North Carolina state lawmakers approved strict regulations for specialty vape shops in July 2026 as part of the state budget.
The new rules establish a $1,000 annual license tax and mandatory electronic age verification.
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The legislation grants state authorities expanded power to investigate violations and seize illegal inventory. Certain provisions take effect in October, while additional rules begin early next year.
Scope of the New Law
The law targets businesses with 'vape' in their name, stores devoting 20 percent of inventory or 10 percent of retail space to vaping products, and locations offering samples or manufacturing liquids.
However, public health advocates criticize the measure because it excludes convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores that sell nicotine products.
Meg Molloy, campaign director at the North Carolina Alliance of Public Health Agencies' Tobacco 21 Coalition, noted that the narrower budget provisions leave out widespread retail outlets.
"It leaves out so much of what's important and we need to do more to prevent kids from being able to just pick up snacks at a store and get a vape too," Molloy said.
Molloy emphasized the widespread appeal of these products among young people. "They're flavored, they're inexpensive.
Middle schoolers, high schoolers, even younger kids are experimenting," she said.
Advocates favored a broader bipartisan proposal called 'Solly's Law,' named after Solomon 'Solly' Wynn, a 15-year-old student who died in 2023 from a vaping-related illness.
Charlene Zorn, Solly's step-mother, has traveled across the state advocating for comprehensive permit rules that apply to every nicotine retailer and raising the state purchasing age to 21.
