Vape Store Owner: New FDA regulations target small businesses ... - WTVC

Chattanooga (WTVC) —
One store owner says because of the FDA's new regulations on vaping, he will not be able to afford to keep the doors open.

David Sprouse owns Express Vapor in East Ridge.

He says it will cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars to follow those new guidelines.

A local health expert says the regulations are much needed rules to keep the public safe.

After smoking for 50 years, Sprouse wanted to stop.

He says vaping changed his life and made quitting easier.

"It worked for me and I didn't think anything would ever work for me," he said.

His experience inspired him to open his own store.

Mixing flavors for his customers is what, he says, keeps his business alive.

"Flavors support the business 'cause once people buy the equipment, unless they're upgrading all the time, you need to have them come back and buy the flavors. Otherwise, you're not going to be in business," Sprouse explained.

This week, he learned new the Food and Drug Administration regulations will require him to register and pay for each product he creates himself.

"As far as what I've been told, it will cost me $3,000 per flavor," he said.

With 60 flavors, Sprouse says he can't afford that nearly $200,000 price tag.

Kevin Lusk, the chair of Tobacco-Free Chattanooga, says these regulations are for everyone's safety.

"It's taken almost 50 years to see the results of smoking and how it affects your health," Lusk said. "Well, vaping is still new and we don't know how it affects your health."

Lusk says doctors and scientists aren't waiting as long as they did to learn about the effects of tobacco.

Right now, they know vape equipment has formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.

What they don't know is what manufacturers are adding to the concoction.

"We hate to see any small business struggle, but at the same time our public health and our well-being of the community is just as important, if not more important," Lusk said.

The FDA says business owners, like David, will be able to sell their products for up to 2 years while they submit their applications.

The agency also says business owners will no longer be able to give out free samples of products or flavors either.