She may have lost her small-town store

…but impassioned vape advocate Skip Murray refuses to stop fighting for harm reduction and the lives of smokers.

Words: Jordan Millar

The vaping community was shaken to the core after beloved harm reduction advocate Skip Murray announced she was shutting her business down for good.

One of the most inspiring voices in the industry, many were shocked to learn that she was the latest casualty in the war on vaping.

But, like thousands before her, Skip fell victim to a cocktail of misinformation, COVID-19 measures and a relentless wave of policy changes…forcing her to shut up shop. She said: “I knew it was going to happen, but I tried to pretend it wasn’t…one of the first stages of grief is denial and that’s where I was for a really long time. “I kept hoping that something would change, holding out that the world would come to its senses…I’m just going to miss helping people.”

Even in the face of misinformation and cutthroat regulations, Skip pushed forward for as long as possible.

She fought tirelessly to serve her community and keep her Minnesota-based shop – Lakes Vape and Rec Supply – alive, even using funds from her overnight job in a group home to keep the business afloat. But, despite pouring everything she had into the store, even Skip knew things had to come to an end.

Eventually, she accepted her fate, let her lease expire and what was once a beacon of hope for smokers in her small town sadly closed its doors for the last time. Grandmother Skip, 60, said: “After a while my regulars became like family…so for me to close was not so much about losing a business, but about no longer being here for the people who’ve depended on us for years.

“Obviously I didn’t put the misinformation out there, I wasn’t responsible for the EVALI crisis and I didn’t start COVID…but it’s hard not to feel like a failure.” After taking over the store in 2018 from her son – who made the switch after suffering a smoking-induced heart attack – Skip quickly integrated herself in the world of vaping.

And through her dedication to helping smokers - as well as her work in consumer advocacy and online activism – she rose to harm reduction stardom, becoming one

of the most recognisable names in the community.

However, now that her store is closed, Skip warned that many of her lower income customers could be forced back to deadly tobacco cigarettes.

She said: “We’ve never been the highly polished, super hip big vape shop, it’s just not our market…we’re the working man’s place. “And I’m really concerned that some of my really low-income customers will end up going back to smoking…and I’m going to feel responsible.”

Skip explained that many of her regulars came in on the last day to stock up with as many supplies as possible and, in a lastditch effort to help them stay smoke free, she secretly doubled many of their orders.

I knew it was going to happen, but I tried to pretend it wasn’t…one of the first stages of grief is denial and that’s where I was for a really long time. “

She said: “Some of them bust out into tears they were so sad that we were closing… we’d built an attachment to each other. “I knew when their grandkids were born; I know birthdays, wedding anniversaries and funerals…we are definitely small town.”

Skip has since vowed to continue fighting for the right to harm reduction, stressing that that the only real ‘winners and losers’ in the war between tobacco control and harm reduction are smokers.

She stressed that vaping is saving lives and that quitting advocacy is simply ‘not an option’…not until these crucial products are more accessible for smokers.

Looking to the future, Skip said: “I’ll continue advocating until I just can’t do it anymore, I’m not stopping while people are still dying every day, it’s not even a choice.”