South Dakota requires vape distributors to be certified and registered, and violators face second-degree misdemeanor charges. The bill has drawn opposition from small businesses, arguing that it violates the Constitution and will hurt the industry.
South Dakota, U.S., tightens regulation of vape sales
According to Keloland, on Feb. 6, the House Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill regulating vape brands in South Dakota by a vote of 7 to 5. The bill now goes to the full House.
House Bill 1069 stipulates that vape brand distributors who sell or offer vape brands in the country must be certified by the manufacturer of the vape brand. In addition, before retailing vape brands, individuals must register with the National Department of Revenue. If one person owns or operates multiple retail locations, each location must be registered independently.
Dealers need to be registered and certified
If vape products that do not meet certification requirements appear in the state, they should be considered contraband and be disposed of properly. Any dealer in the state who sells or distributes vape products that do not meet certification standards will be convicted of a second-degree misdemeanor. Republican Rep. Brian Mulder said the bill aims to crack down on illegal products, clean up the vape industry, and eliminate illegal products from it.
The South Dakota Retailers for Better Alternatives opposed the bill. Jordan Mason argued that it proposed unconstitutional restrictions that would severely harm small businesses and threaten public health.
Kurt Kadlik, vice president of the South Dakota Association for Better Business Retailers (Kurt Kadlik), noted that manufacturers in other states sued the FDA because of the PMTA process. He argued that the regulation would consume the state’s limited resources to implement what the court ruled was an illegal FDA regulatory program that would shut down hundreds of companies in South Dakota.
Mason said the bill, if passed, would give Big Tobacco control of the South Dakota market. He noted that only 23 of the 26 million applications currently in the FDA’s PMTA process have been approved, and all of those products are owned by big tobacco companies.
