Lacey Vape Shop Owner Speaks Out Against NJ Ban

LACEY, NJ — The owner of a Lacey vape shop blasted New Jersey's ban on flavored vape products. Gorilla Vapes owner Nick Jurczyk blasted the bill, which Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Tuesday.

The law will not only take away jobs, but it will reduce options for people looking to quit smoking traditional cigarettes, Jurczyk told state legislators.

Gorilla Vapes has a Lacey location and runs several stores, mostly around New Jersey. Jurczyk began smoking cigarettes when he was 15. But he tried his first e-cigarette 14 years later, which helped him quit.

"What you’re doing is taking a less harmful choice away from adults," Jurczyk said. "What you’re doing will inevitably add to the pockets of big tobacco. But I’m sure you know that."

The vaping legislation prohibits the sale and distribution of flavored vape products, including menthol. New Jersey becomes the first state to impose a permanent ban on such products. Read more: NJ Gov. Murphy Signs 153 Bills Into Law, Including Major Vape Ban

Jurczyk stated in a letter to customers that vape shops fail to check IDs less than 1 percent of the time, according to the Food and Drug Administration. He still says that's too much.

But gas stations, convenience stores and online vendors are the bigger culprits for failing to check if their customers are 21 or older, Jurczyk said.

The state is dealing with a skyrocketing number of vaping illnesses, including one death.

The CDC says most vape-related illnesses came from products with THC — 78 percent were acquired from informal sources such as family, friends and dealers. But politicians in several states have taken action because of the use among youth and the prevalence of disease and death.

State legislators supporting the ban said they want to reduce the growing number of minors using e-cigarettes. According to the CDC, 27.5 percent of high school students smoked an e-cigarette in a 30-day period.

"Getting flavored vaping products off the market will protect our youth," said Assemblyman Herb Conaway. "If we don’t, we will have another generation of young people addicted to nicotine when we were so close to reducing widespread dependency on this chemical.”

Jurczyk believes legislators have good intentions but are uninformed and that underaged use must be addressed. But he believes legislators supporting the ban were uninformed.

The state law takes effect April 20, and Jurczyk hopes critics of the bill can made a difference by then.

"During this 90 day period," he said, "we will continue to contact legislators to inform them that flavors are a huge part of the success of helping adults quit smoking."

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