LAFAYETTE, Ind. — In July, state regulations took effect on e-liquid manufacturers that vape stores worried might kill the vaping industry.
The law required that e-liquids sold by Indiana vendors be manufactured at facilities meeting strict new guidelines. Only one company in Indiana meets those requirements: Mulhaupt's Inc. in Lafayette. Nationally, only six others meet the criteria.
That's limited the number of products sold at vape stores across Indiana from the hundreds to precisely seven.
Although area vape stores didn’t take as big a hit as they anticipated, vendors and industry experts say they notice the development of concerning new trends within the vaping industry.
“We have a lot of customers that will go over to Illinois to buy juice,” said Steve Cuzzort, co-owner of the Fog Foundry in Lafayette.
His business partner, Chad Myers, said people seem to be taking matters into their own hands.
“You have a lot more DIY juice makers,” Myers said. “The issue with that is you don’t know how they’re making it or what they’re putting in there.”
'Sucks for Indiana'
Vaping is an alternative to smoking where users inhale vapor generated from a battery-powered device. The vapor is produced from e-liquid, often referred to as “juice,” which contains nicotine and flavoring.
Evan McMahon, founder of Hoosier Vapers, a trade advocacy group, said the group recently concluded a statewide consumer survey confirming these trends. The survey garnered over 6,000 consumer responses from vaping Hoosiers.
Although the results are preliminary, McMahon said roughly 10 percent of respondents said they took up home brewing juice after the regulations went into effect. Close to 30 percent said they buy e-liquid from out-of-state or online providers, and 15 percent said they cross state lines to purchase e-liquid.
“There has definitely been an uptick in people going to other states,” he said. “I’ve spoken to store owners across the state, and they’ve also said consumers are buying more online. You hear that anger from small business owners.”
Vape shops in towns bordering Indiana attest to this trend.
Charity Hoggard manages Nice Guy Vapes in Henderson, Kentucky, just a few miles from Evansville.
She said business from Indiana customers has picked up dramatically since August, around 25 or 30 percent.
“It’s helping us out a lot but sucks for Indiana,” Hoggard said.
According to sales associate Andy Flicker of Studio Vapes in Harrison, Ohio, his store also has seen a 30 percent uptick since summer. He said he’s witnessed an upsurge in vape shops coming to the Ohio border towns after the regulations took hold.
Kodi Cramer manages Epic Vapes in St. Mary’s, Ohio. The store has seven branches, including a location in Fort Wayne. A lot of the Fort Wayne business migrated to Ohio around August, he said.
Those coming from Indiana, he added, “will come in on Fridays and spend two or three hundred dollars just on juice.”
A bootleg industry?
Although the DIY trend isn’t as pervasive as seeking out-of-state supplies, Cuzzort and Myers said they hear people discussing home-brew habits and see evidence of this trend all over social media. They suspect some of these people might even be selling.
The regulations “opened up a black market for people making their own juice and selling it,” Myers said.
The problem? These people don’t know what they’re doing and making juice can be dangerous.
Shane Ellis of Lafayette has been making his own e-liquids for personal use for years. He agreed people shouldn’t attempt it if they don’t have the proper expertise or equipment.
“Using nicotine can be dangerous,” Ellis said. “Nicotine is a poison, and the way they send it to you is concentrated. If you get it on your skin it can absorb really fast and make you really sick.”
He added he’s only heard of a few people making their own juice recently, but he does get a lot of questions from people interested in the process.
For vape users, he said, the motivation is there since varieties at Indiana stores are limited and it's cheaper to do it yourself.
State Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, is expected to file a bill soon that would loosen the security requirements for manufactures and break the Mulhaupt's monopoly. Most vape store owners say they would be thrilled if this occurred, mostly so that they might offer customers a better selection of product, not necessarily because they fear for their business.
"We would absolutely like to see the part about the security system changed," said Sherrie Harvey, owner of Hoosier Vapor in Avon "It’s OK with me if they still require a permit but a closed system where we only have few companies to buy from and are so limited, it did put a big hardship on us."
Call J&C reporter Emma Ea Ambrose at 765-431-1192. Follow her on Twitter: @emma_ea_ambrose.
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