Alabama House Health Committee advances SB9 to restrict vaping in public spaces under Clean Indoor Air Act

Key Takeaways

• Alabama House Health Committee passed SB9 on Wednesday and sent it to the House floor
• SB9 would add vapes/electronic nicotine delivery systems to the law’s definition of “smoking”
• The restrictions apply to enclosed public places already covered by Alabama’s Clean Indoor Air Act
• The bill would rename the act to honor Sen. Vivian Figures (Vivian Figures)
• The report says SB9 would add to a series of recent Alabama laws restricting vape use, sale and possession if enacted

2Firsts, February 13, 2026 – 

According to Alabama Political Reporter, the Alabama House Health Committee passed legislation on Wednesday that would restrict vaping in public areas under the state’s Clean Indoor Air Act.

The report said Senate Bill 9 (SB9), introduced by Senator Gerald Allen (Gerald Allen), R-Tuscaloosa, would add vapes—described as “electronic nicotine delivery systems”—to the listed forms of “smoking” currently prohibited in enclosed public places under Alabama law.

It also said SB9 would rename the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act to the “Vivian Davis Figures Clean Indoor Air Act” in honor of state Senator Vivian Figures (Vivian Figures), D-Mobile. The report described Figures as a longtime advocate for clean air regulations who was instrumental in passing the original Clean Indoor Air Act through the Legislature in 2003.

Allen said in a statement recently provided to APR that renaming the bill was intended to honor Figures’ dedication to promoting clean air. He added that the issue “transcends party lines,” and argued that as new nicotine delivery systems emerge, laws must evolve to preserve the act’s original purpose of protecting public places from the dangers of secondhand smoke. He said electronic nicotine delivery systems have become widespread since the original law passed, creating a need to expand the law.

The report said the House Health Committee quickly and unanimously passed SB9 on Wednesday, sending it to the House floor for further consideration. It added that if SB9 is ultimately signed into law, it would become another in a series of recent laws restricting the use, sale and possession of vapes in Alabama.