Vape shop owners, customers fight indoor ban on e-cigs

Owners and operators of Delaware's brick and mortar e-cigarette outlets and vaping lounges say business will be busted by legislation banning use of the devices indoors.

They say that their customers need to be able to try the product before buying it and the legislation as currently written would make it illegal to do so. Without an amendment exempting them from the Clean Indoor Air Act, owners say shops and lounges, which have grown exponentially in the last year, will be cannibalized by Internet outfits that sell devices for cheaper prices.

"It's going to hurt our business. There's no doubt in my mind. We're talking millions of dollars of lost sales in the state," said Brent Stock, owner of Dover-based Vape Nook.

When he opened in June, he was the second brick and mortar e-cigarette store in Delaware. Now there are about 20 in the state and seven more could open soon, he said.

The Vape Nook looks average from the outside, but inside there is a large lounge with a big screen television, an Xbox 360 and music equipment. It's a hangout for people that have bonded over not just vaping, but quitting cigarettes, Stock said.

Stock estimates the ban would kill about 60 percent of business by eliminating a critical part of the buying process for customers — trying out the devices. Stock said he sees about 90 people a day in the shop, including first-time vapers. He said e-cigarettes are commonly used for smoking cessation.

E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that produce an odorless vapor that typically contains nicotine and flavorings.

A year ago, the Food and Drug Administration proposed regulating e-cigarettes, including banning sales to minors. A final rule is expected by June.

The Delaware legislation is being introduced by state Rep. Debra Heffernan, D-Bellefonte. It cleared the House Health Committee earlier this month and adds e-cigarette devices to Delaware's Clean Indoor Air Act. That makes it so e-cigarettes could not be used in restaurants, movie theaters and other businesses, including shops like Stock's.

Stock and other shop owners lobbied lawmakers on the House floor earlier this month for almost two hours during the committee hearing. The bill will now be heard by the full House, though a date has not been set.

"It wouldn't just hurt the shop business wise, but we actually have people we got to know, and we won't get to know those people anymore if it were passed," said T.J. Ownby, manager of Delmar Vapor. "It's kind of scaring away customers."

There is some hope for shops owners. The prospects of an amendment excluding vape shops and lounges from the legislation are good. Two amendments have already been placed with the legislation. One, sponsored by Rep. Paul Baumbach, D-Newark, would give shops two years to comply with the law. Another amendment, proposed by Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, would exempt the shops entirely. It would also allow smoking inside of specialty cigar stores.

"They (vape shops) have really developed all throughout the state," Briggs King said. "It didn't seem fair to me to prohibit that type of business from operating."

Heffernan has said that she does not support such amendments, but would not stand in the way if lawmakers wanted to add the exception. Heffernan, a toxicologist, has long said that she's not trying to tell people not to smoke e-cigarettes, but just not to smoke them in public.

Last week the Centers for Disease Control released a study that found that teens are smoking less, but vaping has skyrocketed. In Delaware, legislators passed a bipartisan piece of legislation that treats the sale and purchase of electronic cigarettes in the state the same as regular tobacco when it comes to minors.

Heffernan has said that although the devices don't give off the same thick cloud of smoke, like regular tobacco products, it's increasingly clear that the material is not just harmless water vapor. The vapor can contain carcinogens, and emit nicotine, chromium and nickel, she added.

But E-cigarette users, like Brandon Young, said they don't think what they are smoking is harmful to other people. There is no second hand smoke, he said.

"I can't preach enough about how it has changed my life," said Young, 22, of Dover.

He said he started vaping about two weeks ago to help him quit chewing tobacco. Being able to try the product out is a critical part of the process, he added.

"You don't know what you're going to buy," Young said. "You could say the name sounds good, but you don't know what it tastes like."

"I want people to open their eyes about this."

Contact Jon Offredo at (302) 678-4271, on Twitter @jonoffredo or at joffredo@delawareonline.com.