GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – As September 1st gets closer and closer, vape shops and their customers will have to seek different alternatives for smoking.
That is due to a law that was passed, and vape shops will be unable to sell fruity-flavored vapes and products, and will only be able to sell FDA-approved materials, something that the owner of Johnny Vapes, Tyler Hall, says would be catastrophic.
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“If the law passes and goes through on September 1st, Johnny Vapes will have to shut down,” Hall said. “93% of the products that you see in the store are not going to be available for sale after September 1st.”
The law could leave many small business owners, including Hall, with their doors shuttered as only 7% of their product would be deemed legal in the state of Wisconsin after September 1st.
If the illegal items remain on the shelves after that date, the business would be fined $1,000 each day, and any vaping device would be considered contraband.
“All of the other stores in town and all of us vape shops are kind of just starting to reduce our inventory, because we don’t want to have a bunch of stuff after September 1st that we can’t sell,” says Hall. “So we have adjusted our business model up until then, but I don’t see a path to stay in this business.”
Many will have to stock up during August, as many customers who were coming into Johnny Vapes on Thursday morning were stunned just learning about it.
“Why? That’s my instant reaction to it,” says David Radtke, a long-time customer, “I just don’t understand how they can eliminate vapes, which helped me to quit, because I used to smoke for over 20 years, and then they are going to say they are going to get rid of vaping. But, the big cigarette companies and big chewing tobacco companies like that can still keep going.”
Many customers said they would either quit or look for other options that they could use.
“If that’s the case, then I have no option, I will start chewing again, because I don’t want to go back to smoking,” says Radtke.
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Tyler is the main organizer behind WiscoFAST, an organization of vape shop owners looking to stop the law from going into place, challenging the language on what they can sell.
They will be in Madison on Friday for a hearing on the matter, and Local 5 will continue to bring updates when we learn more.
