WESTFIELD- Local vape store owners say that they have already seen a hit to their business just two weeks after the ban on flavored vaping products came into law.
The new state law passed by the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Charlie D. Baker prevents stores from selling vape products with added flavors such as grape, watermelon, and cotton candy. Stores are still allowed to sell vapes that have no flavor or are tobacco flavored.
Lawmakers who supported the measure said that they voted positively on the bill to keep the products out of the hands of kids. The logic is that kids would not be interested in vaping if it is only tobacco flavored or not flavored at all.
Local vape store owners, however, said that the bill has cut into their business to the point where they may be unable to sell vapes at all.
At Tobacco Barn, owned by Prob and Mina Reshamwala, the sale of vapes has plummeted since the law came into effect earlier this month.
“Right now we are only selling tobacco flavored Juuls, and it is hurting the business not being able to sell others,” said Prob Reshamwala.
He added that the 75 percent excise tax on the remaining vaping products will only make things worse. That tax does not take effect until June 1, 2020, but it looms large in the minds of vape store owners across the state. As of now, they said they are selling just 5 percent of the vaping product that they were able to sell before.
Ace Vapor owner Chris Kasperek said that rebranding his Union Street business may be in the works soon, as the vape portion of his business is all but dead.
Kasperek’s shop not only sells vapes, but offers phone and tablet repairs as well. He said he may just shift the focus of his shop to phone and tablet repair while keeping a small vape supply. He noted that, from what he has heard from customers, many people are circumventing the ban on flavored vapes by just going down to Connecticut to buy them rather than quit vaping or going back to smoking cigarettes. Connecticut has no slaw banning vapes or vape flavors.
“I haven’t heard of anyone quitting vapes or going back to smoking,” said Kasperek, “Everyone is going down to Connecticut and loading up there.”
Local state legislators John C. Velis and Donald F. Humason both voted no in the House of Representatives and the Senate respectively, but the bill passed both houses with much support.
Westfield’s Health Director Joseph Rouse recently criticised the state’s handling of vapes, saying that simply banning the vapes from being sold in convenience stores and keeping them in specialty shops would have been sufficient. He said such a move may have worked without having to ban flavors and damage the business of local vape stores.
“It’s a money grab … it’s tax money. They would certainly not allow it (vapes) back in convenience stores if they cared about youth access,” said Rouse, “So now we know, and I will go on the record and officially say, the state does not care about youth access. This is a result of that.”
