Important Update for Arkansas and Mississippi Customers
After careful consideration of recent legislative changes, eJuiceDB has made the difficult decision to immediately cease all sales and shipments to Arkansas and Mississippi. This isn't a choice we wanted to make, but new state laws have created an environment where continuing to serve customers in these states has become legally complicated and commercially unfeasible.
If you're a vaper in Arkansas or Mississippi wondering "are they banning vapes in Arkansas?" or "are vapes being banned in Mississippi?"—the answer is complicated. It's not a total ban, but it might as well be for most vapers who enjoy the products they've been using for years.
Understanding the Arkansas Vape Ban
What Is Arkansas Act 590?
In March 2025, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 252 into law, creating what's known as Act 590. This legislation, which took effect on September 1, 2025, fundamentally transformed the vaping landscape in Arkansas.
Act 590 establishes a state-run directory that determines which vape products can legally be sold in Arkansas. Only products that meet specific criteria can be listed:
- Products that were on the market before August 8, 2016
- Products with a Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) filed with the FDA by September 9, 2020
- Products with FDA marketing authorization
According to Arkansas Tobacco Control, the initial directory published in August 2025 included only 13 brand families and 140 different products. That's a tiny fraction of the thousands of vape products that were previously available to Arkansas consumers.
The Shocking Reality: Personal Possession Ban
Here's where it gets truly alarming. Arkansas became only the second state in America (after Louisiana) to ban not just the sale but also the personal possession of non-approved vape products. That means if you're carrying a disposable vape that's not on the state directory, you could potentially face legal consequences—even as a legal-age adult.
As reported by vaping industry watchdogs, this provision makes Arkansas one of the most restrictive jurisdictions worldwide when it comes to adult nicotine product rights.
Who Benefits? Big Tobacco
The law was heavily lobbied for by tobacco giants like Altria (which owns NJOY) and R.J. Reynolds (which makes Vuse). These companies have deep pockets to navigate the expensive FDA approval process, while smaller independent vape manufacturers—the ones making products like RAZ Vape, Lost Mary, and Geek Bar—are effectively shut out of the market.
The Truth Initiative found that over 80% of e-cigarette products sold in the U.S. in 2024 were not FDA-authorized. Arkansas Act 590 essentially bans all of them.
Understanding the Mississippi Vape Ban
House Bill 916: Mississippi's Registry Law
Mississippi followed a similar path. In March 2025, Governor Tate Reeves signed House Bill 916, creating Mississippi's own PMTA registry system. The law technically took effect July 1, 2025, but the actual enforcement didn't begin until December 1, 2025.
Like Arkansas, Mississippi's law requires manufacturers to certify that their products either:
- Have received FDA marketing authorization
- Were on the market before August 2016 and had a PMTA filed by September 2020
As of December 2025, only products from three FDA-authorized manufacturers can be legally sold in Mississippi:
- Logic Technology Development LLC
- NJOY LLC (owned by Altria/Philip Morris)
- R.J. Reynolds Vape Company (Vuse)
The Impact on Mississippi Retailers
When the ban took full effect on December 1, 2025, Mississippi vape shops scrambled to clear their shelves of non-compliant products. One shop owner in Byram told local news that vapes represented the core of their business, saying "It's really our business. Vapes is what got us here."
The economic impact is severe. An estimated 54% of vapes sold nationally are unauthorized by the FDA, meaning Mississippi retailers lost access to more than half their inventory overnight. The state's vaping industry, which previously generated approximately $135 million in economic impact annually, faces decimation.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
Mississippi doesn't mess around with enforcement. Retailers caught selling non-approved products face:
- $500 per product per day for violations
- Up to $1,500 per product per day for repeat offenses
- Product seizure and forfeiture
- Potential loss of retail licenses
Why eJuiceDB Can No Longer Serve These States
Legal Complexity and Risk
The registry systems in both states create significant legal risks for online retailers like eJuiceDB. Here's why:
Product Availability: The vast majority of products we carry—including popular disposable vapes, vape flavors, and devices from top brands—are not on the Arkansas or Mississippi registries. We'd be left with only a handful of products from Big Tobacco companies, which defeats the entire purpose of what we do: offering variety and choice.
Constant Monitoring Requirements: The state directories are updated monthly. Products can be added or removed at any time. We would need dedicated staff just to track Arkansas and Mississippi compliance, cross-referencing every product in our catalog against two different state lists that change regularly.
Severe Financial Penalties: The fines are substantial—up to $1,500 per product per day in Mississippi, $1,000 per day in Arkansas. A single shipping mistake could result in tens of thousands of dollars in penalties.
Commercial Viability
Beyond legal risk, there's the simple business reality: it's no longer economically feasible to serve these states.
Consider this: eJuiceDB carries over 1,300 vape products from dozens of manufacturers. Under the Arkansas and Mississippi laws, we might be able to legally sell fewer than 50 products to customers in those states. That's roughly 4% of our catalog.
The infrastructure costs—legal review, compliance monitoring, inventory segregation, shipping restrictions—would far exceed any revenue from such a limited product selection. We can't justify those costs to serve two states where we'd essentially be selling Big Tobacco products exclusively.
Staying True to Our Mission
At eJuiceDB, we've built our business on offering diverse vape brands, innovative products, and competitive prices. We've been helping people find alternatives to traditional cigarettes for over a decade.
These state registry laws fundamentally conflict with that mission. They eliminate consumer choice, favor corporate giants over small manufacturers, and restrict adults' access to products they've been legally using for years.
We refuse to become just another retailer pushing Big Tobacco products while pretending to offer real alternatives.
Can These Bans Be Reversed?
Legal Challenges Are Mounting
There's some hope on the horizon. Multiple states with similar registry laws are facing legal challenges. In 2025, a federal judge in Iowa blocked that state's vape registry law, ruling that it potentially violated federal law.
