Top Takeaways:

• Alabama convenience stores reached a court agreement allowing continued sale of many vape products previously at risk under a new law.
• The agreement permits sales of products with FDA authorization, pending PMTAs, or court-stayed denials, if listed in the state’s ENDS directory.
• A court challenge remains over a provision banning vape products with any foreign-made components starting October 2025.

Convenience stores in Alabama will be able to continue selling a broad range of e-cigarette products following a court-approved agreement that modifies the scope of a recently enacted state law restricting vape sales.

The deal—struck between the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and the Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama (P&CMA)—comes just weeks after Governor Kay Ivey signed House Bill 8 (HB8) into law on May 14. The measure had threatened to restrict e-cigarette sales exclusively to adult-only specialty retailers.

Under the agreement, stores with valid state-issued tobacco permits can sell products that either have received final marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are awaiting a final FDA decision, or are subject to a court-issued stay following a marketing denial order (MDO). However, these products must also appear in Alabama’s Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) directory.

“This ensures retailers can continue serving adult customers with products that remain lawful under federal guidelines,” said Bart Fletcher, president of the Montgomery-based P&CMA. “It brings needed clarity and protects access to FDA-reviewed products while preserving the convenience store channel.”

The agreement followed a federal lawsuit filed by P&CMA seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the state’s enforcement of the new vape law. The group argued that two key provisions of HB8 were unconstitutional because they intruded on federal authority and improperly restricted trade.

One provision sought to bar non-specialty retailers from selling e-cigarettes unless those products had received full FDA marketing authorization—a standard that excludes most vaping products currently on the market, many of which remain under FDA review. Only specialty retailers, defined as stores with at least 50% of inventory devoted to vapor or alternative nicotine products, would have been allowed to sell such items.

“In other words, gas stations and convenience stores could no longer sell an e-cigarette unless that e-cigarette had FDA authorization,” the lawsuit stated. “But only the FDA has the power to enforce the federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act. This provision is preempted by federal law.”

The second contested element of HB8 prohibits the sale of any next-generation tobacco product containing components made outside the United States unless the product has been FDA-authorized. That section of the law is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2025.

“This is an unconstitutional solution to a legitimate concern about public health,” the suit alleged. “Only FDA can enforce the federal law, not the Alabama ABC or other state agencies.”

Following negotiations, the parties submitted a joint stipulation to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, affirming the changes to HB8’s immediate enforcement.

According to the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), the updated agreement “allows vapor products that have a PMTA (premarket tobacco product application) marketing granted order, a pending PMTA application or a court stay on a PMTA MDO (marketing denial order) to be sold in convenience stores.” Previously, these products were effectively limited to adult-only specialty stores such as vape shops.

Still, a legal challenge remains pending over the law’s ban on products made or packaged abroad—a provision that could significantly disrupt the supply chain when it takes effect next year. Nearly all vaping hardware, including the one’s authorized by the FDA, are manufactured in China.

Supporters of HB8 argue the law is aimed at reducing youth access to flavored vape products by limiting them to adult-only retailers. “It’s a move to stop youth sales,” said proponents quoted by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), “based on the assumption that specialty vape shops card at the door.”

But NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor countered that the strategy may backfire. “The problem with this is that those [specialty] stores are often actually the worst at making sure minors don’t purchase the product,” Kantor said. “The convenience store compliance track record is far, far better at selling age-restricted products, and so they’re essentially undermining their own stated goals.”

As Alabama continues to grapple with the regulation of vapor products, industry stakeholders say collaboration—not blanket restrictions—will be key to crafting policies that both protect youth and ensure access to adult-focused harm reduction alternatives.

“This agreement shows we can reach common-sense solutions when stakeholders come together,” Fletcher said. “The conversation must continue as new rules take shape, especially as we approach the implementation of more complex provisions next year.”