Edmonton-area vape shops say a new Edmonton Police Service campaign to eliminate the sale of flavoured products will hurt those who use vapes as an alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Police announced late June that they would visit vape retailers this summer to ensure compliance with the provincial Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act — specifically sections prohibiting sales to minors, advertising tobacco products and selling flavoured products.

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But vape store owners argue this police enforcement isn’t just misguided, it’s also baseless.

They say that restricting flavoured vape juices, which contain nicotine extracted from tobacco, is a misinterpretation of the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act.

“By the time we get our nicotine in the solution we use, it is so far removed from tobacco. It’s not like we just squeeze leaves,” said Shawn Kreger, who owns and operates three River City Vapes locations around Edmonton.

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“Even moreso, when you look at the definition of ‘to smoke,’ it’s to be lit. We don’t combust anything here.”

The EPS say they will issue hefty non-compliance fines to businesses — after an initial warning, a first offence could come with a fine of up to $10,000, and any subsequent offences could end in a ticket of up to $100,000.

But if police walked into Kreger’s store tomorrow and issued him a fine, he says he wouldn’t pay it.

“We’ve been advised by our regulatory lawyer, if you get (fined), do not sign it,” Kreger said.

“I’m certainly not here looking to start a fight, but I’m going to defend what I think is right.”

The provincial health ministry said they plan to review the Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act by this November, a process that would include creating specific regulations surrounding vaping.

However, the EPS are within their rights to interpret the act as they wish, health ministry press secretary Steve Buick confirmed Tuesday.

A major concern from vape shop owners is that police restrictions will drive vape users who used to smoke cigarettes back to smoking.

Thomas Kirsop, the owner of the Alternatives & Options Vapourizers and E-Liquids stores in St. Albert and Morinville, cites a 2018 FDA-approved study that found that only one per cent of U.S. vape users choose to use unflavoured vape juice.

Both Kreger and Kirsop are former smokers themselves, and both credit vaping as the reason they were able to quit. And while Kreger acknowledges that there may be a health risk associated with vaping, he argues it’s still a far better alternative to smoking.

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Instead of restricting sales of flavoured products to adults, Kirsop says, the EPS should put its full effort into targeting vape sales to minors. He suggests doing this through “secret shopper” sting operations.

“That way your legitimate shops that are operating above board that do care about their customers are protected by their own actions and those who flout the law are held accountable,” Kirsop said.

“We don’t need to ban the product for everybody.”

Kreger says an ideal conclusion to this conflict would be for the EPS to wait until the province passes a revised Tobacco and Smoking Reduction Act before carrying out any enforcement. He also wants business owners like himself to have a seat at the table in any policy discussions.

The EPS did not provide a comment to Postmedia by press time.