Are Nicotine Vapes Legal in District of Columbia? (2026)

Instrument

Prohibitions on flavored tobacco products and electronic smoking devices; definitions

Source

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/7-1721.08

Retrieved

2026-11-06

Fingerprint

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(a)
 No person shall sell, offer for sale, receive for sale, distribute, purchase, or facilitate the sale of:

(1)
 A flavored tobacco product; or

(2)
 An electronic smoking device within one quarter mile of any middle or high school in the District.

(b)
 There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product if a manufacturer or any of the manufacturer’s agents or employees, in the course of their agency or employment, has:

(1)
 Made a public statement or claim directed to the public regarding a characterizing flavor;

(2)
 Used text or images on the tobacco product’s packaging to explicitly or implicitly indicate that the tobacco product imparts a characterizing flavor; or

(3)
 Taken action directed to consumers that would be reasonably expected to cause consumers to believe that the tobacco product imparts a characterizing flavor.

(c)
 Any license to sell tobacco products issued pursuant to
§ 47-2404
:

(1)
 May be suspended, after a hearing, for a first or second violation of subsection (a) of this section; and

(2)
 Shall be revoked, after a hearing, for a third or subsequent violation of subsection (a) of this section.

(d)
 In addition to the penalties described in
§ 7-1721.07(a)(4)
, a violation of subsection (a) of this section shall constitute a violation of
§ 28-3904
. The Attorney General for the District of Columbia may use the Attorney General's investigatory powers pursuant to
§ 28-3910
 and enforcement authority pursuant to
§ 28-3909
 to investigate or prosecute suspected violations of subsection (a) of this section.

(e)
(1)
 Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the sale for on-site consumption of flavored tobacco products intended to be used with a hookah shall be permitted for any hookah bar doing business in the District as of September 30, 2021.  All flavored tobacco products sold pursuant to this subsection shall be consumed on site and may not be taken off premises.

(2)
 A hookah bar doing business in the District as of September 30, 2021, shall not need to relocate to be in compliance with this section.

(1)
 “Characterizing flavor” means a distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco, including fruit, chocolate, vanilla, candy, dessert, alcoholic beverage, menthol, mint, or wintergreen.

(1A)
 “Electronic smoking device” shall have the same meaning as provided in
§ 7-741.01(1)
.

(1B)
 “Flavored tobacco product” means any tobacco product or synthetic nicotine product that imparts a characterizing flavor.

(2A)
 "Tobacco product" means any product that is made from or derived from tobacco and is intended for human consumption or is likely to be consumed, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, or ingested by any other means, including through a cigarette, a cigar, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, snus, smokeless tobacco, or an electronic smoking device. The term "tobacco product" also includes any component or accessory used in the consumption of a tobacco product, such as filters, rolling papers, pipes, or liquids used in electronic smoking devices. The term "tobacco product" does not include drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the U.S. Food and Drug  Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, approved June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1040; 21 U.S.C. § 301
et seq
.).