House committee advances vaping registry bill amid sharp testimony from retailers and law enforcement

The Georgia House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB577, a bill to create a state-level product registry and enforcement authority for nicotine vapor products, after extensive testimony from retailers, law enforcement and public-health and medical professionals.

Representative Gaines, the bill sponsor, told the committee the registry would give the Department of Revenue a list of products legal to sell in Georgia and provide an enforcement mechanism to curb the flow of unregulated disposable vaping products. "This does not change what's legal and not legal. This does not make something that is legal today, illegal tomorrow," Gaines said, adding the registry would help stores know which products meet federal review.

Retail owners and the Georgia Vape Alliance urged the committee to oppose the measure. Lisa Ganot, who operates a retail store since 2011, said the bill's definition of "nicotine vapor product" would ban open systems that many adult smokers use to step down nicotine. She warned the bill would harm businesses and make it harder for adults to quit cigarettes: "42.4% of my nicotine sales were for 0.3%. Most disposables are at 5%. The lowest thing on the FDA approval list is a 1.5%. There's no way for them to step down."

Susan Stetsman, a Georgia Vape Alliance board member and shop owner, testified the bill would force more than 1,000 vape shops to close and create a black market. Retail owners and industry witnesses urged alternative approaches including stricter age-verification at retail, targeted penalties for illegal sales and a registry that preserves open-system e-liquids and hardware.

Law enforcement and sheriff's office representatives supported the bill. David Jones, chief of staff for the Cobb County Sheriff's Office, said most illicit vapes are manufactured in China and described them as "potential poison" aimed at youth; he called the registry a "vital shield protecting our youth."

Dylan Gilbert, a store operator, urged the committee to pursue manufacturing and labeling standards and retail age-verification rules rather than a registry tied to the federal PMTA process. Gilbert said youth vaping has fallen sharply under federal enforcement and suggested state rules focused on manufacturing, marketing and point-of-sale age controls would be more effective.

Committee members pressed the sponsor and asked technical questions about how the registry would interact with FDA actions and the PMTA (premarket tobacco application) process. Several members, including lawmakers with medical and emergency care backgrounds, said they had seen health harms from vaping and expressed support for additional regulation.

After public comment and member questions, the subcommittee moved the bill to the full committee by voice vote.

The transcript records concerns about how the bill would treat open-system devices and whether relying on PMTA status disadvantages smaller manufacturers; those concerns were raised repeatedly by retail witnesses and by industry proponents of alternative enforcement approaches.