said the devices have helped many people quit smoking traditional cigarettes, which Tony Abboud with the Vapor Technology Association argues are significantly more harmful.
“Everybody knows it's the cigarettes that are killing half a million Americans and thousands of Virginians every year,” Abboud told Radio IQ.
The law puts new licensing, permitting and inspections under Virginia ABC with oversight from the AG’s office. Legislators will have to approve the law again in 2027 before it can go into full effect.
