Blog Post | 114 KY. L. J. ONLINE | February 6, 2026
Kentuckians, Put Down Your Vapes: An Analysis of Kentucky Vaping Regulations
By: Lilly Stephens, Staff Editor, Vol. 114
In the United States, electronic cigarette (e-cig) usage is rising and represents “the most commonly used tobacco product” plaguing the youth population.[1] Kentucky ranks at the second highest rate of e-cig use in the nation, following closely behind Tennessee.[2] E-cigs were originally developed to help reduce the use of traditional cigarettes and provide a “safer” alternative to smoking.[3] However, this “solution” has raised far more problems than it has solved, particularly for younger users, as e-cigs are responsible for addicting the next generation of nicotine users.[4] This danger is particularly concerning because vaping, as opposed to the use of traditional tobacco products, has not been around long enough for studies to assess the long-term effects that are likely devastating.[5] This uncertainty, coupled with the early use of these products by young children, presents a troubling obstacle moving forward that the U.S. Surgeon General has already identified as a “public health crisis.”[6] Therefore, in response to this crisis, Kentucky should continue increasing the state tax on all sales of vapor products.
Adolescent vaping is recognized as a national issue, and there have already been efforts at the federal level to address the resulting concerns.[7] Under federal law, the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, was raised from 18 to 21 in 2019.[8] Additionally, vape manufacturers now require FDA authorization to sell their products.[9] In 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the FDA’s denial to permit the sale of flavored liquids for e-cigarette use.[10]At the state level, there exists a wide variety of additional regulations that guide the sale of vape products.[11]
Most recently in Kentucky, what is known informally as the “Kentucky vape ban” bill took effect on January 1, 2025.[12] Senate Bill 100 was signed by Governor Beshear on March 24, 2025, which requires additional licensing for all businesses selling tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products.[13] Senate Bill 100 expands upon House Bill 11, which was passed on April 5, 2024, and took effect on January 1, 2025.[14] House Bill 11’s primary purpose was to allow the State Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to conduct hearings and appeals, and apply stricter enforcement to tobacco retailers by mandating FDA approval of all vape products sold.[15] Currently, closed vapor cartridges are taxed at $1.50 per cartridge in Kentucky.[16] Studies show that in comparison with other states, Kentucky currently imposes the twelfth-highest tax on vapor products.[17] In contrast, Minnesota imposes the highest taxes on vaping products, imposing 95% of the wholesale price.[18] The regulatory approaches within each state vary greatly, though there is little data available at this time to support the efficacy of each state’s approach.[19]
While there are currently no federal excise taxes imposed on e-cigarettes, there is federal legislation that affects the sellers of vaping products.[20] Imposing a federal excise tax, in addition to the varying state taxes across the states, has the potential to effect positive change moving forward. A study addressing the implementation of price increases on cigarettes identifies this approach as “a more effective tobacco control policy measure for reducing smoking behavior among youth, young adults, and persons of low socioeconomic status, compared to the general population.”[21] While it is important to consider the negative implications of increasing taxes on these products, which may include driving formers smokers back to tobacco use as a cheaper alternative, it’s equally important to consider the negative and potentially catastrophic implications of prolonged vape use on the overall health and mental development of our youth population.[22] In lieu of the imposition of additional federal taxes, it is critically important in the meantime for Kentucky to find a state-level compromise that could increase our state taxes enough to reduce the overall rate of e-cig usage and protect future generations of Kentuckians.
[1] Angel Vahration, Elizabeth M. Briones, Ahmed Jamal & Kristy L. Marynak, Electronic Cigarette Use Amond Adults in the United States, 2019-2023. NCHS Data Brief, no. 524. (Jan. 2025), https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db524.htm#ref1.
[2] Heather Close, Ky. And Okla. Lead the Nation in Adult Daily Vapers. With Additional Metrics, Forbes Ranks Ky. as the No. 2 Vaping State, Behind Tenn., Ky. Health News (Feb. 8, 2024), https://kyhealthnews.net/2024/02/08/ky-and-okla-lead-the-nation-in-adult-daily-vapers-with-additional-metrics-forbes-ranks-ky-as-the-no-2-vaping-state-behind-tenn/.
[3] The Truth About What Vaping is Doing to Your Body: Just Because it Isn’t Obvious, Doesn’t Mean Vaping Isn’t Negatively Affecting Your Health, Am. Lung Ass’n (Dec. 3, 2025), https://www.lung.org/blog/illnesses-vaping-causes.
[4] See Natalie E. Quach, John P. Pierce, Jiayu Chen, Brian Dang, Matthew D. Stone, David R. Strong, Dennis R. Trinidad, Sara B. McMenamin & Karen Messer, Daily or Nondaily Vaping and Smoking Cessation Among Smokers, JAMA Network Open (Mar. 5, 2025), https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2831011 (“neither daily nor nondaily vaping among US smokers was associated with increased smoking cessation”); see Ahmad Besaratinia & Stella Tommasi, Vaping Epidemic: Challenges and Opportunities, 31 Cancer Causes & Control 663, 663 (May 3, 2020), https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7274878/.