The legal argument centers on federal preemption—the idea that the Tobacco Control Act gives the FDA exclusive authority to regulate these products, and states cannot create their own parallel approval systems.
However, other courts have sided with states. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld North Carolina's registry law, creating a "circuit split" that could eventually lead to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Industry Groups Are Fighting Back
Organizations like the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) have been actively opposing registry laws. They argue these laws:
- Harm small businesses
- Reduce consumer choice
- Don't actually improve public health
- Benefit Big Tobacco at everyone else's expense
The Vapor Technology Association has also filed lawsuits in multiple states, with mixed results so far.
The Political Reality
Here's the unfortunate truth: even if courts eventually strike down these laws, it could take years. Arkansas and Mississippi legislators passed their bills with overwhelming bipartisan support—120-0 in the Mississippi House, 48-0 in the Mississippi Senate. Arkansas lawmakers showed similar enthusiasm.
Why? Because Big Tobacco lobbyists are extremely effective. They frame these laws as "protecting children," even though the real effect is eliminating competition and forcing adult consumers toward their products.
For meaningful change to happen, it would require:
- Federal court intervention declaring these laws unconstitutional
- New state legislation repealing or significantly modifying the registry systems
- Sustained advocacy from vaping industry groups and consumers
None of these are quick processes.
What This Means for Arkansas and Mississippi Vapers
If you're a vaper in Arkansas or Mississippi, your options have become severely limited:
Option 1: Switch to Big Tobacco Products You can purchase the handful of FDA-authorized products from NJOY, Logic, and Vuse. These are generally basic pod systems with limited flavor options—mostly tobacco and menthol.
Option 2: Travel to Neighboring States Many Arkansas residents are already driving to Tennessee, Missouri, or Oklahoma. Mississippi vapers can cross into Louisiana, Alabama, or Tennessee (though Louisiana has its own registry law). This isn't practical for everyone, especially as a long-term solution.
Option 3: Refillable Systems and Separate E-Liquid Arkansas's law has a carve-out for open-system devices with replaceable batteries. You could potentially use refillable pod systems, though access to quality vape juice is also restricted by the registry requirements.
Option 4: Advocate for Change Contact your state legislators. Support organizations like CASAA. Make noise about how these laws affect real adults trying to quit smoking, not just "protecting kids" as politicians claim.
A Word of Caution
We understand the frustration. These laws are, in our view, unjust and counterproductive. However, we strongly discourage breaking them.
Do not attempt to:
- Have products shipped to friends or family in other states then forwarded to you
- Use mail forwarding services to circumvent shipping restrictions
- Purchase products from unverified overseas sellers
These activities could expose you to legal consequences, and sketchy sellers might provide counterfeit or dangerous products. It's not worth the risk.
Looking Forward: The Broader Pattern
Arkansas and Mississippi are part of a disturbing trend. As of late 2025, at least 14 states have passed or are implementing PMTA registry laws:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
Several other states have introduced similar legislation. This is a coordinated effort by Big Tobacco companies to reshape the vaping market in their favor, using state legislatures to accomplish what they couldn't achieve through federal regulation alone.
Final Thoughts
The decision to stop serving Arkansas and Mississippi wasn't made lightly. These states represent thousands of loyal customers who've trusted eJuiceDB for years. We're genuinely sorry to leave you without access to the products you've relied on.
But we also refuse to participate in a system designed to eliminate consumer choice and enrich tobacco corporations. We won't be complicit in a scheme that masquerades as public health policy while actually harming adults seeking alternatives to cigarettes.
We hope—we really do hope—that these laws will eventually be overturned or reformed. If that day comes, we'll be thrilled to welcome back our Arkansas and Mississippi customers. Until then, we encourage you to stay informed, support advocacy groups, and make your voices heard to your elected representatives.
The fight for reasonable vaping regulation isn't over. It's just entered a new and more difficult phase.
FAQs — Arkansas and Mississippi Vape Ban
Why can’t eJuiceDB ship to Arkansas or Mississippi anymore?
eJuiceDB can no longer ship to Arkansas or Mississippi due to new state vape registry laws that severely restrict which products can be legally sold or possessed. The vast majority of vape products do not meet these state requirements, creating high legal and financial risks for online retailers.
Are vapes completely banned in Arkansas and Mississippi?
No, there is no total vape ban. However, both states only allow products listed on state-run directories, which include very few FDA-authorized brands. In practice, this eliminates most disposable vapes, flavored products, and independent manufacturers from the market.
What is Arkansas Act 590 and why is it so restrictive?
Arkansas Act 590, effective September 1, 2025, created a state directory that only allows vape products with FDA authorization or legacy PMTA filings. Arkansas also bans personal possession of non-approved products, making it one of the most restrictive vape laws in the U.S.
What vape products are still legal in Mississippi?
As of December 2025, only products from three FDA-authorized manufacturers—NJOY, Vuse (R.J. Reynolds), and Logic—can be legally sold in Mississippi. Most popular disposable vape brands and flavored options are no longer allowed.
What penalties do retailers face for selling non-approved vapes?
Retailers in Mississippi can face fines of $500 per product per day, escalating to $1,500 per product per day for repeat violations, along with product seizure and possible license loss. Arkansas imposes similarly severe penalties, making compliance extremely risky.
Can these vape bans be reversed in the future?
Possibly, but not quickly. Legal challenges are ongoing, and some courts have blocked similar laws in other states. However, Arkansas and Mississippi passed their laws with overwhelming legislative support, meaning changes would likely require federal court rulings or new state legislation.
source https://www.ejuicedb.com/blogs/news/arkansas-and-mississippi-vape-bans
