Seabrook looks to ban new vaping shops from coming into town

SEABROOK — Town officials are fed up with vaping and the businesses that push it.

The vape shops have been popping up all over town after Massachusetts implemented tough restrictions in 2019.

The town’s Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Nov. 21 on its proposed zoning amendment to prohibit more vaping stores from coming to town in response to concerns from the community and health officials.

The board approved the proposed amendment at its Nov. 7 meeting, according to Town Planner Tom Morgan.

“The vote was 7 to 0,” Morgan said. “It was unanimous. A lot of people were concerned about the health issues around vaping and its effect on young people’s health. The (tobacco) industry is marketing them to teenagers.”

Vaping, also known as e-cigarettes, became controversial not long after the introduction of the product following a number of incidents of young users developing serious and long-lasting lung injuries and ailments. Initially, the industry offered fruit-flavored and menthol vaping products, which are known to attract young users.

According Morgan, the fact-finding done prior to the board proposing the new vaping store prohibition showed considerable science documenting the negative impacts vaping has on health, including articles in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Further, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly warned of the negative health impacts of vaping.

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Morgan believes the rush to site vaping stores in Seabrook began in late 2019 when Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker moved to ban the sale of vaping products in the Bay State. Baker referred to the issue at the time as a “health emergency,” according to published reports.

After a court challenge from the industry, Massachusetts passed a new law that went into effect on June 1, 2020. Though not a complete ban, it significantly restricts the type of vaping products that can be sold in Massachusetts, by whom and where they can be utilized. In particular, the sale of vaping products is restricted to non-flavored nicotine products, eliminating fruit and menthol-flavored products entirely.

Morgan said in recent years Seabrook witnessed a number of new vaping stores sprout up, worrying town residents and Planning Board members. According to the town, 13 new licenses were issued for vaping businesses in Seabrook in recent years.

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According to Morgan, Seabrook’s proposed amendment could be on the March town warrant requesting voter approval. If passed, the town will prohibit new retail vaping establishments that sell vaping devices, e-cigarettes and e-fluids. Those already existing may remain and do business, he said, but they will be considered “non-conforming,” or “grandfathered” establishments.

Being non-conforming, Morgan said, these businesses won’t be allowed to expand, and if they cease to remain active for any reason for more than a year that grandfather status will dissolve.

Oddly, on the very night the Planning Board voted unanimously to offer the amendment to prohibit more vaping stores in the future, it approved a motion to allow a new vaping business to go in at 158 Lafayette Road (Route 1). The location formerly housed a stove store, and according to Morgan, the new owner of the proposed vaping store, Jawed Shaikh, needed permission from the Planning Board to “change the use” of the site.

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At the board’s previous meeting, Morgan said, the motion to approve that change of use was tied, so it was tabled to the Nov. 8 meeting, when there was more discussion and a new vote.

“This time it passed 4 to 3,” Morgan said. “That was clearly not unanimous.”