BATON ROUGE - Smoke shop owners in Louisiana are scrambling for a solution after a new law banning non-FDA approved vape products went into effect Friday.

A judge from the 19th Judicial District Court ruled against a temporary restraining order that would have prevented the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission from enforcing the change. The new law was approved this week by the Louisiana Legislature. 

Under this new regulation, business can only sell vapes and nicotine alternative products deemed "safe" by the FDA. You can find the list of nearly 400 approved smoking devices and accessories here. 

Ernest Legier, Commissioner for the ATC, says the decision was based on keeping those devices out of the hands of children. 

"Some of the concerns were that certain vape products were being marketed and contributing to a high rate of use by the most vulnerable of our population, our children," Legier said. 

Legier added, the list will be updated quarterly and applications are already flooding in. 

But for business owners like Abrahim Alnossiff, who just opened Dragon Smoke Shop in August, more than 80% of the merchandise on his shelves didn't make the list. After just two months, he's closing up shop permanently and relocating out of state. 

"We just opened up so as soon as it started to go better for us, the laws changed and it's been expense after expense," Alnossiff said. 

Now, the 22-year-old business owner from Louisiana is thousands of dollars in debt, and several of his employees are out of a job. The venture he once dreamed of achieving has turned into a nightmare, he says. 

"Whoever benefitted from this, I hope you think about the working citizens... I'll leave it at that," Alnossiff said. 

Despite the domino effect it will have on local businesses, the ATC still believes the new law is beneficial to the majority of Louisiana residents. 

"Any time there are challenges to businesses, it's a concern. However, our reason for existence is public safety," Legier said. 

The tax on vaping products is also increased from 5¢ to 15¢. The revenue from that will go to State Police.