Vape shop owners worry that a U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposal to crack down on the sale of fruity-flavored e-cigarettes will put them out of business.

The FDA is proposing to restrict sales for most flavored e-cigarettes and eventually remove some fruity flavors from the market in an effort to make the habit less appealing to teenagers.

Today, teens are smoking cigarettes less than ever but are vaping in record numbers, according to the National Institutes of Health.

As youth vaping rates have reached epidemic levels, critics argue that packaging with bright colors and fruity or candy flavors appeal to younger users.

Charles McAvoy, who owns Vape Dragons shops in Wilkes-Barre Twp., Forty Fort, Wyoming, Dickson City and New York, said he thinks the FDA is taking the wrong approach and removing fruity flavored e-juices would lead vape shops to shut down.

Young people are already restricted from buying e-cigarettes at vape shops. They are asked to show identification and are not permitted to buy vape products unless they are 18, McAvoy said.

He said the problem is young people can buy e-cigarettes and vape products online and he believes that should be restricted. Tech-savvy teens are asked on websites if they are 18 to make a purchase and he said they could lie about their age, type "yes" and receive the products.

"When it comes to teen use, the biggest problem is online sales. Teens see what flavors they could get online on their phones and they're sent to their houses. Most of our customers are over 25," he said. "They're trying to pin it on the flavors which, in my opinion, is not the issue. It's having it available to purchase online and at convenience stores."

Inside Vape Dragons in Wilkes-Barre Twp., McAvoy showed many popular flavors of e-juices he sells including green lemon, triple strawberry and "really berry."

If the FDA removes fruity flavors from the market, he said vape shops would be left with only menthol and tobacco flavors and would have to close.

Vape shops already were penalized with a 40 percent tax on products that must be passed on to customers, he said. That has already caused many businesses to shut down in Pennsylvania.

As a result of the tax, he said vape shop owners needed to tighten their belts to the point that they have little profit.

Although some of the products contain nicotine, McAvoy said vaping is a better and safer alternative to smoking cigarettes. He quit smoking cigarettes as a result of vaping and is now no longer using nicotine. Many of his customers have quit smoking cigarettes as well, he said.

The success rate of his customers quitting smoking cigarettes and switching to e-cigarettes is 95 percent while other alternatives like nicotine chewing gum and the patch have not been successful in getting people to quit, he said. Vaping was designed to help people with lung cancer, he said.

McAvoy plans to express his opposition to the FDA's proposal, which is open for public comment, and so are other vape shop owners across the country.

"It would put every vape shop out of business," he said. "What would happen is the customers wouldn't be able to get their flavors anymore. Then, they would lose interest in vaping and they would end up going back to cigarettes."

Rick Moser, owner of Fog Vapes in Edwardsville, said he thinks the vaping industry is "doomed."

In addition to the proposed FDA restrictions, he said more regulations about vaping products released for sale after a certain date could force vape owners to pay for licenses that could cost up to $1 million per item.

With more people vaping instead of smoking cigarettes, Moser said he thinks regulations are being proposed against the vape industry because tobacco companies are losing business and government officials are losing tax money from cigarettes.

"They're pushing us all out so the big tobacco companies can monopolize the market," Moser said. "That's what this is all about."

McAvoy agrees. He said he believes vape shop owners are being targeted because e-cigarettes have gotten people to quit smoking "to the point that cigarette companies get nervous and people who collect taxes off cigarettes get nervous."

With more people quitting smoking and the growing popularity of e-cigarettes, Moser said vaping has become a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Since e-cigarettes are more popular and tobacco companies are losing money, he said he believes pressure is being put on the FDA to "squash us in the vaping industry."

Regulations and high taxes already have hurt Moser's business. He closed another vape shop in Delaware and sold one in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

While state officials said the proposal to restrict and eventually remove some flavored e-cigarettes from the market is in an effort to make the habit less appealing to young people, Moser said, "We don't sell to anyone underage."

Prior to his plan to leave his post on April 5, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb released the policy restricting e-cigarette sales. He has become known for his efforts to halt teenage vaping and regulate e-cigarettes.

In a statement, Gottlieb said while significant strides have been made in reducing conventional smoking among both youth and adults, the surge in e-cigarette use among youth is "threatening the progress we've made in reducing youth tobacco use."

The most recent data he provided showed more than 3.6 million middle and high school students across the country were e-cigarette users in 2018. That marked a dramatic increase of 1.5 million children since the previous year.

The data also showed that youth who used e-cigarettes also were using them more frequently and they were using flavored e-cigarette products more often than in 2017.

"The epidemic-level rise in youth e-cigarette use has prompted a series of escalating actions by the FDA in both enforcement and public education," Gottlieb said. "It has also required us to take a critical look at our policies and regulatory priorities."

Gottlieb said evidence shows that youth are especially attracted to flavored e-cigarette products and that minors are able to access the products from both brick-and-mortar retailers, as well as online, despite federal restrictions on sales to anyone under 18.

Because of the policy changes, he expects some flavored e-cigarette products will no longer be sold at all and other flavored e-cigarette products will continue to be sold but only in a manner that prevents youth access.

"We'll prioritize enforcement to prevent the access and appeal of these products to kids," Gottlieb said.

Contact the writer: dallabaugh@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2115, @CVAllabaugh on Twitter