I see your point, zoiDman. I guess it's my hope that if purchases moved back to vape shops where checking ID is more strictly enforced, maybe it would reduce the hysteria that is pushing us in that direction. Sure, RiteAid won't be enough by itself but if more retailers followed suit and it helped put a stop to the rampant selling of vape products to minors that the big chains have been engaged in, maybe there'd be a hope of reversing the direction we are headed. But, like I said, I tend to look for ways to see the glass as half full and it's probably just wishful thinking, lol.
I hate to say it, but I think the Only Thing that will quell the current Media driven Hysteria is a Round of Regulations and Time.
Things will Die Down on their own. All cycles do. But Policy makers will claim that Stricter Policies were the cause. And this will be Amplified by News Outlets.
The thing is, Everyday retailers are caught selling Alcohol to Minors. But that Isn't exactly front page news. Because the Public knows it has been going on for Decades.
And when you consider how many Legal alcohol sales are done as compared to Illegal sales, there's a Lot of Zeros to the right of the Decimal Point Percentage.
Unfortunately, that same thought process Isn't applied when it comes to e-Cigarettes.
Also, major Retailers dropping e-Cigarettes in a way De-Normalizes them. And to Some/Many, pushing them into a category about 2 levels up from stuff sold in "Head Shops".
Which is an Ironic twist, because the Major Retailers are chumping at the bit to sell the Stuff we used to need "Head Shops" for.
It's Funny, but the whole Underage Usage thing has got the Needle in the Red. But when people talk about Legalizing that Stuff that the "Head Shops" were for, there is ZERO Mention as to what will happen to Underage Stuff Usage. I mean Zilch.
That Youth Trends survey that all this Kid/Teen use Hysteria is based on had some Alarming numbers about Alcohol and Drug Use. But no one seems to be too upset about them. I guess the subliminal Stigma of Tobacco is greater than concern of Kids/Teen alcohol and drug use?