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Nebraska vape registry law forces retailers to pull popular brands from shelves

New regulations ban sale of unapproved vaping products, costing some shops thousands in inventory

Popular vape brands disappeared from Nebraska store shelves Wednesday as a new state registry law took effect, forcing retailers to remove thousands of dollars worth of inventory.

LB-1204, passed in March 2024, bans the sale of all vaping products not approved by the Nebraska Vape Registry. Brands including Geek Bar, Fogers and Lost Mary are no longer available for purchase in the state.

“People will still get their vapes it’s just not going to be the variety they thought they were going to get,” said Joseph Fraas, owner of G & G Smoke & Vape Shop in Omaha and Lincoln.

The banned products represented about 10% of Fraas’ total sales. Between both locations, he had to pull approximately $12,000 worth of inventory from shelves.

“To be honest, those are all of the favorite vapes. Everybody likes that stuff. There’s a lot of great brands that we had to get rid of,” Fraas said.

Impact on retailers

Fraas said his business is not alone in facing financial losses from the new regulations.

“A lot of the newer smoke shops around here, and there are also stores that are vapes only that are going to have a hard time,” he said.

The shop owner said the approved product list keeps changing, creating uncertainty for retailers trying to place orders.

“The list keeps changing. We’ve already placed some bigger orders and we do not know what is going on,” Fraas said.

Fraas said he is trying to get refunds for his business and is attempting to sell the remaining banned inventory before the deadline.

Some popular brands like Juul and Vuse remain available for purchase as they are on the approved registry.

Businesses caught selling banned products face potential fines under the new law.