TENNESSEE

Tennessee defeated the proposed Premarket Tobacco Product Application (PMTA) registry legislation by educating lawmakers on the complexities of the FDA’s PMTA process and its implications for the vaping industry and exposing how specific compliance deadlines in the bill favored by large tobacco companies by permitting their products to remain on the market—despite lacking FDA approval—while disproportionately harming smaller, independent manufacturers.

These deadlines risked creating a de facto monopoly for Big Tobacco, stifling competition and innovation in the vaping sector. By presenting data on the FDA’s backlog of PMTA reviews and the competitive disadvantages of restrictive state policies, advocates persuaded legislators to reject the bill. A key factor in Tennessee’s success was ensuring that smaller industry players, such as Fifty Bar, had a voice in legislative discussions.

By securing a seat at the table alongside Big Tobacco, Fifty Bar and similar companies raised critical questions about market fairness and regulatory overreach, to which large tobacco firms struggled to respond.

This inclusive approach empowered legislators to make informed decisions, ultimately leading to the defeat of the PMTA registry proposal in Tennessee’s 2024 legislative session and inclusion of “finished in America” language.