Tennessee Senate Bill SB0976

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 1; Title 4; Title 39; Title 43; Title 47; Title 49; Title 62; Title 63; Title 67 and Title 68, relative to tobacco and tobacco-derived products.

Summary

SB0976 is a narrow definitional amendment to Tennessee’s tobacco-related laws. It changes one existing reference in Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1513 by replacing the term “vapor products” with the broader phrase “vapor products, smokeless nicotine products, and other alternative nicotine products.” The bill does not create a new regulatory program or tax; instead, it expands the scope of an existing statutory provision to explicitly include additional nicotine delivery products. By broadening the statutory language, the bill likely brings smokeless nicotine products and other alternative nicotine products within the same legal treatment already applied to vapor products under the referenced section. This could affect enforcement, compliance, and any penalties or restrictions tied to that code section, depending on how the underlying provision is applied in practice. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-17-1513 and, by extension, affects the state’s treatment of tobacco and nicotine-related products under Title 39. Its practical impact is to expand the reach of an existing law to cover smokeless nicotine products and other alternative nicotine products in addition to vapor products, which may affect retailers, distributors, consumers, and enforcement agencies subject to that section.

Sentiment

No committee transcripts or vote records were provided, so there is no documented debate or recorded sentiment in the supplied materials. Based on the text alone, the bill appears technical and likely noncontroversial, focused on updating terminology rather than making a substantive policy shift.

Contention

No specific points of contention are available in the provided record because there were no committee discussion transcripts or votes included. If any concerns were raised, they would most likely relate to whether the expanded language could broaden enforcement against nicotine products beyond vapor products, but that is not documented in the materials supplied.