{"id":186656,"date":"2026-05-07T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/186656\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T23:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:07:09","slug":"smoke-shops-pop-up-near-pa-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/186656\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoke shops pop up near Pa. schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSmoke shops continue to open across Pennsylvania, including in the Susquehanna Valley, raising concerns not only about how many there are but also where they are located.These stores often sell e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and cannabinoid products such as Delta-8 gummies. Some lawmakers and public health advocates say the bright storefronts, colorful packaging and easy access can appeal to teens.News 8 investigated smoke shop locations in the Susquehanna Valley and their proximity to schools. We found every county had at least one high school within walking distance of a shop, all less than a mile away. Closest schools to smoke shops by countyHarrisburg High School (Dauphin County) \u2014 0.3 miles awayCedar Cliff High School (Cumberland County) \u2014 0.3 miles awayManheim Township High School (Lancaster County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayLebanon High School (Lebanon County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayWilliam Penn High School (York County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayNew Oxford Senior High School (Adams County) \u2014 0.7 miles awayIn some cases, you can see a school from the smoke shop’s property.Public health concernsSean McCormick, associate director of public health programs at Latino Connection, said many of the shops are \u201cshockingly close to schools\u201d and that research shows location matters.\u201cWe do know from public health and epidemiological and mapping studies that folks that live closer to these locations are more likely to start using these products and have a tougher time quitting,\u201d McCormick said.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2024, more than 1.6 million middle and high school students said they used e-cigarettes. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also said many vape products sold in stores are not authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and are being marketed illegally.Legislation under considerationPennsylvania lawmakers are now considering legislation aimed at limiting where new smoke shops can open.One proposal would bar new smoke shops from opening within 1,000 feet of a school. Another bill, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Ben Waxman of Philadelphia, would prohibit new shops within 500 feet of other youth-focused places such as day care centers and recreation centers. Neither proposal would affect existing businesses.\u201cThere would be maybe other ways to go after people\u2019s licenses, which is what we\u2019re also looking at at the local level,\u201d Waxman said.State regulation and next stepsThe state has already taken one regulatory step. As of Feb. 20, vape and e-cigarette manufacturers must obtain certification from the Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office before selling certain products.McCormick said the goal is not to ban legal products statewide, but to create reasonable limits on where they are sold.\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to ban them from the entire state,\u201d he said. \u201cBut is there responsible and common-sense legislation to limit the proximity to schools so that students aren’t walking out of their middle school or high school and seeing tobacco vape, CBD create, neon flashing lights the instant they walk out the school.”\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Smoke shops continue to open across Pennsylvania, including in the Susquehanna Valley, raising concerns not only about how many there are but also where they are located.<\/p>\n

These stores often sell e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and cannabinoid products such as Delta-8 gummies. <\/p>\n

Some lawmakers and public health advocates say the bright storefronts, colorful packaging and easy access can appeal to teens.<\/p>\n

News 8 investigated smoke shop locations in the Susquehanna Valley and their proximity to schools. We found every county had at least one high school within walking distance of a shop, all less than a mile away. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"Smoke<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWGAL\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWGAL Reporter Sarah Metts found smoke shops within walking distance of at least one high school in Susquehanna Valley counties and plotted them on a map.<\/p>\n

Closest schools to smoke shops by county\t<\/p>\n

Harrisburg High School (Dauphin County) \u2014 0.3 miles awayCedar Cliff High School (Cumberland County) \u2014 0.3 miles awayManheim Township High School (Lancaster County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayLebanon High School (Lebanon County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayWilliam Penn High School (York County) \u2014 0.4 miles awayNew Oxford Senior High School (Adams County) \u2014 0.7 miles away<\/p>\n

In some cases, you can see a school from the smoke shop’s property.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Smoke<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Smoke<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Smoke<\/p>\n

Public health concerns<\/p>\n

Sean McCormick, associate director of public health programs at Latino Connection, said many of the shops are \u201cshockingly close to schools\u201d and that research shows location matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do know from public health and epidemiological and mapping studies that folks that live closer to these locations are more likely to start using these products and have a tougher time quitting,\u201d McCormick said.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Sean<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in 2024, more than 1.6 million middle and high school students said they used e-cigarettes. <\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also said many vape products sold in stores are not authorized by the Food and Drug Administration and are being marketed illegally.<\/p>\n

Legislation under consideration<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania lawmakers are now considering legislation aimed at limiting where new smoke shops can open.<\/p>\n

One proposal would bar new smoke shops from opening within 1,000 feet of a school. Another bill, sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Ben Waxman of Philadelphia, would prohibit new shops within 500 feet of other youth-focused places such as day care centers and recreation centers. <\/p>\n

Neither proposal would affect existing businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere would be maybe other ways to go after people\u2019s licenses, which is what we\u2019re also looking at at the local level,\u201d Waxman said.<\/p>\n

State regulation and next steps<\/p>\n

The state has already taken one regulatory step. As of Feb. 20, vape and e-cigarette manufacturers must obtain certification from the Pennsylvania Attorney General\u2019s Office before selling certain products.<\/p>\n

McCormick said the goal is not to ban legal products statewide, but to create reasonable limits on where they are sold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to ban them from the entire state,\u201d he said. \u201cBut is there responsible and common-sense legislation to limit the proximity to schools so that students aren’t walking out of their middle school or high school and seeing tobacco vape, CBD create, neon flashing lights the instant they walk out the school.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Smoke shops continue to open across Pennsylvania, including in the Susquehanna Valley, raising concerns not only about how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[83251,12429,83252,83250,48323,83253,17457,3575,6704,56879,83254,14256,23747,393,55016,5824,83264,83255,28,30,12189,29,83006,83256,83263,83257,521,233,53422,83258,16890,83259,2483,76997,83260,54454,10693,4910,4911,9739,83261,83262],"class_list":["post-186656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-cannabinoid-products","tag-cdc","tag-colorful-packaging","tag-delta-8-gummies","tag-e-cigarette","tag-e-cigarettes","tag-fda","tag-foot","tag-high-school","tag-high-schools","tag-illegal-marketing","tag-lawmaker","tag-lawmakers","tag-legislation","tag-mccormick","tag-mile","tag-new-smoke-shop","tag-nicotine-pouches","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-legislation","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-proximity","tag-proximity-to-schools","tag-public-health-advocate","tag-public-health-concerns","tag-school","tag-schools","tag-smoke-shop","tag-smoke-shops","tag-store","tag-storefront-advertising","tag-susquehanna-valley","tag-susquehanna-valley-school","tag-teen-appeal","tag-tobacco-products","tag-vape","tag-vape-shops","tag-vaping","tag-walking-distance","tag-youth-access","tag-youth-vaping"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}