Pennsylvania vape shops are clearing shelves, closing doors, and rethinking their businesses in the first week of the state’s new directory regime. Act 57 of 2025, from House Bill 1425 and signed on December 22, 2025, bars retail sales of electronic nicotine delivery systems not on the Attorney General directory. Enforcement could begin on October 19, 2026. Shops felt the impact as soon as enforcement began under the new system, with most of their former stock now off limits.
What the law allows, and what it blocks
Only products on the Attorney General directory can be sold at retail. Seven manufacturers have been approved so far. The October 18 directory contained 163 product records, including Vuse, JUUL, NJOY, Logic, Naked 100, and CrossBar. Geek Bar, RAZ, Lost Mary, and Elf Bar were not listed.
Rep. Arvind Venkat, a Pittsburgh Democrat and the only physician in the state House, defended the law as a safety measure. “We don’t know what’s in unregistered products, unapproved products by the FDA,” he said. Attorney General Dave Sunday said his office will enforce the law despite the business impact. “My heart goes out to anyone that loses a job or their business… my job is to enforce the law,” he said.
Penalties put small shops on a short fuse
The stakes for small retailers are high.
| Violation | Penalty |
|---|---|
| First violation | Up to $500 per product |
| Second violation within 12 months | $750 to $1,000 per product per day, plus a 14-day license suspension |
Shelves emptied, doors closing
Union Vapors 570 in Dickson City removed about 95% of its inventory and plans to pivot heavily into a cafe. Cool Vapes, which has multiple locations, announced on social media that it would close, citing the new rules.
Pennsylvania Vapor Retailer Association president Kaelene Dammann said she used to sell 60 to 70 brands and that customers are scared. The association has collected more than 15,000 petition signatures asking the General Assembly to reconsider parts of the law. Dammann also said the state did not directly alert licensed businesses, and retailers paid state tobacco taxes on products that are now barred and want refunds.
A federal judge rejected a challenge to the law on October 14. For more background, read the earlier court challenge coverage.
For shop owners, the first week has brought a blunt question: what business is left when most of the old stock cannot be sold? The petition, the refund demand, and the closures suggest the argument over the directory is far from over.
Source: Keystone Today, October 26, 2026.