[5] See Besaratinia & Tommasi, supra note 4.
[6] See The Truth About What Vaping is Doing to Your Body: Just Because it Isn’t Obvious, Doesn’t Mean Vaping Isn’t Negatively Affecting Your Health, supra note 3.
[7] FDA Educational Efforts Prevented Nearly 450,000 Youth from Starting E-Cigarette Use in One Year, FDA, (Mar. 14, 2025), https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-educational-efforts-prevented-nearly-450000-youth-starting-e-cigarette-use-one-year.
[8] FDA Issues Final Rule Increasing the Minimum Age for Certain Restrictions on Tobacco Sales, FDA (Aug. 29, 2024), https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-final-rule-increasing-minimum-age-certain-restrictions-tobacco-sales.
[9] How FDA Regulates Vapes, Ctr. For Tobacco Products, FDA, https://www.fda.gov/media/159412/download#:~:text=TOBACCO-,PRODUCTS,1%20million%20flavored%20ENDS%20products (last visited Jan. 26, 2026).
[10] Amy Howe, Court Tosses Out Lower-Court Ruling Against FDA in Flavored Vape Dispute, SCOTUSblog (Apr. 2, 2025, 00:00 EST), https://www.scotusblog.com/2025/04/justices-let-fda-denial-of-vape-flavorings-stand/; Food and Drug Admin. v. Wages and White Lion Inv., L.L.C., 604 U.S. 542, 544-545 (2025).
[11] Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, U.S. E-Cigarette Regulations – 50 State Review (June 15, 2025), https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review; 2025 Ky. Acts 319.
[12] Sarah Bolgan, Kentucky Businesses that Sell Tobacco, Nicotine, Vape Products Must be Licensed by Jan. 1, 2026, WHAS11 (Nov. 14, 2025), https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/tobacco-nicotine-vape-license-2026-kentucky/417-26243a7c-7430-4ac3-9843-f852cccf1f5f.
[13] Id.; 2025 Ky. Acts Ch. 323.
[14] H.B. 11, 2024 Reg. Sess. (Ky. 2024).
[15] Id.; Blake DeJarnatt, How Will a New Kentucky Law Impact the Vaping Industry?, WOWK 13 News (Dec. 31, 2024), https://www.wowktv.com/news/kentucky/how-will-a-new-kentucky-law-impact-the-vaping-industry/; Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 241.030 (West 2017).
[16] Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, E-Cigarette Regulations – Kentucky (June 15, 2025), https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review/ky; Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 138.140 (West 2026).
[17] Adam Hoffer & Jacob Macumber-Rosin, Vaping Taxes by State, 2025, Tax Found. (June 24, 2025), https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/vapingtaxes/#:~:text=Minnesota%20levies%20the%20greatest%20overall,95%20percent.%20Of%20states%20that.
[18] Id.; Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, E-Cigarette Regulations – Minnesota (June 15, 2025), https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review/mn; Minn. Stat. § 297F.05(3) (West 2026).
[19] See Adam Hoffer & Jacob Macumber-Rosin, Vaping Taxes by State, 2025, Tax Found. (June 24, 2025), https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/vapingtaxes/#:~:text=Minnesota%20levies%20the%20greatest%20overall,95%20percent.%20Of%20states%20that.
[20] Jeanne Thompson, Vape & E-Liquid State Excise Tax for 2025, ComplyIQ (Dec. 29, 2025), https://www.complyiq.io/vape-tax-state/.
[21] Pearl Bader, David Boisclair, & Roberta Ferrence, Effects of Tobacco Taxation and Pricing on Smoking Behavior in High Risk Populations: A Knowledge Synthesis, 8 Int. J. Env’t. Res. Pub. Health 11, 4118 (October 26, 2011), https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3228562/.
[22] See Mallory Locklear, Higher Taxes on E-Cigs Likely to Boost Cigarette Smoking Among Young Adults, YaleNews (July 19, 2022), https://news.yale.edu/2022/07/19/higher-taxes-e-cigs-likely-boost-cigarette-smoking-among-young-adults#:~:text=Higher%20taxes%20on%20e%2Dcigs,among%20young%20adults%20%7C%20Yale%20News; Sarah Magnus-Sharpe, To Vape or Not to Vape: When an E-Cigarette Tax Has an Impact, Cornell SC Johnson Coll. of Bus. (Mar. 18, 2024), https://business.cornell.edu/hub/2024/03/18/to-vape-or-not-to-vape-when-an-e-cigarette-tax-has-an-impact/#:~:text=The%20paper%20suggests%20that%20taxation,from%20the%20dangers%20of%20vaping.%E2%80%9D.