Attorney General James Wins Court Order Permanently Shutting Down Jefferson County Vape Shop

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that her office won a consent order and judgment against Evan Mills Smoke & Accessories, LLC, and Northwind26449, Inc. (Evan Mills Smoke Shop), two companies operating a vape shop in Jefferson County, and their owners for repeatedly violating state laws by selling flavored e-cigarettes and other misbranded drugs. The consent order bans the store’s owners from ever owning or operating any business that sells nicotine and/or tobacco products, including vapes. The owners must pay $50,000 in penalties and would be required to pay $3.81 million if they ever violate this consent order.

“Smoke shop owners that are illegally selling candy-flavored vapes to young people are fueling the nationwide youth vaping epidemic,” said Attorney General James. “This consent order holds the owners of the Evan Mills Smoke Shop accountable and keeps them out of business for good to protect our youth. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to protect young people from harmful e-cigarettes and other misbranded drugs.”

It is illegal to sell flavored vapor products containing nicotine at retail stores in New York. The owners of Evan Mills Smoke Shop, Ayoub Alharbi and Sameer Mohamod-Hizan Yahia, repeatedly violated the law and sold flavored e-cigarettes and other misbranded drugs, including kratom and nitrous oxide. In 2023, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit to permanently shut down the smoke shop.

The consent order secured by Attorney General James permanently shuts down Evan Mills Smoke Shop and requires the owners to forfeit products that were seized, including over 3,300 flavored nicotine vape products, 60 boxes of nitrous oxide, 577 packages of THC vapes, 617 packages of THC or Delta-8 edibles and tinctures, 35 packages of sativa cannabis, 232 packages of psilocybin mushroom bars, 62 packages of kratom, and hundreds of miscellaneous misbranded drugs.

Attorney General James thanks Fort Drum Military Police for their assistance on this matter.

This action is the latest in Attorney General James’ effort to combat the youth nicotine epidemic and to protect the health and safety of New Yorkers. In February, Attorney General James announced a lawsuit against 13 major e-cigarette manufacturers, distributors, and retailers for their role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic. In January, Attorney General James sued two companies operating a vape shop in Herkimer County for violating state laws by selling flavored e-cigarettes to minors and operating without required licenses. In April 2023, Attorney General James secured $462 million from Juul for its role in fueling the youth vaping epidemic, and in June 2024, Attorney General James distributed the money across New York State. In August 2021, Attorney General James co-led a bipartisan coalition calling on the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes and oral nicotine products. In December 2020, Attorney General James ordered dozens of retailers across the state to immediately stop selling e-cigarette products to underage customers and to stop selling flavored vaping products in violation of New York state law. Also in December 2020, Attorney General James held a roundtable with elected officials, students and parents on the subject of vaping among young people in New York state. 

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Julia Toce, Assistant Attorney General Leanne Moser, and Assistant Attorney General in Charge of the Watertown Regional Office Deanna R. Nelson. The investigation was conducted by Investigators Chad Shelmidine, Andrea Buttenschon, and Lawrence Kalk, under the supervision of Assistant Chief of Investigations Michael Leahy. The Watertown Regional Office is part of the Division of Regional Affairs, which is led by Chief Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Jill Faber and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.