NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – A Louisiana law banning stores from selling certain nicotine vaping products went back into effect Monday (March 18), after a temporary injunction that halted the enforcement was lifted.
As a result, several stores across the state said they are losing business and some have no choice but to shut down.
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“We’re having a hard time knowing what we can sell, knowing what we can order, knowing where we can order from. They’ve made pretty much every aspect of operating our business almost impossible,” said Brandon Suriff, owner of Create A Cig.
Mike and Brandon Suriff own five vape shops, but said the renewed enforcement forced them to close two south shore locations on Monday (March 18) and lay off eight employees.
“We don’t really look at them as employees, we look at them as family. And I’m getting chocked up talking about it,” Mike Suriff said.
But, he said, “If the ATC walked in right now, I’d get a fine per item.”
The Suriffs said they had to pull from shelves about 26,000 bottles of e-juice, equating to roughly $250,000 of product. They said they also must swallow the loss of about $158,000 in pre-paid nicotine excise tax.
The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control resumed its enforcement of Act 414, which bans businesses from selling certain nicotine vapes that aren’t on the FDA regulated list of vapor or alternative nicotine products.
The Louisiana Vape Directory can be found here.
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The Suriffs said this wiped out nearly 90 percent of what they’re selling, and customers now are stocking up across state lines.
“They’re putting, probably, tens of thousands of people out of business,” Mike Suriff said. “Shops that worked hard. And our goal is to get people off of smoking cigarettes.”
The bill’s Republican author, former St. Tammany state representative Paul Hollis, said it was signed into law last fall, giving retailers plenty of time to adjust their inventories to products not seemingly aimed at the young.
“Blueberry and strawberry and candy cane, and you’ve smelt them when you walk behind people,” Hollis said. “And you know they are made to appeal to children. And I thought if we make it more expensive, that will curb, you know, young people using it.”
Brandon Suriff said his shops card customers regardless of how old they look.
“If they really wanted to protect the children, they should just make it 21 or older to enter into anyplace that buys vapes,” he said. “And then it would eliminate all the gas stations from being able to sell these products.”
Hollis said a handful of lawmakers opposed the measure, but most gave it overwhelming support.
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“Wait a second, people can really take products that are mixed in a bucket, ship them overseas from China into the United States with no regulation?” Hollis said.
The FDA-approved registry was released in November.
“It’s supposed to be updated, by state law, on the fifth of every month,” Brandon Suriff said. “(It) hasn’t been updated since January.”
The Louisiana Convenience and Vape Store Association sued the ATC over the rule. In January, a judge issued a temporary injunction halting enforcement of the law. But the injunction has been lifted.
Hollis said the law triples the tax on most vaping products with the extra tax revenue going to the Louisiana State Police and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
“We actually have bottles that are 120 mils,” said Mike Suriff. “It’s double the price because of the tax.”
The Suriffs said the law cut their sales almost in half and told Fox 8 they’re down nearly $2 million in revenue. The lawsuit between the ATC and the Louisiana Convenience and Vape Store Association is ongoing.
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