June 17, 2026 3:36PM # The Effect of Online Sales Bans on E‑Cigarette Use By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) --- SHARE Listen to this article Generated with [ ElevenLabs](https://elevenlabs.io/) AI technology. Loading the [Elevenlabs Text to Speech](https://elevenlabs.io/text-to-speech) AudioNative Player... Despite reports that they are [less harmful](https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/vaping-substantially-less-harmful-than-smoking-largest-review-of-its-kind-finds) than regular cigarettes, legislators have targeted e‑cigarettes and vapes via [crackdowns](https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-largest-criminal-vape-enforcement-action-new-york-history) and [online sales](https://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review/ne#:~:text=Delivery%20sale%20of%20electronic%20nicotine%20delivery%20systems%20by%20mail%2C%20internet%2C%20or%20telephone%20prohibited%20to%20any%20Nebraska%20consumer.) [bans](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/publications-forms/tobacco-legislation/#:~:text=ORS%20180.441%20restricts,a%20retail%20store.), citing a desire to [protect young people](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-08722-8). A [new study](https://www.cato.org/research-briefs-economic-policy/effect-online-sales-bans-e-cigarette-use) examines the effect of online sales bans on use of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). The study > used data from five national surveys conducted between 2013 and 2023 and leveraged the staggered adoption of the bans across states … \[to\] reveal no evidence that prohibiting online sales reduced youth e‑cigarette use. … Furthermore, these bans had a minimal effect on the frequency of use among continuing users. The legislation was ineffective because > young people rarely used the internet to obtain ENDS products before the bans. … Although the bans significantly reduced online purchases of ENDS products, the overall reduction in youth use was less than 1 percentage point. Indeed, > online purchases fell by 40–50 percent on average, suggesting that young people continued to obtain ENDS products online through illegal shipments … \[and\] shifted from online to in-person purchases and obtained more ENDS products from family and friends. The bans also did not stop adults from using ENDS; the study shows > no evidence that online sales bans reduced e‑cigarette or cigarette use among adults, even though adults use these products at higher rates than young people. *Cross-posted from* [*Substack*](https://jeffreymiron.substack.com/)*.* ##### Related Tags [Regulation](https://www.cato.org/regulatory-studies), [Health Care](https://www.cato.org/health-care) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).