Pennsylvania Enforces Vape Directory Despite Declining Youth Vaping and Historically Low Smoking Rates

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Key Points:

• Legislative Overview: Pennsylvania began enforcing Act 57 of 2025 on October 19, 2026, establishing a statewide directory of electronic cigarette products permitted for retail sale and imposing new requirements on manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers.

• Vapor Product Directory: Originally introduced as House Bill 1425, Act 57 requires manufacturers to certify that products have FDA marketing authorization, a qualifying pending premarket tobacco product application (PMTA), or a marketing denial order stayed by a court or the FDA.

• Expanded Enforcement: The Pennsylvania Attorney General oversees the directory, with the law establishing manufacturer surety bond requirements, penalties for noncompliance, and potential licensing consequences for retailers and wholesalers.

• Youth Smoking Near Historic Lows: According to the 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), only 3.8 percent of Pennsylvania high school students currently smoked combustible cigarettes, while 14.2 percent had ever tried smoking.

• A Decade of Smoking Declines: Between 2015 and 2025, cigarette experimentation among Pennsylvania high school students declined by 59 percent, while current smoking fell by 70.5 percent.

• Youth Vaping Declines: Current e-cigarette use among Pennsylvania high school students fell 36.9 percent between 2019 and 2025, declining from 24.4 percent to 15.4 percent.

• Vaping Experimentation Plummets: In 2025, 30.2 percent of Pennsylvania high school students reported ever trying an e-cigarette, a 42.6 percent decline from 52.6 percent in 2019.

• Frequent Vaping Falls: Frequent e-cigarette use, defined as vaping on at least 20 of the previous 30 days, declined from 10 percent of Pennsylvania high school students in 2019 to 5.8 percent in 2025, a 42 percent reduction.

• Daily Vaping Also Declines: Daily e-cigarette use among Pennsylvania high school students fell from 7.4 percent in 2019 to 4.9 percent in 2025, representing a 33.8 percent decrease.

• Youth Declines Precede Directory Law: Pennsylvania experienced substantial reductions in youth smoking and vaping before Act 57 took effect, raising questions about the additional public health benefits and potential consequences of the new restrictions.

• Nearly 800,000 Adult Vapers: According to the 2025 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), approximately 797,149 Pennsylvania adults currently used e-cigarettes, representing 7.6 percent of the adult population.

• Adult Vaping Increases: Between 2016 and 2025, adult vaping prevalence in Pennsylvania increased by 81 percent, from 4.2 percent to 7.6 percent, representing approximately 372,437 additional adult e-cigarette users.

• Adult Smoking Continues to Decline: In 2025, only 11 percent of Pennsylvania adults currently smoked combustible cigarettes, a roughly 6 percent decrease from 2024 and an estimated 69,233 fewer adult smokers in a single year.

• Long-Term Smoking Declines: Since 2016, adult cigarette smoking in Pennsylvania has declined by approximately 39 percent, from 18 percent to 11 percent, representing an estimated 666,427 fewer adult smokers.

• Young Adult Smoking Below 5 Percent: In 2025, only 4.3 percent of Pennsylvania adults aged 18 to 24 currently smoked cigarettes, compared with 10.5 percent of adults aged 65 years or older.

• Retailer Compliance: FDA inspections conducted between January 2024 and October 2025 found that only 14 percent of 5,939 inspected Pennsylvania retailers were cited for any violation, while just 5.9 percent of inspections involved e-cigarette violations.

• Cigars Account for Most Violations: Approximately 80 percent of identified FDA retailer violations involved cigars, while vape and smoke specialty stores accounted for only 3.7 percent of all underage-sale violations.

• Small Business Impact: Enforcement of Act 57 has already affected independent vape retailers. One Pennsylvania vape shop owner reported reducing his stores' product offerings from more than 500 products to approximately 20 to comply with the new directory requirements.

• Adult Harm Reduction Concerns: By limiting the availability of electronic cigarette products, Act 57 could restrict access to lower-risk alternatives for nearly 800,000 Pennsylvania adults who currently vape, including former smokers.

• Policy Implications: Pennsylvania's latest data demonstrate that youth vaping and combustible cigarette smoking declined substantially before implementation of the state's vapor product directory. Policymakers should examine whether the new restrictions provide additional youth protections while considering their effects on adult consumers and responsible retailers.

• Bottom Line: Pennsylvania's youth vaping rates have fallen dramatically since 2019, while adult cigarette smoking has reached historically low levels and nearly 800,000 adults currently use e-cigarettes. As Act 57 takes effect, lawmakers should evaluate its public health benefits alongside potential consequences for adult access to smoke-free alternatives, small businesses, and the state's continued progress in reducing combustible cigarette use.

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As Pennsylvania begins enforcing sweeping new regulations on the retail sale of electronic cigarettes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released the 2025 results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), revealing significant declines in youth vapor product use and continued historically low rates of combustible cigarette smoking.

The latest findings provide important context for policymakers as Pennsylvania implements Act 57 of 2025, which established a statewide directory of electronic cigarette products permitted for retail sale in the Keystone State.

