HB959: HB959 Revenue and taxation; prohibit sale of any flavored consumable vaping product

Georgia currently taxes tobacco and vaping products under Chapter 11 of Title 48 of state law, but does not ban flavored vapes outright. This bill would add a new section making it illegal for anyone to give, distribute, sell, offer for sale, or furnish a flavored consumable vapor product to any person in Georgia. The bill defines 'characterizing flavor' broadly to include tastes or smells like fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, dessert, alcoholic beverage, menthol, mint, wintergreen, herb or spice, or a cooling sensation, but specifically excludes plain tobacco flavor. A 'flavored consumable vapor product' is any vaping product containing an ingredient that creates one of these flavors. Violating the ban would be a misdemeanor, and the state revenue commissioner could put related business licenses on probation, suspend them, or revoke them entirely.

• Adds a new section to Georgia's tobacco and vaping tax law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 11 of Title 48) banning flavored vaping products statewide.
• Defines 'characterizing flavor' to cover a wide range of tastes and smells, from fruit and candy to menthol and cooling sensations, while excluding tobacco flavor.
• Makes it a crime for any person to give, sell, offer for sale, distribute, or furnish a flavored vaping product to anyone in Georgia.
• Sets the penalty for violations as a misdemeanor under Georgia's general misdemeanor punishment law (O.C.G.A. § 16-1-10).
• Gives the state revenue commissioner power to put on probation, suspend, or revoke any license held by a violator under the existing vaping license law (O.C.G.A. § 48-11-4).

Vape shop owners, convenience stores, and other retailers that sell vaping products; wholesalers and distributors of vaping products; adult vape users who currently buy flavored products; and the state revenue commissioner's office, which would enforce license penalties against violators.

If enacted, flavored vaping products, including popular fruit, candy, and menthol flavors, would become illegal to sell or give away anywhere in Georgia. Retailers caught selling them could face misdemeanor charges and lose their state vaping licenses, changing what products stores can legally stock.

• Section 1 creates new Code Section 48-11-4.3 within Georgia's tobacco and vaping tax chapter.
• Subsection (a) defines 'characterizing flavor' and 'flavored consumable vapor product,' explicitly excluding plain tobacco taste or odor from the ban.
• Subsection (b) makes it unlawful for any person to give, distribute, sell, offer for sale, or furnish a flavored consumable vapor product in Georgia.
• Subsection (c) sets the penalty as a misdemeanor under O.C.G.A. § 16-1-10 and authorizes the commissioner to place related licenses on probation, suspend them, or revoke them.
• Section 2 repeals any existing state laws that conflict with the new ban.

1. 2026-01-15House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-14House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-13House Hopper (House)

• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)Primary sponsor
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)
• Debbie Buckner (D, HD-137)

• vaping regulation
• flavored vapes
• tobacco and vaping taxes
• public health law
• retail licensing