These NJ stores were selling illegal vape products

TRENTON – State investigators have issued over $85,000 in collective fines to stores in five counties, for selling flavored vape products that have been banned in New Jersey for years.

NJ became the first state in the nation to impose a permanent ban on these products, often marketed to children, when Gov. Phil Murphy signed the legislation in January 2020.

Notices of violation and civil penalties of $4,500 each have been leveled against 19 different retailers, the state Division of Consumer Affairs announced on Tuesday through the Attorney General’s Office.

In June, state investigators carried out undercover buys and in-store inspections at smoke shops, convenience stores and gift and novelty retailers in five counties — more than half of them at the Jersey Shore.

The following vape retailers were written up:

✖️ Aloha Convenience & Smoke, Plainfield
✖️ Cruz Grocery Store, Newark
✖️ Shell Food Mart, Parlin
✖️ Still the Dubb on Springfield Convenience Store, Irvington
✖️ Supreme Cloud Smoke Shop, Sayreville
✖️ Wacky Tobaccy Smoke Shop, Asbury Park

✖️Spirit Gifts, Wildwood
✖️Spirit USA, Wildwood
✖️Genesis, Wildwood
✖️Over the Boardwalk, Wildwood
✖️Exotics, Wildwood
✖️Gift World, Wildwood
✖️High Society, Wildwood
✖️Gifts 4 U, Wildwood
✖️Waves, Wildwood
✖️No Cap, Wildwood
✖️Golden Gate, Wildwood
✖️Smoke Factory, Wildwood
✖️Dolphin, Wildwood

Vape use among kids, teens

In Monmouth County, Howell Township has launched new local enforcement efforts in an anti-youth vaping program.

Earlier this year, a collective of retired law enforcement has been pushing for more federal resources — namely funding — to help communities crack down on these illegal sales, which translate into a multi-billion dollar industry, supporting organized crime in China.

SEE ALSO: NJ deals with illegal vape products from China, aimed at youth

Many such cartridges have not been regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and have strong concentrates of nicotine, synthetic nicotine and even THC (the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis).

With no nicotine or THC potency caps, e-cigarette pods and e-liquids may contain much stronger nicotine salts, synthetic nicotine and higher nicotine concentrates than traditional cigarettes.

Yet among middle school and high school students who use e-cigarettes, 25% used them daily and 89% used flavored e-cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The ban on flavor vaping devices is in place to protect New Jersey consumers—especially our youth—from the harmful effects of electronic cigarettes, nicotine, and tobacco,” Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs Cari Fais said in a written release.

A measure that has remained stuck in state Assembly committee this year would require that such tobacco and vape product retailers regularly be inspected, twice a year.

“By identifying and taking enforcement action against merchants who illegally sell these products, we are protecting public health and fulfilling our responsibility to safeguard consumers from unlawful business practices,” Fais added.

New Jersey did enter a multi-state settlement with JUUL Labs in late 2022, after a two-year investigation of the e-cigarette manufacturer, which was accused of engaging in advertising and marketing campaigns that appealed to youth.