Butler County vape shops brace for ban of products
Vape shops across Pennsylvania are preparing for Monday, Oct. 19, when Pennsylvania law enforcement is scheduled to begin enforcing Act 57. The act bans all but 159 products from six manufacturers.
Act 57, a law passed last year, prohibits the sale in Pennsylvania of electronic nicotine delivery systems that do not appear on the state’s electronic nicotine delivery system directory. However, vape shop owners say the list of approved products is too limiting and will significantly harm business.
Dereck Belcastro, one of the owners of Tobacco 4 Less, which has six locations in the area, said he opened his store to help people stop smoking cigarettes. For him, the ban harms the health of his customers and his business.
“It is going to impact us in a big way, and you know, the only thing that is in vape is propylene glycol and nicotine, which has never been linked to cancer. You still have to watch how much nicotine you take in, but it is a whole lot better than smoking,” he said.
He added that one of his stores generated around $60,000 per month in vape sales alone. He said he had never had a customer return and reported developing “popcorn lung,” attributing this to the quality of the products he purchases.
“We are not sure, as of right now, how it will impact us, as we have been in business since 2012, and I think we were one of the first ones in the industry. But vaping was not a thing when we first started out, and we slowly added it because we wanted to help people stop smoking,” Dereck Belcastro’s wife and shop co-owner, Joni Belcastro, said.
They fear the vape ban will force their customers to start smoking again.
“This law is about keeping harmful products out of the hands of both children and adults who may not realize what they are consuming,” state Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “Since Act 57 was signed into law, my office has been working diligently to build resources for companies and consumers so they can be in compliance when the enforcement date arrives.”
Bob Robela, a disabled veteran who owns Godfather Vapors, hasn’t seen the resources. With so much uncertainty surrounding the law, Robela said his shop has been forced to expand into tobacco products, despite previously avoiding that market. The business has now branched out into loose-leaf tobacco products.
“The list we were given of the things we can sell hasn’t even been finalized yet, and we were supposed to be given 90 days to liquidate inventory once the list has been approved. We went way past it while we are still waiting for the approval,” Robela added.
The list includes 159 approved products from manufacturers like Blue Nine, Custom Technologies, Juul Labs, NJoy, R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company and The Schwartz E-Liquid.
According to Sunday, shops will need to ensure their products are approved through the ENDS directory, which requires companies to demonstrate compliance with Act 57 and Pennsylvania law. Approval may only be granted for products the Food and Drug Administration has authorized for sale or those that are the subject of timely filed applications with the FDA.
“The situation was handled very poorly right from the start, as the people in Harrisburg had the template, and now they are acting like they are reinventing the wheel. But in reality, they are stealing the model that is used in North Carolina,” Robela said.
The North Carolina vape ban took effect in July 2025. It still allows 858 vape products compared with 159 in Pennsylvania.
“To be honest with you, most of our sales are vapes, with probably like 95% of our sales being vapes. So, with them going away, we are basically losing most of our business. We actually just opened a month ago, so it is going to impact us big time,” said MJ Fadel, an employee at Royal Smoke Vape Shop in Butler.
Supreme Vape and Smoke expressed such concerns. Kyra Cloherty, an employee at the shop, said the law would have a significant impact because many customers are loyal to the business. She added that many customers are also upset and do not believe the ban is real.
Sunday said his office plans to conduct targeted enforcement across the commonwealth. During inspections, the office will provide education on compliance with the new law, with penalties increasing in accordance with the law for repeat offenders.
