New bill seeks 'commonsense' curbs on Pittsburgh vape shops to protect kids

Pittsburgh officials are considering new restrictions on vape shops in an effort to limit kids’ exposure to stores selling nicotine and CBD.

The measure, introduced to City Council on Tuesday, would not allow new vape shops to open within 1,500 feet of elementary or secondary schools, licensed daycare facilities, religious institutions, public parks and playgrounds or other vape shops.

It also would prohibit new and existing vape shops from operating between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. No self-service sales would be allowed, and products would have to be kept behind counters or in locked display cases.

“I believe this is just commonsense limits on vape shops for Pittsburgh,” Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, told TribLive before introducing the legislation Tuesday.

“The bill is about protecting kids and strengthening neighborhoods. Right now, vape shops are clustering near parks, schools and daycares, the very places where children and families spend their time.”

Pam McBurney, who owns Vapor Galleria on South Side’s East Carson Street, said the proposed regulations wouldn’t change the way her store already operates, since products are locked up and they don’t stay open overnight. She’s supportive of the measures.

“When we picked where our location was, we weren’t anywhere near a school,” McBurney said. “I wouldn’t open a vape shop across from a school. That’s wrong.”

Vape shop explosion

Council members sponsoring the bill could not immediately say how many vape shops operate in the city.

“As anyone can see, vape shops kind of exploded,” Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said, adding that he has noticed more of them popping up throughout the neighborhoods he represents since the covid-19 pandemic.

Wilson estimated there are nearly 30 Downtown.

The proposed restrictions would include stores where 15% or more of the floor area is dedicated to displaying or selling vapes, e-cigarettes, any CBD products or smoking accessories. It also would include businesses who have at least 10 feet of shelf space or two display cabinets dedicated to such products.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are not included.

Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said she’s concerned that some vape shops near schools may entice kids who could suffer negative health impacts from vaping.

“My concern is public health,” she said. “Some of these vape shops throughout the country are selling highly unregulated substances that have long-term health effects or even short-term health effects.”

Council President R. Daniel Lavelle said he doesn’t want to see so many vape shops open that they take over storefronts that could house a wider variety of businesses.

“They have begun to pop up more and more and more, and they take up places where other businesses could be there,” Lavelle said.

‘Wild, wild west’

Alyssa Morris owns Glass Gallery & Wellness locations in Pittsburgh’s South Side and in Richland and McCandless.

“A lot of these regulations could be great for our industry,” Morris told TribLive. “It could help limit some of the bad things that do happen in it.”

Morris, whose South Side store has been open for more than a decade, said her stores have a purchasing system that requires identification to ensure they don’t sell to minors. Morris said she tries to be part of the community and doesn’t stay open overnight.

But she knows some vape shops sell to kids, peddle low-quality or expired products and cause disturbances in the neighborhood.

“Because there isn’t any type of regulation or restriction with it, they are a little bit of the wild, wild west in some places,” she said. “It gives all of us a bad look.”

The proposed requirement to lock up all of the products would be “a bit of a hindrance,” Morris said, but she’s generally supportive of the restrictions and understands why some people feel there are too many vape shops concentrated in areas like South Side.

“I’m all about competition. I think it makes people thrive,” she said. “But wherever it gets flooded and saturated, it just becomes overwhelming.”