After years of stops and starts, Alabama lawmakers have passed a sweeping bill aimed at regulating vape and e-cigarette products.
HB8, led by Rep. Barbara Drummond of Mobile, now sits on Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk, awaiting final approval.
The bill’s goal: reduce teen vaping, which in Alabama is alarmingly high.
Nearly one in five high school students report using vaping products, more than twice the national average.
Lawmakers backing the bill say it’s a direct response to those numbers—and a way to protect public health.
Big Reactions From Small Shops
The bill’s biggest flashpoint came with a late-stage amendment from Sen. Bobby Singleton.
It restricts convenience stores to selling only 34 tobacco or menthol-flavored e-cigarette products approved by the FDA.
Everything else—those sweet, fruity, and dessert-style flavors—would only be sold in vape shops limited to customers 21 and older.
For vape shop owners, this change might feel like a win. For corner store owners, it’s the opposite.
Industry leaders say these products make up a big chunk of sales, and limiting them could mean a hit to profits and a rethink from big chains considering investment in the state.
Governor in the Hot Seat
Singleton has asked Gov. Ivey to revise the bill, hoping she’ll use her executive power to allow more products on shelves.
But Sen. David Sessions of Mobile, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, is urging Ivey to approve it as is.
Sessions argued it’s about protecting kids, not punishing businesses.
He made an emotional plea on the Senate floor, saying that while nothing can stop all underage access, HB8 could remove the sea of flavored choices crowding store shelves today.
If the bill comes back for changes, Sessions warned, it might come back tougher. “If it comes back, I’m taking it all out of the convenience stores,” he said.
More Than Just Restrictions
Beyond the store limits and product bans, HB8 has teeth when it comes to prevention.
It increases penalties for selling to minors, bans vape sales in vending machines, and requires products to be U.S.-made.
The State Board of Education will also develop a vaping prevention program for schools. That part earned high praise from educators and advocates.
Virginia Guy, who leads Mobile’s Drug Education Council, said kids are vaping at younger and younger ages—and the message that vapes were “safer” than cigarettes confused a lot of parents and students.
“Now we’re seeing they are not safe at all,” she said.
Pushback From the Vape Industry
Not everyone’s cheering. Vape manufacturers say the bill gives an edge to Big Tobacco.
Jim McCarthy, speaking for the American Vapor Manufacturers Association, called HB8 “regulatory hubris,” claiming it would shut down smaller brands while helping the same companies that made cigarettes so profitable.
Some health groups have even raised concerns about pushing people back to traditional smoking.
The American Lung Association has long given Alabama a failing grade on tobacco control and wants lawmakers to pair regulation with efforts like raising taxes on all nicotine products.
A Policy Move With Political Ripples
Drummond’s drive behind the bill may also shape her upcoming run for Mobile mayor.
On the day the bill passed, candidates were speaking at a local forum—except for Drummond, who submitted a video message.
Those close to her say the timing works in her favor. Rep. Sam Jones, a former mayor himself, called her “one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met.”
Drummond traces her motivation to a Sunday school class where she mistook a student’s vape pen for a flash drive.
That moment stuck with her. “I knew I had to do something about this,” she said. “It was about doing policy to save lives.”
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