Act 57 originated as House Bill 1425 and created a statewide directory of vapor products eligible for sale in the Commonwealth. To qualify, manufacturers must certify that their products have received marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have a qualifying pending premarket tobacco product application (PMTA), or are subject to a marketing denial order that has been stayed by a court or the FDA.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General is responsible for administering and enforcing the directory. Act 57 also establishes manufacturer surety bond requirements, penalties, and potential licensing consequences for retailers and wholesalers.

The YRBS is a biennial survey of U.S. high school students that examines a variety of health-risk behaviors, including dietary and physical habits, mental health, substance use, and sexual activity. The survey is administered in coordination with the CDC and state health and education agencies.

According to the latest YRBS results, cigarette smoking among Pennsylvania high school students remains near historic lows. In 2025, only 14.2 percent of high school students had ever tried a combustible cigarette, while 3.8 percent were current smokers, defined as having smoked on at least one occasion in the 30 days preceding the survey.

These figures represent substantial long-term declines. Between 2015 and 2025, cigarette experimentation decreased by 59 percent, while current smoking declined by 70.5 percent. These findings also challenge concerns that the introduction and growing popularity of electronic cigarettes, beginning in 2007, would lead to a renormalization of combustible cigarette smoking among youth. Instead, youth smoking has continued to decline as electronic cigarettes have become more widely available.

Electronic cigarettes have grown significantly as a segment of the tobacco and nicotine marketplace and remain the most commonly used tobacco or nicotine product among Pennsylvania youth. However, consistent with national trends, youth vaping has declined considerably since peaking in 2019.

In 2025, 30.2 percent of Pennsylvania high school students reported ever trying an electronic cigarette, a 42.6 percent decrease from 2019, when more than half (52.6 percent) had experimented with vaping. Further, only 15.4 percent of high school students reported current vaping, a 36.9 percent decline from 2019, when nearly one-quarter (24.4 percent) were current users.

Frequent and daily electronic cigarette use have also declined. In 2025, only 5.8 percent of students reported frequent vaping, defined as use on 20 or more days in the preceding month, compared with 10 percent in 2019. Similarly, daily vaping decreased from 7.4 percent in 2019 to 4.9 percent in 2025.

Simply put, Pennsylvania experienced substantial declines in youth vaping before implementing its vapor product directory. These trends raise questions about the necessity and potential consequences of additional restrictions on the state's nicotine marketplace.

Unfortunately, Act 57 also threatens to disrupt access to smoke-free alternatives for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania adults who currently use electronic cigarettes. According to the CDC's annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), in 2025, 7.6 percent of Pennsylvania adults aged 18 years or older were current electronic cigarette users, representing approximately 797,149 adults.

This is among the highest adult vaping rates recorded by the BRFSS in Pennsylvania and represents an 81 percent increase from 2016, when only 4.2 percent of adults reported current electronic cigarette use. In less than a decade, the number of adult vapers increased by approximately 372,437.

Meanwhile, the growing use of electronic cigarettes among Pennsylvania adults has coincided with dramatic declines in combustible cigarette smoking. In 2025, only 11 percent of Pennsylvania adults were current smokers, approximately 6 percent fewer than in 2024, representing 69,233 fewer adult smokers. Adult vaping prevalence remained at 7.6 percent between 2024 and 2025, although population changes resulted in an estimated 2,721 additional adult vapers.

The longer-term trends are even more significant. Since 2016, when 18 percent of Pennsylvania adults smoked, smoking prevalence has declined by approximately 39 percent, representing 666,427 fewer adult smokers.

Notably, smoking among young adults aged 18 to 24 years has fallen below the 5 percent prevalence threshold commonly used to describe a smoke-free population. In 2025, only 4.3 percent of Pennsylvania young adults reported current smoking, compared with 10.5 percent of adults aged 65 years or older, more than twice the rate among young adults.

Despite these encouraging trends, Act 57 imposes significant new restrictions on retailers, including businesses that have demonstrated compliance with existing age-restriction laws.

According to FDA tobacco retailer compliance inspection data collected between January 2024 and October 2025, of 5,939 Pennsylvania retailers inspected, only 14 percent were cited for any violation, while just 5.9 percent of inspections involved electronic cigarette violations. Cigar sales accounted for approximately 80 percent of identified violations, while vape and smoke specialty stores accounted for only 3.7 percent of all underage-sale violations.

Enforcement of Act 57 began on October 19, 2026, and has already disrupted small businesses across the Keystone State. One vape shop owner told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his stores went from offering more than 500 products to approximately 20 to remain compliant with the new directory requirements.

Pennsylvania's latest youth and adult tobacco-use data demonstrate substantial progress in reducing combustible cigarette smoking and youth vaping, much of which occurred before Act 57 took effect. While preventing youth access to age-restricted nicotine products remains an important public health objective, policymakers must also consider the consequences of restricting access to less harmful alternatives for adults who smoke or have already switched away from cigarettes.

As Pennsylvania implements its new vapor product directory, lawmakers should evaluate whether its restrictions meaningfully improve youth protection without undermining the state's progress in reducing combustible cigarette use, limiting adult consumer choice, or jeopardizing responsible small businesses.

Nothing in this analysis is intended to influence the passage of legislation, and it does not necessarily represent the views of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101.