Is Palos Park The 'Vape Shop Capital' Of Chicago's Suburbs?

PALOS PARK, IL -- “Pastoral setting, rural splendor, and vape shops on every corner,” is not the motto of Palos Park, but with more than 3 ½ times as many vape shops per capita than other suburbs, such a motto may be accurate.

With the opening of three vape shops in recent years, Palos Park has distinguished itself from other suburbs, including our larger neighbors Lemont, which has none, and Orland Park and Palos Heights, each of which have only one vape shop within city limits. Other affluent suburbs, including La Grange, Hinsdale, and Winnetka, have avoided these unattractive stores in their communities altogether. Meanwhile, Palos Park home values have declined by 3% while home values in other suburbs have increased by as much as 22% over the last 10 years.

Unfortunately, these businesses are signs of blight. The high number of vape shops in Palos Park puts the health and economics of our community at risk. Once seen as a “safer” alternative for smokers, highly-addictive vaping that can deliver twenty times the nicotine of cigarettes has skyrocketed among teens and preteens, growing by 78% among high schoolers and 48% among middle schoolers over the last year according to the Center for Disease Control.

The dramatic increase in vaping has led U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, to declare vaping an epidemic. “I am officially declaring e-cigarette use among youth an epidemic in the United States,” Adams announced at a news conference in December. “Now is the time to take action.”
With two of Palos Park’s three vape shops located just across the street from a high school, our community should be especially concerned about the health effects of highly-addictive vaping on our youth.

Palos Park residents should also be concerned by the economic impact of vape shops. They take the place of other potentially thriving businesses entering our community, and harm the Village's reputation. With restrictions by the FDA and other government entities on the horizon, any tax revenue the Village has enjoyed, at the expense of our community’s health and appearance, is likely to be short-lived.

Just as the Palos Park Village Council has prohibited video gaming because it presents “a variety of adverse impacts on the residents of the Village,” and “is not consistent with the desire to maintain a family-friendly environment for residents of the Village and their children,” (Chapter 698 of the Palos Park Code of Ordinances), the Village should limit future expansion of vape shops in our community and instead encourage a diverse set of businesses that reflect “pastoral setting, rural splendor” values, promote the health of our community, and strengthen our economic foundation for years to come.