A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has issued a partial preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s 2024 vape regulations, which took effect on July 1, 2025. The case, NOVA Distro, Inc. and Tobacco Hut and Vape Fairfax, Inc. v. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Virginia Tax Commissioner James J. Alex, centers on provisions in Chapter 23.2 of the Virginia Code governing electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), commonly known as vapes or e-cigarettes.
The plaintiffs, NOVA Distro and Tobacco Hut, allege that the so-called “Vape Ban” disproportionately favors major tobacco companies—Juul, Logic, NJOY, and R.J. Reynolds—while effectively barring smaller, local manufacturers from the Virginia market. Under the law, only vape products with FDA premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) can be included in a state-administered directory, and the Attorney General, along with other state authorities, can enforce penalties of $1,000 per day for unlisted products.
In court filings, the plaintiffs argued that compliance with the Vape Ban would be nearly impossible for small vape businesses because the FDA approved PMTAs almost exclusively for Big Tobacco products. The law also requires costly certification fees and documentation, which, plaintiffs contend, creates a de facto monopoly that violates both federal and Virginia law.
The legal challenge included three counts:
- Violation of the Supremacy Clause – claiming Virginia’s enforcement of FDA rules conflicts with federal authority.
- Violation of Virginia’s Constitution – alleging the law grants special economic advantages to Big Tobacco.
- Violation of the Equal Protection Clause – asserting the law arbitrarily discriminates against smaller vape businesses.
At a hearing on the defendants’ motion to dismiss and the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction, the court dismissed Counts II and III but denied the motion to dismiss Count I and granted the preliminary injunction in part. The order prevents the Virginia Attorney General and Tax Commissioner from enforcing certain aspects of the Vape Ban while the case proceeds, including establishing the state vape product directory and approving expenditures from the Tobacco Retail Enforcement Fund for enforcement purposes.
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaratory judgment that the Vape Ban is unconstitutional and an injunction to halt its enforcement entirely, arguing that it would force small Virginia vape businesses out of the market while benefiting large tobacco companies.
The case continues in the Eastern District of Virginia. Counsel for Plaintiffs is Moran Reeves & Conn, PC from Richmond, Virginia.
