'We are here...to help get adults off of smoking': vape shops are on the defensive

The vaping industry is facing challenges, but Hanover-area business owners say they believe in their product.

S.S. Vape co-owner Twitch Bracken said that most of those that work in the industry are former cigarette smokers who say that vaping changed their lives by helping them quit.

"I don't get out of breath nearly as much, I can run a lot more, I don't have to go up a flight of steps and then take a break at the top because I can't breathe," Bracken said.

And that's what they tell their customers.

"We didn't start this company just to sell vape, we did it to get people to quit smoking," Bracken, of Maryland, said.

There are three kinds of people that Bracken said they see in their shop. The people who go from smoking to vaping permanently, controlling their nicotine levels, those that toggle between the two and those that use vaping to quit their addiction all together.

But now, with recent increases in vaping related deaths and lung injuries, and talks of flavor bans, the industry has been on the defensive.

' ... stop blaming us for a product that isn't even ours'

As of Oct. 29, there have been 1,888 cases of lung injury due to e-cigarettes and 37 deaths nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Health confirmed one vaping-related death and nine confirmed cases of lung illnesses as of Oct. 4. 

"I strongly urge everyone who is vaping illegally bought products, in particular those with THC, to stop," State Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a news release. "We want to warn people that investigations are ongoing and we advise they use extreme caution before using any vaping product at this time."

More:Vaping death reported in Pa., plus multiple cases of lung injuries, health department says

Michael Curry, owner of LifeSmoke Vapors, 1155 Carlisle St., said that the problem is there is a lot of misinformation about what has caused vaping related deaths.

"The news media ... has kind of called it (THC) a vaping product, and put that on the vape shops, which isn't a product of ours and really shouldn't have been pointed at us to begin with," Curry said. "They're calling it vaping, and it's confusing the public, and it's scaring them."

The CDC warns that most of the samples tested by the Federal Drug Administration contained THC, and most patients have reported using THC-containing products. The CDC recommends that customers do not use e-cigarette, or vaping, products that contain THC.

Curry said that distinction is something that is not being made.

"The reason that happened is because of a different chemical that got introduced to the market, the black market in particular," Curry said. "Now that they're cutting it out, those deaths are on the drop. So the main thing is just getting out the clear information to people and stop blaming us for a product that isn't even ours."

Both Bracken and Curry said they do not sell THC in their vape shops.

More:Medical marijuana: PA Supreme Court halts Lebanon court's ban for people on probation

Dave Stephens, of East Berlin, said that his 30-year-old son was vaping to cut his cigarette smoking. But, due to a variety of factors, one of which was the increase in deaths, his son has gone back to smoking cigarettes.

"I think they're gonna find out later on that it (vaping) is bad for you," Stephens said. "I think it’s a fad."

Curry said that when customers come in with health concerns about vaping, he points them toward "good resources that are reliable" like the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Don't go to Facebook and listen to what your friends are saying, get the real facts and then make your own determination; and if you have more questions, stop in the store, and we can talk a little bit more about it," Curry said.

Flavor bans will curb everyone from vaping, not only teens

On Oct. 25, Pennsylvania State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, introduced a "Ban on Flavored Vapor Products Act," which would remove flavored vaping products from stores throughout the state.

Pashinski wants to reduce the access that young people have to vaping products, which "contain significant amounts of nicotine," he said in a news release.

"From just 2017 to 2018, the percentage of high schoolers using tobacco products jumped from nearly 20 percent to 27 percent," Pashinski said. "This dramatic increase was mainly caused by flavored vaping products."

More:Not a thumb drive: E-cigarettes gain popularity among Franklin County teens

Nicotine can be especially dangerous for teens and young adults whose brains are still developing until the age of 25, according to the Know the Risks website.

Bracken said this increase in teen usage of vaping products was caused by Juul, an e-cigarette company that started in 2017, and not local vape shops that do not sell to teens younger than 18.

"I don't think you'll find any vape shop employee or vape shop owner that's a fan of Juul," Bracken said. "Juul was probably one of the worst things for the industry, just because it was their product that you started hearing 'oh kids are Juuling.'"

