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October 10, 2019
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 Inside this issue
  Executive Directors Message  
 

VAPE AND E-CIG HYSTERIA IN NEW JERSEY AND NATIONWIDE
ELECTRIC CARS - OPPORTUNITY FOR GAS RETAILERS, REPAIR SHOPS AND C-STORES

 
VAPE/E-CIGS
Last week, Debbie, Michelle and I attended the NACS Conference in Atlanta. There were a number of very interesting panels on subjects that I have discussed with you often. One of the topics of today's message that was discussed at NACS is what is happening in the vape/e-cigarette world and how it affects all of you with convenience stores. As you can imagine, there was much discussion in a number of these panels on how the industry will deal with the hysteria that is nationwide that may result in a ban of these products. Although I have been strategizing for the past several weeks with representatives from the manufacturers of the products sold in convenience stores and was expecting Governor Murphy to take some executive action, I was still surprised when I stepped off the plane returning from Atlanta and my cell phone was buzzing away with messages about the governor's plans. Even though the plans he laid out are detrimental to your businesses, I was happy that he did not take an executive action. However, that does not mean he still won't at any time in the future. Instead, he is laying out his recommendations and asking the legislature to pass laws that in effect will ban most vaping and e-cigarette products, and more importantly, prohibit them from being sold in convenience stores. The only good news here is that we will have an opportunity to lobby legislators and minimize the governor's proposals. Will we be successful? I don't know, but I do believe we have a chance to make some changes so that an important profit center in your stores is not lost. 
 
One of the things that I am certain will happen if we are successful blocking a total ban of selling these products in convenience stores will be stepped up and intense surveillance and enforcement of the under 21 age prohibition. I will tell you now that mistakes do happen and we will be understanding. However, repeated carelessness and disregard of the law not only will cost the store owner, but will blacken the eye of the entire convenience store industry. Read this article and you will know what I'm talking about. This negligent operator just made our job harder to keep these products in your stores. In fact this is the reason why the governor is proposing that vape products, including e-cigs only be sold in specialized vape shops.  Since vape shops do not allow anyone to enter the premises unless they can prove that they are 21 years of age, the governor believes that this will eliminate young people from purchasing e-cigs. Much more will be happening on this issue and will keep you updated as things develop. I can promise you this: We will fight to protect your rights to sell vape/e-cigarette products and your help will be needed. I am appealing to all NJGCA members, including those that do not operate convenience stores; I will be sending alerts for all of you to contact legislators at the appropriate time. We are all partners in this industry where so many issues that affect one of us ends up affecting us all. It is important that in these situations we raise our collective voices to stop  
 
ELECTRIC CARS
There are other things I want to discuss, but I will save them for another week. The other important takeaway from NACS is that the evidence is mounting that you will in some way need to be involved with electric charging stations. I am hoping that NJGCA will have a program early next year to start giving you more information on how this can be accomplished. This is important for those of you with repair shops as well if you want to keep a customer to maintain and repair their new electric vehicle. Electric vehicles still need tires, suspension, and computer repairs. There will also be tremendous opportunity for C-Stores as motorists waiting for their vehicle to charge will be patronizing your stores making impulse purchases. I can only imagine the amount of coffee, and snacks that I would be purchasing if I were waiting in a convenience store parking lot waiting for my vehicle to charge.
 
 
That's all for this week -  
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

 


 
 

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  Training Class Schedule  
 

NJDEP- UST Seminar
Thursday, November 14, 2019 

8:30 - 2:00 PM

For our members with USTs, this FREE seminar will cover the requirements of new Underground Storage Tank and Vapor Recovery rules established January 2018. NJDEP, Weights and Measures, and DCA will present. 
 

Register HERE

All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753
 

Two-Day Emissions Inspector Training Class

October 23rd & 24th - CLASS FULL
December 18th & 19th

Want your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our new two-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector. Day one will consist of written test training and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices. Day two will be a hands-on training course to prepare you for the hands-on test. Class will run from 7:00am to 4:00pm on day 1. Class will begin at 12:30 PM on day 2. Cost is $479 for members. 

December class registration click here


Want to become an emission repair technician/facility?

THIS IS THE LAST CLASS FOR THE ENTIRE PROGRAM, REGISTER EARLY!

Entire Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP) Training Classes

 FULL COURSE
1 PM to 9 PM
November 6, 7, 13, 14, 20, 21 
December 4, 5, 11, 12

 

Sections 8, 9, 10 (RECERTIFICATION)
CHOOSE EVENING OR DAY COURSE OPTION:

1 PM to 9 PM
December 4, 5, 11, 12
OR
8 AM to 4 PM
December 3, 9, 10, 17

 

Stop turning away work!

The New Jersey Inspection Program requires vehicles that fail emissions inspection to go to a Licensed Certified Emission Repair Facility and have a Licensed Emission Repair Technician perform the repairs! When the new Emissions Inspection program begins, a list of Certified Emission Repair Facilities will be given to the vehicle owners who fail the New Jersey Emission Inspection. If you want your business name on the list - make sure you have a Certified Licensed Emission Repair Technician and you are licensed as a Emission Repair Facility! Those signing up for the FULL training course will attend sections 1-10. Full ETEP class fees for members are $2,195 and non-members are $2,395. Recertification fees for members are $729 and non-members are $879. This is the last class for the entire program, register early!

Click here for FULL ETEP REGISTRATION FORM
Click here for ETEP RECERTIFICATION FORM
 

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS. THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!

