Popular vape brands like Geek Bar are disappearing fast across the Triad, but not everything is banned.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — If your favorite vape flavor is missing from store shelves, you’re not alone — and you’re not imagining things. Across the Triad, signs are going up and supplies are vanishing as a new state law kicks in, banning thousands of flavored vapes. But 2 Wants To Know is breaking down what’s really happening.
“I’m Big Sunny with the white gummy ice. If you come to Fetti’s shop, play nice,” raps aspiring artist Summer “Sunny” Barnes, who’s working at a local vape shop until her music career takes off.
Barnes says business has been booming lately, but for all the wrong reasons.
“This started maybe last week, two weeks ago. They just been flooding us — grabbing all the flavors. So many empty boxes,” she told us.
What’s Going Away and Why
Starting at the end of this month, North Carolina vape shops are only allowed to sell products approved by the state and that list cuts out thousands of the most popular options.
The state’s new rules only allow:
-
Vapes approved by the FDA
-
Vapes currently under FDA review
-
Or vapes where a federal judge has overruled an FDA ban
That still leaves more than 800 approved products — but about 7,000 other vapes will be banned. Among the most noticeable going away? Geek Bar. Barnes says those are flying off the shelves.
“There’s a high demand,” she said. “We only got a couple left so if you want some, come get them.”
A Law Years in the Making
This crackdown comes from a law passed in 2024 and signed by then-Governor Roy Cooper. It follows years of warnings from health experts who say many of the flavored, foreign-made vapes are especially dangerous for teens.
Dr. Robert Jackler of Stanford University School of Medicine said this to the Associated Press in 2023:
“Many of these products come in gummy bear and chocolate and butter rum flavors that we know to be highly appealing to nonsmoking teenagers. And they have very high nicotine levels and therefore are apparently addictive.”
Starting next month, stores that break the rules could face fines of up to $1,500 per violation.
Important Note: This ban only applies to nicotine vapes — not hemp vapes.
