Montclair Vape Shop Owner Blames 'Hysteria' For Big Drop In Sales

MONTCLAIR, NJ — There’s a business in Montclair which has seen a 30 percent drop in sales over the past four months. And the cause, its owner claims, is “mass hysteria.”

Sunny Sangwan, the owner of Artisan Vapor & CBD on Bloomfield Avenue, recently reached out to Patch to voice a major frustration.

Sangwan said that ever since Artisan Vapor opened its doors in 2015, he’s seen “nothing but love” from the Montclair community. But according to Sangwan, he’s one of many New Jersey business owners who are taking a big financial hit from the controversy surrounding e-cigarettes and vaping.

Sangwan said his sales have plunged by up to 30 percent since September. And he thinks he knows the reason why: fear.

“Having been part of many trade-related bodies, this number is consistent across the nation,” Sangwan claimed. “There's a real possibility facing a lot of vape shops across America where they'd have to close their shops either because of regulation, or a drop in business because of fear among people.”

Some people would argue, however, that worry is justified.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, e-cigarette use among middle and high school students increased by 900 percent between 2011 and 2015. A 2015 report from the National Health Interview Survey found 40 percent of young e-cigarette users were never smokers before trying e-cigarettes.

In an ongoing ad campaign from the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey, vaping is compared to “skydiving without a parachute.”

“The popularity of e-cigs and vapes among youth threatens to reverse hard-fought declines in adolescent smoking and create a new generation of nicotine addicts,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal charged in the campaign. “We must raise public awareness about the dangers of vaping to prevent another deadly addiction epidemic from taking root in our communities.”

However, when it comes to youth vaping, there are already laws in place that prevent sales to people under 18-years-old, Sangwan argued.

“We vehemently oppose any youth use,” Sangwan said. “We ID aggressively in our store.”

Sangwan said his store’s clientele is mostly 25 to 75-years-old, so he’s never really had any problem with underage people trying to buy his products.

“But we’re paying the price because of this turn in public perception,” he lamented. “It’s like banning alcohol because teens are drinking.”

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‘VAPING ILLNESSES’ AND ‘MASS HYSTERIA’

As of January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 2,602 people throughout the United States have been hospitalized with severe lung injuries caused by vaping. Nationwide, there have been 57 confirmed deaths.

However, the CDC also said most of those cases involved illegally produced marijuana products tainted with vitamin E acetate.

State health departments, the CDC and the FDA are still investigating the possible causes of the lung injuries, but said that based on information known at this time, e-cigarettes or vaping products should never be used by young adults, pregnant women or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.

Some pro-vaping lobby groups such as the New Jersey Vapor Rights Coalition have also criticized media and health professionals for not differentiating between “vaping” – a technology – and the products used in those devices.

“The use of vaping products obtained illegally that contain illegal drugs intended to get people high is not the same thing as using vaping products that aid in the process of breaking a habit with combustible tobacco,” the advocacy group recently stated.

“We can attest to the fact that the sicknesses highlighted in recent reports is a case of a bad batch from outside of New Jersey that’s illegally being sold, not due to the e-liquid our members sell in their stores,” the coalition added.

• See related article: NJ Plans E-Cigarette Ban As Deadly 'Outbreak' Grows Dramatically

“The recent outbreak of ‘vaping-related illnesses’ has caused mass hysteria, but electronic cigarettes had nothing to do with it,” Sangwan said.

REGULATING, BANNING VAPING

Several recent attempts to regulate or ban vaping have been launched in the Garden State, with critics blasting the potential health troubles that come with using e-smoking devices.

Earlier this month, the town of Piscataway essentially banned the sale of e-cigarettes and vape pens within its borders, passing an ordinance that forbids them from being sold within 500 meters of schools, parks and other locations deemed "sensitive" in town.

• See related article: Piscataway Outlaws E-Cigarette/Vape Sales In Nearly Entire Town

Two years ago, neighboring Highland Park began requiring businesses that want to sell vape pens first obtain a $1,200 license, the proceeds of which will be put into anti-smoking campaigns and programs. And this past December, Jersey City banned the sale of e-cigarettes that use flavored tobacco.

On Monday, a bill that would ban the sale of flavored vaping products and the use of coupons to purchase tobacco and vapor products in New Jersey passed the full Assembly and Senate. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Phil Murphy.

“The nicotine in e-cigarettes is just as harmful as that of traditional cigarettes, yet many people may not realize just how detrimental nicotine really is for anyone under the age of 25,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywoman Carol Murphy.

“Flavored products are designed to attract young people, which is one of the reasons why most traditional cigarette flavors were banned a decade ago,” Assemblyman Herb Conaway said.

But according to Sangwan, a ban on flavored vape products would be a mammoth waste of taxpayer funds.

“New Jersey is late to the party and should've learned the lessons from several states that tried it and failed,” Sangwan said.

A total ban on flavored vape products would pose a severe threat to his store’s bottom line and possibly cost people their jobs, he added.

“Flavored e-liquids make up a large portion of our sales,” Sangwan told Patch. “I potentially might have to reduce the number of sales staff we have, which will be very painful. We have already diversified by offering a variety of CBD products and might need to diversify more just to survive.”

“We'll see what happens,” Sangwan concluded.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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