Vape shops took a hit last year during a nationwide outbreak of lung injuries and hospitalizations attributed to e-cigarettes. The stores are just now starting to recover.

Sales of e-cigarettes in Ohio plummeted last year as news spread of a nationwide outbreak of vaping-related hospitalizations.

But the industry is starting to rebound.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,807 vaping-related hospitalizations and 68 deaths since the outbreak began in May. Cases started dropping in September, the CDC said in a notice on its website.

Ninety-one people were hospitalized in Ohio, according to the state Department of Health.

Sales at vape shops throughout Ohio dropped 50% to 70% from July to November, said James Jarvis, president of the Ohio Vapor Trade Association.

Those sales are now approaching pre-outbreak levels, said Jarvis, who owns several Ohio vape shops. While the rebound is good for retailers, at least one was forced to close before the recovery, he said.

"People who were using the products like ours went back to smoking," Jarvis said.

Sales of vape oils at Ohio’s medical marijuana dispensaries also have risen steadily since news of the outbreak receded. Vape oil sales went from $136,483 the week of Sept. 21, 2019, to $741,347 the week of Feb. 29, according to Ohio Department of Commerce records.

E-cigarettes are one of the most popular delivery methods among medical marijuana patients. Vape oils made up 16% of all sales in December, second only to the unprocessed plant material.

Representatives of vape shops and marijuana dispensaries are quick to point out that the hospitalizations were never directly connected to their products.

Many of the cases were attributed to vaping cartridges filled with THC and laced with vitamin E acetate, a substance that Jarvis said is not sold at vape shops but is available on the illegal market. State regulators banned vitamin E acetate from medical marijuana products late last year, but industry representatives said the substance was never included in vape oils sold at Ohio dispensaries.

"This is what we expected to see for a number of reasons," Alex Thomas, executive director of the Ohio Medical Marijuana License Holders Coalition, said of the increase in vape oil sales. "Certainly, some of it can be ascribed to the fact that it's not in the news anymore."

A handful of individual dispensaries even reported an increase in vape oil sales during the outbreak.

News reports might have boosted sales because Ohio law requires legal marijuana products to undergo rigorous testing, said Rony Sinharoy, the designated representative for the Botanist dispensary in the Arena District.

"Patients who may have previously purchased vapes in the illicit market shifted to purchasing regulated products because they are tested, traceable and transparent," Sinharoy said in a statement.

The patients trusted state-regulated products because they understood the testing process, said Cindy Bradford, co-owner of the Ohio Cannabis Company dispensary in Coshocton.

"Patients love that security," she said.

Jarvis says his customers use e-cigarettes to quit smoking, and he cites a 2015 Public Health England study that shows vaping devices are roughly 95% less harmful than traditional cigarettes.

Other public health experts have cast doubt on that study, and vaping critics cite research that says e-cigarettes increase overall smoking rates and encourage young people to adopt the habit.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted its most recent update on the outbreak Feb. 25. A statement on the agency’s website said that cases continue to decline and researchers are still investigating the cause.

While most hospitalizations were attributed to vitamin E acetate, the CDC said there is not enough evidence to rule out other causes.

Medical marijuana card holders who spoke to The Dispatch at the start of the outbreak said the news would not deter them from using vape oils.

Diane Gin, 61, of Dublin, said she uses marijuana to manage chronic pain. E-cigarettes let her use marijuana discreetly, she said.

"It comes down to convenience," Gin said.

pcooley@dispatch.com

@PatrickACooley