Use increased with age: Some 16 percent of 10th-graders had tried an e-cigarette in the past month, and 17 percent of high school seniors. Regular smoking continued inching down, to 7 percent of 10th-graders and 14 percent of 12th-graders.
This region has become a hotbed of “vapor” shops launched by entrepreneurs who are capitalizing on local smokers’ growing interest in electronic cigarettes. At least two dozen vapor shops have opened or are in development in the area, and many of those shops’ owners say they are planning to add more stores.
Chris Voudris — co-owner of Vapor Haus, which operates stores in Dayton, Kettering and Fairfield — said Tuesday that he sees hundreds of high school students walk past his Dayton shop at 617 Watervliet Ave. every day, but they rarely, if ever, try to stop in the store.
“If we notice somebody looks under 18, or even under 30, we check IDs at the register,” Voudris said.
It’s the ease of purchasing e-cigarette supplies on the Internet that should be the top concern for parents and for regulators, Voudris said.
Customers at Vapor Haus agreed that online purchasing is too easy for teens. “All you have to do to prove you are over 18 is click a button,” said Jim Wolfe of Kettering.
Steve White of Dayton didn’t even recall having to take that step when he purchased vapor products online. “I just put in my credit card and got my e-cigarette a few days later,” White said.
At the region’s newest vapor shop — VaporCast at 6 Oakwood Ave. in Oakwood — a sign on the front door warns customers that they “Must be 18 or older with valid ID.”
“We’re really meticulous to ID anyone who comes in the door,” said Erik Lewis, the VaporCast store’s co-owner. Those who can’t prove they’re 18 or older “can’t sample, they can’t test, period. They have to leave,” Lewis said.
“We’re in this for the long haul,” Lewis said. “We didn’t open this shop just to close it in a year.”
Tobacco-free e-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat liquid nicotine and flavors into a vapor that the user inhales. Vapor shop owners say they serve customers looking for an alternative to smoking cigarettes, and e-cigarettes are touted as less dangerous to regular smokers because the vapor from the e-cigarette juice is believed to be less toxic than tobacco cigarette smoke. The long-term effects of inhaling vapors from e-cigarettes are not known, however.
“I worry that the tremendous progress that we’ve made over the last almost two decades in smoking could be reversed on us by the introduction of e-cigarettes,” said University of Michigan professor Lloyd Johnston, who leads the federal government’s annual “Monitoring the Future” survey of more than 41,000 students.
In late April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed rules that call for stricter regulation of e-cigarettes. But some of the proposals, including a ban on sales to minors, are already part of Ohio law, and the FDA stopped short of proposing severe restrictions.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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