Curry agreed that Juul was the reason that the vaping industry got a bad reputation, because they marketed to teens and sold products with high nicotine levels.

"We're not trying to market to kids at all," Curry said. "We are here, and have always been here, to help get adults off of smoking." 

On Oct. 17, Juul Labs CEO., K.C. Crosthwaite, announced that the company was suspending sale of its "non-tobacco, non-menthol-based flavors (Mango, Creme, Fruit, and Cucumber) in the U.S., pending FDA review." It has also suspended all broadcast, print and digital product advertising in the U.S.

Bracken said that the best way to deal with the problem is to take vaping products out of convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores.

"Regulate it like you would alcohol, put it in a specialty store that, I mean, we card everyone that comes in here," he said.

More:Walmart announces it will stop selling e-cigarettes

Both Bracken and Curry said that they have made precautions to ensure that teens are not purchasing vape products from their stores.

On Sept. 25, the state Senate passed a bill, also known as Tobacco 21, that would raise the minimum age for buying "any product containing, made or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption" from 18 to 21.

The bill has been referred to the human services committee in the House.

Bracken said they make sure that employees know not to sell to someone who may be purchasing for someone else as well, in case they are underage.

"We make it very clear to all our employees, if it's clear that the person buying it is not the one using it don't sell it if you have any doubts, because we don't want anyone underage using this," Bracken said.

Bracken also said that they are hesitant to sell to someone who isn't already a smoker.

The CDC advises "if you’ve never smoked or used other tobacco products or e-cigarettes, don’t start." 

"While e-cigarettes have the potential to benefit some people and harm others, scientists still have a lot to learn about whether e-cigarettes are effective for quitting smoking," according to the CDC website.

More:Vaping and depression are on the rise among Franklin County kids and teens, survey says

The shop owners say flavor bans in Pennsylvania would have a big impact on their business, as adults like flavors too.

"I think it's very concerning, and I think if our government doesn't step in and put an end to all this flavor ban talk it could put the whole industry out of business for sure," Curry said. "The flavors are about 90 percent of the market, that's what everybody's after, that's what's keeping people off smoking as well."

Tisha Noel, of Hanover, said that she knows people that have gone from smoking cigarettes to vaping because they like the flavors. Although she said vaping didn't replace smoking for her, she doesn't see a problem with others doing it.

"It's a habit, and so people are doing something with their hands like they would a cigarette," Noel said. "So, it is helpful for people to quit smoking, but you got to want to quit smoking too.”

Noel said that she doesn't know anyone that has quit smoking by using vapes. "It's usually one or the other."

How has this impacted Hanover vape shops?

Curry and Bracken both said that sales dropped in September when the vaping deaths began to rise.

"It certainly has affected business in a negative way, it's definitely slowed down some people," Curry said.

Bracken said that it has affected business so much that they have closed down two stores.

"It's starting to stabilize, sales are starting to come back up or level out, and hopefully we can go into the holiday shopping season and look a little bit better than we did in September," Bracken said. 

But he isn't worried. He recalls surviving a similar industry scare in 2016, when warnings were about the effects of diacetyl, a flavoring chemical commonly used in microwavable popcorn and vaping liquid, and its link to a condition called "popcorn lung," according to the CDC.

More:Instead of paying for vape pen, man with knife tries to take it, police say

That year they went from 14 locations, in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, to nine. That included closing their original store in Hanover.

But due to popular demand, they opened their new Hanover location, 493 Eisenhower Drive, in 2017. They are now down to five shops.

Curry started his business in a little kiosk in 2011 at the North Hanover Mall, and now he has six locations in south central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Curry said that the future of their business will depend on how the upcoming laws are written and if non-nicotine options are available.

What is in a vape?

• Harmful and potentially harmful chemicals (i.e. Nicotine)
• Ultrafine particles inhaled deep into the lungs
• Flavoring such as diacetyl
• Heavy metals like nickel, tin and lead
• Volatile organic compounds like benzene, which is found in car exhaust

These chemicals are heated and turned into an aerosol. Scientists are still trying to understand the effects of these chemicals on those that vape and those who may be exposed second hand.

Source: e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov