TOULOUSE – A French court’s decision that electronic cigarettes must be governed by tobacco laws means only licensed tobacconists can stock the e-cigs, France 24 reports. The ruling endangers the livelihood of sellers who only sell electronic cigarettes.

The landmark decision came after a tobacco shop seller filed a complaint against an electronic cigarette seller, Esmokeclean, that opened a store nearby. The tobacco shop owner said the e-cig store ran ads onsite and online, a violation of a French public health code forbidding such marketing for tobacco products.

The court said that because e-cigs were a stand-in for cigarettes, they should follow the same rules as tobacco products. Esmokeclean has to halt sale and advertisements of e-cigs. Esmokeclean will appeal the decision.

“This sets a precedent that says that the sale of all products for smoking is restricted to licensed tobacconists,” said Bertrand Desarnauts, an attorney for the shop owner. “This ruling implies that other sellers of electronic cigarettes will no longer be able to sell them in stores or on the Internet.”

The French Office for Smoking Prevention has 141 e-cigarette stores in France as of April 2013, with some predicting that could jump to 300 by year’s end. The French Electronic Cigarette Stakeholders Group said the ruling might eliminate 2,500 jobs if e-cigarette stores had to shut down.