State alleges Plainfield smoke shop illegally sold flavored tobacco

PLAINFIELD, NJ – A Plainfield tobacco shop was fined by the state for illegally selling flavored tobacco vaporizers.

Aloha Convenience & Smoke LLC in Plainfield was among 19 New Jersey retailers issued a warning and fined $4,500, according to Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Department of Consumer Protection (“Department”).

In 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed a law making New Jersey the first state in the U.S. to ban all flavored vape pens, e-cigarettes and other products.

Studies have shown that these products are extremely attractive to teenagers and children, and the nationwide increase in their use is undermining the hard-won decline in smoking among young people, the state said.

Last June, the state launched an investigation into the illegal supply and sale of flavored vapor products. Through undercover shopping and store checks, investigators found tobacco shops, grocery stores, and gift and novelty retailers in five counties that offered and sold the banned products, many of them near schools and parks or on or near boardwalks.

The stores that violated the rule and must pay a $4,500 fine include:

• Aloha Convenience & Smoke LLC, Plainfield
• Cruz Grocery Store, Newark
• Shell Food Mart, Parlin
• Still the Dubb at the Springfield Convenience Store, Irvington
• Supreme Cloud Smoke Shop, Sayreville
• Wacky Tobaccakim tobacco shop, Asbury Park
• Spirit Gifts, Wildwood
• Spirit USA, Wildwood
• Genesis, Wildwood
• Via the Boardwalk, Wildwood
• Exotics, Wildwood
• Gift ideas world, Wildschönau
• High Society, Wildwood
• Gifts 4 U, Wildwood
• Waves, Wildwood
• No cap, Wildwood
• Golden Gate, Wildwood
• Smoke Factory, Wildwood
• Dolphin, Wildwood

“Thanks to Governor Murphy, New Jersey has some of the strongest laws in the country to prevent the sale of flavored vape products that are particularly attractive to children, and we intend to enforce them,” Platkin said. “As students across the state head back to school, we are sending a deterrent message to retailers. If you are caught selling these dangerous, prohibited products, you will be held accountable.”

Consumers who believe they have been defrauded or ripped off by a business, or who suspect another form of consumer abuse, can file a complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or calling 1-800-242-5846 (toll-free within New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.

Have a news tip? Email [email protected].