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Vape shop manager says a cloud of 'misinformation' is hurting his business

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Following a spike in respiratory-related illnesses and deaths south of the border, the NWT Health and Social Services says its 'monitoring the situation.' Sept. 26, 2019.

With the e-cigarette industry under intense scrutiny following a rash of respiratory illnesses and deaths linked to vaping, the manager of a local shop says misinformation is hurting small businesses offering an alternative to smoking.

VapouRevolution's Mike Williams, who manages 11 store locations across the NWT, B.C., Alberta and the Yukon, says the industry is being unfairly tied to the spike of illnesses, which he blames on the use of black market THC oils – not regulated, federally approved e-juices sold in his stores.

“It’s almost like guilt by association,” Williams told Yellowknifer in a recent phone interview.

Vaping has been linked to hundreds of reported respiratory illnesses and at least seven deaths in the United States. The legal and commercial response to the string of incidents has been swift: a handful of states are proposing bans or increased regulations on flavoured and unflavoured e-cigarettes alike while U.S.-based retailers like Walmart are scaling back vape products sold online.

VapouRevolution opened in the Monkey Tree Mall in early December. The store specializes in selling Vaporizers. Dylan Short/NNSL photo
VapouRevolution manager Mike Williams says the vaping industry is being unfairly tied to a rash of respiratory illnesses he blames on illicit THC oils. Dylan Short/NNSL photo

But health officials south of the border and in Canada are still scrambling to definitively decode what’s causing the illnesses.

Williams says people are getting sick because they’re buying illegally sold THC oil cartridges containing vitamin E acetate, a solution that can’t be safely vaporized.

E-juice – a mixture containing varying levels of nicotine ⁠– used in e-cigarettes sold in town at places like VapouRevolution and Reddi-Mart are tested and regulated by Health Canada, he added.

But because THC oils are being vaped, all legal vaporizers and vape products are being lumped into the same category amid the outbreak, he argued.

Following reports of “severe pulmonary illnesses and deaths” linked to vaping, the territory says it’s been working closely with Health Canada and other federal counterparts.

“Lung illnesses and deaths in the United States are being associated with the use of vaping products and health officials here in Canada are actively monitoring the situation as it unfolds,” NWT Health and Social Services spokesperson Damien Healy wrote in an email.

Vaping is not without risk and its long term effects are still unknown, he added.

“Non-smokers, people who are pregnant and young people shouldn’t vape,” stated Healy, stressing that buying unregulated vaping products outside the legal market could create “additional risk.”

Vaping among youth in the country, added Healy, is on the rise – a trend that’s concerning due to a lack of long term data, the possibility of it leading to tobacco use and the “health risks linked to chemicals found in vape products.”

Concerns about young people vaping aren’t new. They’ve fuelled calls for tougher advertising and sale regulations well before the recent outbreak of illnesses and deaths.

Williams said the products are meant for adults, and that VapouRevolution, as prescribed by law, doesn’t condone underage vaping.

Misleading headlines, he said, are hurting small-scale vape shops – he’s seen a dip in sales that’s being “felt across Canada” – while doing a disservice to ex-smokers who have seen positive health results after making the switch to vaping.

People will go back to smoking amid health concerns tied to vaping, said Williams.

A former two-pack-a-day smoker, Williams said his life changed for the better when he traded in his cigarettes for e-cigarettes. His story, Williams said, is one that’s shared by thousands of people who dropped their smoking habits after picking up a vaping device.