VANCOUVER, Wash — Business owners are seeing the impact of the state of Washington’s ban on flavored vaping products.
The ban is in effect until 2020.
One vape shop owner in Longview has already had to let go of his staff and plans on keeping only one employee part time, and that’s only going to be until the end of the month.
Two weeks ago, our crew spoke with Rick Smead who owns Brick House Vapors in Vancouver and Longview. On Thursday, all of his shelves were bare. He spent much of Wednesday clearing his shelves before the ban. Smead said he had to remove at least $30,000 worth of products.
When we spoke with him earlier this month he feared that the Washington State Board of Health would vote to ban flavored vaping products, which they did on Wednesday. Now he’s trying to figure out he’ll be able to keep his head above water.
“We're going to have to let all of the employees go, figure out what we're going to do with all of the spaces, whether we transition them into some other store…who knows? We're not sure,” said Smead.
Since he has two different leases, he’s hoping his property managers will work with him. The ban is going to remain in effect until February 7, 2020.
The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board will be responsible for making sure vape shops aren’t selling flavored vaping products.