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Do you vape? If so, you need to be aware of a proposed rule that’s currently making its way through Arizona’s legislature and could potentially make it impossible for you to buy the products that have helped to keep you off of tobacco. Arizona Senate Bill 1365 (SB 1365) would make it illegal throughout the state for retailers to sell any vaping product that hasn’t received a marketing authorization from the FDA. The bill would also establish a system of monetary penalties – with fines of up to $3,000 – that would be levied against retailers caught selling non-approved products.
You can read the full text of the bill here.
If you vape, it is imperative that you contact your local legislators and voice your opposition to SB 1365 because its passage would almost certainly make your preferred vaping products impossible to buy legally in Arizona. Online vape shops located outside Arizona would also stop shipping products here.
What Would SB 1365 Do?
SB 1365 would most likely make your preferred vaping products illegal in Arizona.
As we mentioned above, SB 1365 would make it illegal in Arizona to sell any vaping product that hasn’t been approved for sale by the FDA. All bottled vape juice and all flavored disposable vapes would no longer be available. The only products that would remain on the market would be a small handful of mass-market e-cigarettes with pre-filled pods or cartridges in tobacco and menthol flavors.
SB 1365 passed its third reading in the Arizona Senate in February 2024 by a vote of twenty in favor and eight against, with two abstaining. The bill was referred to the House of Representatives and has not progressed further since then.
Isn’t FDA Approval for Vaping Products a Good Thing?
The FDA approval process has locked all manufacturers not affiliated with Big Tobacco out of the vaping industry.
On the surface, it seems as though requiring the FDA to approve vaping products would be a good thing for consumers. In practice, though, the approval process has turned out to be a detriment for public health because it is impossible for independent manufacturers to obtain approval. To date, the FDA has received applications for 27 million vaping products and has approved just 34 of them. Every product variation – including individual flavors and nicotine strengths – counts as an individual product and requires its own application.
The 34 products that have received approval come from just three brands, and each of those brands is owned by a Big Tobacco company. The brands are Logic (Japan Tobacco International), NJOY (Altria) and Vuse (R. J. Reynolds).
Some of the independent manufacturers that have received marketing denial orders from the FDA have commenced litigation, alleging that the approval process is rigged against them, and that the FDA hasn’t followed its own guidelines. The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case and will most likely render a decision by mid-2025.
What Vaping Products Has the FDA Approved?
The FDA has only approved vapes by Logic, NJOY and Vuse.
To date, the FDA has approved just a tiny handful of vaping products, some of which are quite obscure. They are:
- Logic Regular
- Logic Vapeleaf
- Logic Pro
- Logic Power
- NJOY Daily
- NJOY Ace
- Vuse Vibe
- Vuse Ciro
- Vuse Solo
- Vuse Alto
Would SB 1365 Help to End Teen Vaping?
Prohibition would likely have little or no effect on teen nicotine use and would probably encourage the use of more harmful combustible products.
According to the most recent Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey released in October 2024, youth vaping has dropped dramatically since reaching an all-time high in 2019. The survey’s results from 2019 to present show that teen vaping continues to be on the decline.
- In 2019, 27.5 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
- In 2020, 19.6 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
- In 2021, 11.33 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
- In 2022, 14.1 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
- In 2023, 10 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
- In 2024, 7.8 percent of high schoolers reported vaping.
Although the FDA would like to take credit for the drastic decrease in teen vaping, the fact is that denying 27 million premarket applications has had little effect on the vaping industry at large because flavored disposable vapes and vape juices remain available wherever vaping products are sold. What really happened was that teen vaping petered out on its own like any other fad.
Teen vaping now falls within the normal range for youth experimentation and is continuing to decrease without any need for a prohibitionist stance. As of the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 14.6 percent of respondents aged 20 and under reported consuming alcohol within the past month – but no one in the government is suggesting that we should ban alcohol to end youth drinking.
One important bit of information frequently lost in the shuffle is that – while everyone agrees that teen nicotine use in any form should not exist – vaping has nearly put an end to teen smoking. In 2011 – the first year in which vaping became a category in the National Youth Tobacco Survey – about 20 percent of high schoolers smoked cigarettes or cigars. As of 2024, only 2.6 percent of all students – both middle and high schoolers – smoke. People lose sight of that fact because both the National Youth Tobacco Survey and the FDA classify vapes as “tobacco products” even though they contain no tobacco.
The way to combat teen nicotine use is through stricter enforcement at the retail level – not by banning less harmful products that have helped millions of American adults transition away from cigarettes. Even the FDA admits that vapes are less harmful than cigarettes.
How Many People Vape in Arizona?
About 9 percent of adults in Arizona vape. That’s roughly 500,000 people.
What Should I Do if I Oppose SB 1365?
If you oppose SB 1365, you should contact your member of the Arizona House of Representatives and make your thoughts known. Be respectful and polite and discuss the positive benefit that vaping has had on your life. You can find the relevant email addresses at the website of the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association.
