NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — As a temporary ban on flavored vaping products looms in Rhode Island, shops that sell them remain uncertain of what’s going to happen to their businesses.
The ban, initiated by Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday, will temporarily halt the sale of flavored vaping products statewide. The executive order should begin next week and will last 120 days with the optional extension of 60 additional days.
It’s different from the emergency regulation issued by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who immediately banned all vaping products from stores for four months.
Raimondo said e-cigarette and vaping products will still be available in stores for adults, but there will be no flavored options available.
Dino Baccari, owner of White Horse Vapor, said at least 90% of his sales come from flavored products. After pulling all of the flavored products in the store, he said there would only be six left, all of which are his worst sellers.
He called the ban a “doomsday scenario” for his business.
Raimondo said she decided to take action following a report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that urged states to take action while they investigate the possible connection between vaping and lung injuries.
There have been 805 cases of lung injuries reported from 46 states related to vaping, including 12 deaths in 10 states, according to the CDC. To date, the Rhode Island Department of Health has not reported any vaping-related illnesses.
Baccari said the ban is unfairly targeting adult vape shops who are selling safe products, adding that the products commonly sold in stores like his are not causing the outbreak of lung injuries.
“If we didn’t believe these products were good products, we wouldn’t be putting up a fight,” he explained.
Baccari said he expects to pull products from his store’s shelves next week, but doesn’t know exactly what the ban fully entails.
In the meantime, he said he’s been in contact with the Vapor Technology Association and the Smoke-Free Alternatives Association. He said he will continue to fight for his business.
“What runs through our minds is going out of business – we close up and lay everybody off,” Baccari said. “Which if you keep thinking it every day, that’s what’s going to happen. That’s not what we’re thinking. We’re just trying to get really creative right now to figure it out.”
Since the flavor ban was announced, Baccari has posted a variety of videos to the White Horse Vapor Facebook page. In many of the videos, his customers share their experiences with vaping and how it helped them quit smoking cigarettes.