VAPE DIRECTORY WILL HELP WEST VIRGINIA FIGHT YOUTH VAPING EPIDEMIC

West Virginia is facing a youth vaping epidemic; it has some of the highest numbers of youth vaping in the country. Around 33% of high school students use E-cigarettes, with almost 20% of middle school students also using vapes. Unless something is done, a generation of youth will fall into addiction. However, A.J. Lugo, a board member for the Tobacco Law Enforcement Network, recently testified before the state legislature on how legislation to create a vape directory in the state will help curb the health threat, which is largely driven by illegal vapes from China. 

A vape directory would help support local efforts to keep illegal Chinese vapes off the streets and help local businesses and retailers who need clarity to remain in compliance. West Virginia already has these directories for products such as cigarettes, kratom, and hemp, making adding vapor the next step. 

“The concept of a vapor directory was introduced in West Virginia during the last legislative session, and adopting it could help us follow the lead of states that are already seeing positive outcomes and protecting our kids while ensuring tax laws are followed,” wrote Lugo in an op-ed in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. . 

Common-sense law enforcement has proven to have bipartisan support. An October 2025 survey found that 70% of registered voters support recent enforcement actions to stop illegal Chinese vapes completed by Morning Street Insights, they found that 73% of all West Virginia voters, including 80% of Republican voters, supported continued enforcement of illegal Chinese vapes and their distributors.

The continued bipartisan support for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and President Trump’s goals of keeping the American people safe and protecting America’s youth from harmful, illegal Chinese vapes cannot be ignored. Vape directories would provide states and businesses with valuable information to legally sell vapes and enforce the rule of law. Vape directories have worked in the past for states such as Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Louisiana, and are a logical next step to preventing youth vaping.