Mississippi Becomes 11th State to Pass PMTA Registration Law

Key Points:

• Mississippi has become the 11th state in the United States to pass a PMTA registration law, which will restrict the sale of most disposable e-cigarettes, bottled e-cigarette liquid, and refillable e-cigarette devices. The law will take effect in July 2025, with registration beginning in October and enforcement starting in December.
• Manufacturers must obtain FDA authorization or be in the process of PMTA review, submit annual reports and pay a $500 application fee for each product, and separately apply for any product changes.
• Over 20 states are considering similar legislation, with 5 states already fully operational and two states currently on hold due to lawsuits.

According to vaping360 on March 26th, Mississippi became the 11th state in the US to pass a PMTA registration bill supported by the tobacco industry, which restricts the sale of most disposable e-cigarettes, bottled e-cigarette liquids, and refillable e-cigarette devices. Although about 20 other state legislatures are considering similar bills, this is the first registration bill passed this year.

The new bill, HB 916, was passed unanimously by the Mississippi House of Representatives with 120 votes at the end of January and by the state Senate with 48 votes at the beginning of March. Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on March 20th.

Although the law officially goes into effect on July 1, 2025, the state registration directory, which is the list of e-cigarette products that can be legally sold, will not take effect until October 1 of the same year, with enforcement provisions expected to begin on December 1. Mississippi's registration law is similar to most PMTA directory laws, requiring e-cigarette manufacturers to have obtained FDA market authorization for their products sold within the state, either through a pre-market tobacco product application (PMTA) submitted to the FDA and currently under review, or have received a Marketing Denial Order (MDO) from the FDA that has been temporarily stayed by a federal court order or rescinded by the FDA or the court.

Manufacturers must annually prove to tax officials that each product complies with regulations, with each application requiring written proof and a $500 application fee per product. Each variation of a product (such as nicotine concentration, flavor, coil resistance, etc.) requires a separate application and fee.

Starting from October 1, 2025, manufacturers must submit proof and payment for each product they wish to legally sell in the state by September 1, 2025 when the tax office publishes the register (catalog). Within 60 days of the catalog release, retailers may sell any remaining uncertified products. After the 60-day grace period, any products not listed in the catalog will be considered illegal contraband, subject to seizure, confiscation, and destruction, with costs borne by the seller.

This law stipulates fines and other penalties for offenders, with fines ranging from $500 to $1,500 per product per day.

Like other PMTA registration laws, Mississippi's laws are created and promoted in the state legislature by tobacco industry lobbyists representing Altria or Reynolds Tobacco (R.J. Reynolds).

More than 20 state legislatures are currently considering PMTA registration bills this year, with bills in Arkansas, Georgia, and South Carolina having passed in one chamber and progressing in the other.

In addition to the new law in Mississippi, a total of 10 states had previously passed PMTA registration bills. The earliest registration law was passed in Oklahoma in 2021 (but it was not implemented until 2023). In 2024, a large number of tobacco lobbyists began to find legislative partners in over twenty states to introduce bills. In 2024, six states passed registration laws.

To date, five states have fully operational PMTA registrations: Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. North Carolina's law will take effect on May 1, while Virginia and Wisconsin's regulations will begin on July 1. However, planned PMTA registrations in Iowa and Utah, set to take effect this year, have been put on hold due to court litigation.