STATE System E-Cigarette Fact Sheet

State Legislative Activity
Enacted as of March 31, 2024

Restrictions on Sales to Underage Persons

  • As of March 31, 2024 all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have passed legislation prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to underage persons.
  • American Samoa and the Marshall Islands do not have any legislation requiring a minimum age prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to persons under certain age.

Retail Licensure on E-Cigarettes

  • As of March 31, 2024, 34 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Washington), the District of Columbia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the U.S. Virgin Islands have passed legislation that requires a retail license to sell e-cigarettes over-the-counter.

Smokefree Indoor Air Laws, Including E-Cigarettes

  • As of March 31, 2024, 19 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, and Vermont) the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed comprehensive smokefree indoor air laws that include e-cigarettes. These laws prohibit smoking and the use of e-cigarettes in indoor areas of private worksites, restaurants, and bars.
  • Effective October 1, 2018, Alaska implemented new legislation prohibiting smoking and the use of e-cigarettes in indoor areas of private worksites, restaurants, and bars. Also included in the legislation is an option for a municipality to opt out of these provisions through a voter referendum. Because municipalities in Alaska are able to exempt themselves from this legislation, it is not considered to be a comprehensive smokefree indoor air policy that includes e-cigarettes.

E-Cigarette Tax

  • As of March 31, 2024, 32 states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have passed legislation that requires a tax on e-cigarettes. Thirteen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin) tax e-cigarettes per milliliter of liquid or consumable material. Sixteen states (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, and Wyoming), the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands tax e-cigarettes on a percentage of a specified cost. Georgia, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and New Mexico tax closed e-cigarette systems (prefilled cartridges) per milliliter of liquid and open e-cigarette systems (refillable cartridges) on a percentage of a specified cost. Puerto Rico taxes the e-cigarette device themselves if disposable, and the nicotine cartridge per milliliter of consumable liquid.
Glossary Terminology
RESTRICTIONS ON SALES TO MINORS

Minimum Age: Indicates whether a minimum age is required by a state or territory’s law before vendors can legally sell e-cigarettes to an individual for personal consumption. A federal law enacted on December 20, 2019, raised the federal minimum legal sales age for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, from 18 to 21 across the United States. It does not limit states, territories, localities, or tribes from enforcing their own, additional youth access laws or from setting their own minimum legal sales age higher than age 21.

Minimum Age (Years): The minimum age—in years—required by law that an individual must reach before vendors can legally sell e-cigarettes to the individual.

RETAIL LICENSURE ON E-CIGARETTES

License Required: Whether a person engaged in the business of selling e-cigarettes over-the-counter to individual consumers must obtain a license or permit prior to conducting business.

Over-the-Counter: means e-cigarette products are sold in face-to-face transactions directly to an individual consumer.

SMOKEFREE INDOOR AIR POLICIES, INCLUDING E-CIGARETTES

Comprehensive Smokefree Indoor Air Law: CDC defines a state smokefree air law as comprehensive if it prohibits smoking in indoor areas of private worksites, restaurants, and bars.

Note: States have passed comprehensive smokefree air laws that include the use of e-cigarettes. These laws prohibit smoking and the use of e-cigarettes in indoor areas of private worksites, restaurants, and bars.

E-CIGARETTE TAX

E-Cigarette Tax: Any excise tax levied on e-cigarettes.

Type of Tax: E-cigarette tax is collected on a percentage on one of three levels—to the manufacturer, to the wholesaler, or to the retailer.

Percent Value: E-cigarette tax collected at the manufacturer, retailer, or wholesale level as a percentage of the product price.

Disclaimer: The STATE System contains data synthesized from state-level statutory laws. It does not contain state-level regulations; measures implemented by counties, cities, or other localities; opinions of Attorneys General; or relevant case law decisions for tobacco control topics other than preemption; all of which may vary significantly from the laws reported in the database, fact sheets, and publications.