Cole Kelly

Composition

9/28/2019

Up in Smoke

As I approached the neon-lit building, I remembered all the times in my life I had looked

at this store as a kid and wondered about the dangerous dealings that could ensue inside.

Growing up, I always felt a predisposed fear and sense of apprehension towards this

establishment and the strangers I saw disappear into it. Once I turned eighteen years old, I knew

that the Smoke Shop was a place I really wanted to visit. I had a ton of curiosity surrounding

what they sold and the general demographic of the people that shopped there. In light of the

recent vaping ban and the decline in tobacco smoking and sales in general, I was also really

interested to see the effects.

The Dekalb Smoke Shop is located on Lincoln Highway within a strip mall called “The

Junction”. This strip mall is central on the NIU campus grounds and based off of the selection of

its stores and restaurants, it clearly caters to the campus lifestyle. The Smoke Shop is situated

between a laundromat and a late night diner, “The Junction.” Funnily enough, directly behind the

smoke shop sits the Dekalb Police Headquarters. The building’s front immediately steals your

attention, with its two large glossy windows both swelling with neon-lit signs advertising for

juuls, e-cigarettes and vaping. As you draw closer to the door you are met with a neon sign

detailing the stores hours, and a few tongue and cheek signs such as one that reads “Smile,

you’re on camera!”. This polished and shiny storefront represents the store’s contents well, as the

inside is just as mesmerizing.

 Upon entering you are met with the glow and reflections of the rows of glass display

cases. Each case is lined with colorful and complex-looking glass pieces. Most of the pieces

were very simple in design, but are bright and eye-catching with a splash of color and artistic

flair. The store itself is only one moderately sized room, consumed mostly by display cases and

the checkout counter itself. The space is filled to the brim with interesting glass pieces and vape

paraphernalia, and feels imbued with a bombastic and vibrant personality. Hip hop and rap music

fills the air and bounces off the walls which are hung with Pink Floyd and Rick and Morty

posters. Behind the checkout counter lies an assortment of tobacco and smoking products. The

contents and items within this store really interested me, but what caught my attention most was

what the assortment of people within looked like. All customers were obviously about 21 years

old or older, but beyond that the profile of each customer varied greatly. There was an even mix

of genders and a broad spectrum of races and ethnicities. Most people came in groups of two or

three. My expectations of a heavily student-based-demographic were dead wrong. Amidst a few

NIU students was a small family browsing through the bongs. The employees, however,

consisted of males who looked to be in their twenties. Upon both my visits to the shop, only one

employee was present at a time. One of them told me that this location was previously a different

smoke shop before their owner bought it out about a year ago (Panke). The subtle impact that

this store had on the immediate area and the community that it draws in really was cool to see.

This store and its community are both very unique and something I had never really encountered

before. The tight knit bonds that this hobby creates were very evident. The employees were very

engaged in conversation with each customer and everyone was friendly and clearly fond of

discussing methods of smoking and vaping. However, this environment and community could be
at stake. Due to the announcement of the recent vaping ban, it’s very hard to tell what the future

of this Smoke Shop and shops around the country may be.

First off, it's necessary to know what exactly is being banned, and why. On September

12th, Nathaniel Weixel, a journalist for the Hill, published an article detailing the ban. Weixel

writes that “On Wednesday, top administration health officials said they are finalizing a ban on

all flavors of e-cigarettes in response to a massive spike in underage vaping” (Weixel, 14). The

Health Officials believe that the flavored e-cigarettes are marketed towards the youth, and are

too easily accessible by underage teens. Federal figures state that there was a 78% rise in

underage vaping in just on year (Weixel, 14). Experts have even gone so far to call this an

epidemic. This is not the sole motive for the ban, though. Weixel writes that “the move to ban

flavors comes as at least 450 cases of a mysterious respiratory condition have been reported

across 33 states. The severity of the cases vary, but six people have died” (Weixel, 16). So due to

the recent findings of this health defect and the massive rise in popularity among underage teens

health officials are scrambling to get this situation under control quickly. The effects of this ban

could be crippling to stores like the Smoke Shop. With the introduction of the ban it is very

likely that these stores, and the smoking industry in general, will receive a massive hit in sales

and in consumption. Journalist for the Times, Tom Knowles, believes that the banning of

e-cigarettes could potentially push smokers back to smoking tobacco (Knowles, 1). This ban that

is targeted towards the consumption of nicotine completely neglects cigarettes themselves,

leaving them as a much more dangerous and unhealthy back-up option for smokers. The effects

on the industry are hard to tell as of right now, but I was very curious to find out what the future

of this particular Smoke Shop might be, so I interviewed an employee to find out.
 Due to the large selection of glass pieces, it could be assumed that maybe the store

focuses its sales more towards cannabis products. When asked what products he sees purchased

the most, Smoke Shop cashier Ian Panke stated that, “It’s definitely vaping products, it’s really

not even close” (Panke). This response startled me and drew me to immediately ask what he

thought this ban may mean to the shops future, but Panke remained confident in the store and

replied that, “If anything, taking away one product would just strike a pursuit to find a new one if

theirs is banned or priced up” (Panke). This statement reinforces Knowles’ ideas greatly, so I

asked Panke if he noticed any change in customer behavior following the announcement of this

ban and he continued on that, “...When we don’t have a product that customers want, I see a lot

of disappointment, but back to the first point, they will move onto the next product” (Panke). The

impacts and connotations of all of this are going to be very hard to predict going forward. It’s

hard to tell what the future of the industry and the future of the Smoke Shop will look like, but

due to my recent visit, I hope both are able to sustain themselves and continue to exist.

The Smoke Shop really did pull me in upon just two short visits there. The creative

design and flamboyant presentation of everything there really was something to see. Smoking

itself has always been a very touchy and controversial topic. Despite the health scares and the

general negative view towards it, smoking seems to generate a very friendly and dedicated

community. A place to indulge your interests and hobbies is so very necessary in one's life, and

this small little smoke shop seemed to fulfill that role for many in our college town where it will

continue to until something...blows it away.

 Citations
Weixel, Nathaniel. “Lawmakers Applaud Trump’s Ban on Flavored e-Cigarettes.” ​Hill​, vol. 26,
no. 77, 12 Sept. 2019, p. 14. ​EBSCOhost​,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=138646633&site=ehost-live
&scope=site.

Tom Knowles. “Vaping Ban ‘Will Push Smokers Back to Tobacco.’” ​Times, The (United
Kingdom)​, June 2019, p. 29. ​EBSCOhost​,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=7EH150557202&site=ehost-
live&scope=site.

Panke, Ian Personal Interview. 9 October 2019.