Utah: Enforcement Begins on Flavor Ban and PMTA Registry

Utah’s law creating a PMTA registry and prohibiting the sale of flavored vapes will take effect immediately, after a federal judge ruled Monday against a motion to bar enforcement while a lawsuit challenging the new law is in progress. The state had been temporarily restrained from enforcing the law since December.

The lawsuit will continue, but the vape industry plaintiffs will now be unable to legally sell the products that sustain their businesses while the very uncertain legal process plays out.

Utah SB 61: flavor ban, PMTA registry and nicotine limit

Utah passed Senate Bill 61 in March 2024. The law includes both a PMTA registry and a flavor ban. It also prohibits the sale of products containing e-liquid with a nicotine strength above four percent (40 mg/mL). The legislation was immediately signed into law by Governor Spencer Cox. 

The registry, managed by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, was set to be in place Oct. 1, 2024, and enforcement of the law scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 2025.

On Dec. 12, 2024, the Utah Vapor Business Association (UVBA) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Utah, asking that SB 61 be declared unconstitutional and that the state be enjoined from enforcing the law while the legal challenge was in progress. 

The plaintiffs also asked for a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement of the law until the court ruled on the larger complaint. On Dec. 30, U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order.

The temporary order was in place until yesterday, when Judge Barlow denied the vapor plaintiffs’ motion to block enforcement while the lawsuit proceeded. (The judge did leave in place an injunction blocking part of the state’s proposed inspection program.)

The future looks bleak for Utah vape shops and their customers

Utah had already restricted the sale of flavored vape products (other than tobacco and menthol flavors) to the 200 or so specialty tobacco retailers in the state. Since Utah banned online vape sales in 2016, local vape shops have been the only sources in the state for e-liquids and refillable vape devices. 

With those products now prohibited, Utah vape shop owners say they will be unable to stay in business. With no income, and uncertainty over the outcome of their lawsuit, the future looks bleak for the owners and their customers.

The UVBA had supported a Utah State House bill this session that would have allowed sales of flavored products to continue in licensed specialty stores. HB 432 made it as far as a debate in the House, but lost in a 47-22 vote March 4. The vape shops might be able to revive that bill next year—but a year is a long time to wait when no sales dollars are coming in.

“We’re going to try to survive the best we can in hopes of coming back to the table for the ‘26 [state legislative] general session, but not being able to sell the product your business is built around, that’s a tall order,” Park City Vapor owner Beau Maxon told the Salt Lake Tribune. “So whether or not it’s even feasible to remain in business for the next eight, nine months, that remains to be seen.”