West Virginia Plans To Establish An FDA Linked Catalog System

The West Virginia House of Representatives has passed the Vape Safety Act 2026. Which aims to strengthen the licensing, cost, and enforcement supervision of vapes and tobacco stores, and requires vape products to have FDA marketing authorization or be under review before entering the state catalog. If the bill comes into effect, only products listed in the catalog can be sold within the state from September 1, 2026.

Quick overview of key points
1. The West Virginia House of Representatives has passed the Vape Safety Act 2026, which will be sent to the Senate;
2. The bill proposes to restrict vape/tobacco shops from being located near schools, churches, and libraries, as well as “marketing to teenagers”;
3. Proposed establishment of a state-level vape product catalog: Products must have FDA marketing authorization or be under review before they can be included;
4. If effective, starting from September 1, 2026, only products listed in the catalog can be sold in West Virginia;
5. The ABC committee is proposed to be responsible for enforcement, and retailers are required to obtain a state license and pay an annual fee of $1200.

According to WOWK, the West Virginia House of Representatives passed a bill on February 27th that will tighten regulation of vapes and tobacco shops. State legislators have stated that the legislation will push vape shops away from places such as schools, churches, and libraries, and restrict marketing targeting teenagers.
The main initiator of the bill, Republican Congressman David McCormick from Monongalia County, stated that the legislative focus is on regulating an industry that is “almost unregulated” and preventing marketing targeting children and convenient access to vape products for teenagers. He stated that the bill consists of three pillars: fees, licensing system, and product catalog.
McCormick also stated that vape shops are “appearing in large numbers in every town and county” within the state, and lawmakers hope to have more systematic regulation of the industry’s growth. He emphasized that this is not an “anti business” bill, but a “child friendly” bill, and believed that allowing only a portion of it could have an immediate impact; After the annual implementation of the licensing system, ‘half of the venues will disappear’.

The bill also allows for inspections and imposes civil fines and criminal penalties for violations.
The bill proposes to establish new retail licensing requirements, which will be enforced and supervised by the ABC Committee; The relevant stores need to obtain a state license and pay an annual fee of $1200.
The bill will next be submitted to the West Virginia Senate for review.

Reference: Vape, smoke shop regulations bill heads to West Virginia Senate

Based on my current understanding, there are no large-scale vape wholesalers or vape distributors in West Virginia. I think this is related to the local economy and population structure. We have visited West Virginia multiple times to discuss the future market trends with local vape/tobacco stores.