‘This is a public health emergency’ – Henrico forms task force to address illegal vape shops

Henrico County will be getting more aggressive with its crackdown on vape shops, starting with a new county task force and more action from police to shut down illegal activity.

As of this month, there are 74 vape shops in the county, with six more stores added since last July. At a Henrico Board of Supervisors meeting Aug. 26, county leaders said they will be taking an “all boots on the ground” approach to halt the spread of more vape shops.

“The 70 number that you’re seeing, two weeks from now, it could be 80,” said Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

The county plans to assemble a task force including the Henrico Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Henrico Police, the Department of Community Revitalization, and other departments. All 74 vape shops will be looked into and audited, said Fairfield Supervisor Roscoe Cooper.

“We’re going to scrutinize every single business that is in this category…we’re going to look at each and every one of them,” he said. “All various departments in the county are going to work together as one to figure out the best method to go at this issue from all different angles, using every tool in the toolbox.”

On Aug. 12, the board passed an ordinance that bars proposed vape shops from receiving funds from the Henrico Investment Program. But Cooper said that the ordinance did not cast a “wide enough net” and needed to be broader.

Last year, the board also adopted restrictions that require businesses to apply for a provisional use permit before opening a vape shop and prohibit vape shops from being built within 1,000 feet of a school and within 2,000 feet of a public park or another vape shop.

The county defines vape shops as businesses that dedicate 15% or more of display space to vapes, e-cigarettes, or other similar products. That 15% threshold avoids applying restrictions to convenience stores such as 7-Eleven or Wawa, said Henrico Attorney Andrew Newby.

But some vape shops have been masking as either convenience stores or tobacco shops by lying on applications to the county, said Cooper. Some have even been operating without a business license or zoning confirmation. And others have avoided county regulations by renting a property, with landlords sometimes unaware that the business is skirting county laws.

‘Police are going to get even more aggressive’

Many of the new regulations cannot be applied to vape shops established before July 2024, or “grandfathered in,” said Cooper. However, all shops will face consequences for selling any illegal products or drugs, with Henrico Police accelerating investigations of vape shops countywide.

“Even [shops] that are grandfathered in, a lot of them are selling illegal products – products that are coming from China that have not been approved by the FDA,” Cooper said. “They’re literally selling illegal drugs…and definitely our police are going to be making sure that we investigate that and make arrests whenever we can.”

Henrico Police have also seen other illegal activity at several vape shops, including multiple reports of breaking and entering, larceny, assault, armed robbery, vandalism, and the possession or sale of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Since January of 2024, 203 police reports have been made involving vape shops, leading to 73 arrests at 23 locations and two drug overdoses.

The proliferation of vape shops in the county, particularly in the Fairfield District, has had a devastating impact on the community, said Cooper. Multiple shops are located just across the street from high schools and middle schools, and many sell their products to underage young people – some as young as 11 or 12 – and do not check IDs.

“Administrators and teachers have informed me that they literally see their children, the students from their schools, walking across the street to purchase these products,” Cooper said. “Someone at my church reached out to me last week about their young child getting caught at school vaping – and this is middle school. So we’re seeing the impacts as low as in middle school.”

County officials will soon have more information to share with the public, Cooper said, and will work with the communications department to establish a webpage that residents can access to determine if certain stores are operating legally and selling legal products.

Anyone concerned about an establishment can call the county to have county staff come out and investigate or validate whether the shop is operating lawfully. Investigations can also be launched if the shop is violating trash and debris rules, signage codes, or rules on hours of operation.

County officials are taking the issue extremely seriously, Cooper said, with a multi-faceted approach using “every investigative tool” available.

“We look at this as a public health and public safety emergency,” he said. “And we're going to attack it with a sense of urgency because of that.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.