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Ask just about any teacher or parent about what concerns them, and you’ll hear about vaping.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, 22% youth admit to vaping, which is a rate more than twice the national average. 22 counties across the state have identified nicotine, tobacco or youth vaping as one of their top health concerns in recent health assessments. An additional 46 counties identify substance use or mental health, especially of youth, as top concerns, and research widely associates teen tobacco product use with these issues.

In recent years, Tennessee has passed numerous laws to restrict youth vaping, including limiting products to just the list of FDA-approved devices, banning sales to anyone under 21, restricting marketing and significantly increasing punishments for breaking these laws. However, despite a reference in the law to revocation of a license as a potential penalty, there is no licensing system to sell tobacco products in Tennessee.

Last year, Tennessee also charged the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC) with conducting compliance checks on vape sales, as well as regulating hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Since launching that work, they have found a state average compliance rate of only 82%, meaning a lot of youth are slipping through the cracks and illegally buying vapes.

My guests this month are Aaron Rummage of the TN ABC and Jamie Kent, chair of Smokefree Tennessee, the state’s official nicotine prevention coalition. In this conversation, we talk about the ins and outs of tobacco retail licensure, a policy option that could potentially improve transparency, compliance, youth prevention and more. We also talk briefly about how recent federal actions might change the availability of hemp-derived cannabinoid products in Tennessee.

Learn more:

• Tennessee ABC
• Smokefree Tennessee