 

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  News Around The State  
 

10/8/19
Op Ed: Balanced Energy Supply Good for Environment, Economy, and NJ
In light of climate change and the need to reduce emissions, the Murphy administration has prioritized green technology and renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Despite their clear promise, however, neither technology is currently ready to meet New Jersey's energy needs nor fill the void as plans continue to proliferate to shut down gas and nuclear plants in the state. Yet there is a solution that will stabilize our energy supply, grow our economy, and reduce emissions: Natural gas must be a part of our energy mix moving forward to act as a "bridge" fuel until renewables are ready to shoulder this burden.

10/8/19
Will NJ's Push To Ban Flavored Vapes Also Extend To Outlawing Menthol Cigarettes?
The ongoing health crisis surrounding electronic cigarettes has spurred support for legislation to ban the sale of flavored vaping products, including menthol. But will the vaping scare also give momentum to another bill seeking to outlaw menthol cigarettes as well? Assemblyman Herb Conaway hopes so. The longtime legislator penned New Jersey's 2008 law that banned all flavored brands of cigarettes due to their allure to children. But menthol flavor, made famous by brands such as Newport, Salem and Kool, was left out of New Jersey's law along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's subsequent federal ban on flavored tobacco products.

10/7/19
LD39 Dems Level Attack Over Tobacco Products
Democratic challengers in the 39th district are looking to turn incumbents' records on tobacco products into a campaign issue. . . Lawmakers in the state are eyeing another run at even more stringent regulations on e-cigarettes following a spate of lung illnesses health officials believe are vape-related. Some reports indicate the lung illnesses are linked to black-market marijuana vape cartridges, though the exact cause remains unclear, and lawmakers have largely focused their response to electronic tobacco products.

10/7/19
Vaping Knockoffs Flood Market
The United States is battling a skyrocketing black market for vaping products, which have contributed to a rise in teen vaping and a lung illness that has hospitalized hundreds and killed at least 19 people, The Wall Street Journal reports. . . The vaping-related illnesses have yet to be linked to a single product or ingredient, but many of those with the lung sickness report the cartridges contained THC. JUUL Labs has filed lawsuits to halt hundreds of online companies from selling counterfeit products, many of which can be traced to China. During the second quarter of 2019, JUUL has requested more than 7,000 counterfeit online listings be yanked. The company has also gone after companies making unauthorized JUUL-compatible pods in flavors attractive to children, such as grape soda and rainbow drops.  

10/7/19
NJ in New Regional Effort to Cap Vehicle Emissions
In what could amount to the most significant regional effort yet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 12 states have issued a draft policy framework to create a cap-and-trade program to reduce global warming pollution from vehicles. . .This draft framework, while sparse in details, proposes to put a cap on emissions from the transportation sector by requiring state fuel suppliers to buy allowances, which would be auctioned off for the right to emit carbon.

10/6/19
Vaping's Black Market Complicates Efforts to Combat Crises
U.S. health officials are confronting a sprawling black market for vaping products as they seek to combat two health crises, a mysterious lung illness and a surge in teen vaping. No single product or ingredient has been identified as the cause of the vaping-related illness, which has sickened more than 1,000 people and is linked to at least 19 deaths. Many patients have reported vaping cartridges that they purchased from informal sources, such as friends, illicit dealers or off the street, and that contained THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana. Juul and other manufacturers have argued that regulators should do more to clear out unauthorized-and potentially unsafe-products from the marketplace.

10/4/19
It's Time To Ban Flavored Vapes In N.J., Task Force Demands. Murphy Agrees.
New Jersey should ban the sale of all flavored vaping products - including menthol - and prohibit the online sale of e-cigarettes, according to a task force Gov. Phil Murphy appointed to address a wave of severe lung diseases that have killed 18 people in the nation, including a woman in the state. Murphy on Thursday afternoon vowed to "act swiftly" to enact the recommendations and called on legislative leaders to join him.

10/4/19
Altria Launches Iqos Tobacco Device In Us, And The Timing Couldn't Be Better
Marlboro maker Altria started developing its new tobacco device more than a decade ago - as smoking rates declined but long before vaping took hold in the U.S. . . Iqos isn't a vaping device or a cigarette. It heats tobacco, but doesn't burn it, and is designed to give users the same rush of nicotine as smoking with fewer toxins. It also comes amid public panic over an outbreak of a deadly lung disease that's killed at least 18 people. U.S. health officials have traced the illnesses to vaping.

10/3/19
Sweeney Says 'Tax Stamps' Should be Used to Remove Counterfeit E-Cigs, Vaping Products from the Market
The tax stamps used for regular cigarettes should be applied to e-cigarettes and other vaping products as a means of removing the counterfeit electronic tobacco products from the market, Senate President Steve Sweeney said today. Making use of the existing tax stamp program would be an effective means of identifying the illegitimate products that health investigators believe are linked to vaping-related illnesses and deaths and keeping them away from consumers, especially young people.

10/2/19
Legal Weed Vs. Vaping: Why NJ Wants To Legalize One But Ban The Other Is Raising Questions
To those who favor vaping, the term to describe using e-cigarettes, the contradiction is clear. While lawmakers who support a ban want to do so to keep the electronic nicotine devices away from children and maintain public safety, vaping advocates say one of the consequences would be that users will turn to a black market for e-cigarettes, which are also used to inhale marijuana. One of the reasons elected officials in New Jersey want to legalize marijuana is to tax and regulate the drug.

10/2/19
Evesham Store Clerk Charged With Selling Vape Cartridge To Girl
An employee of the Gud-2-Go convenience store on Route 70 was charged with selling a nicotine vaping cartridge to an underage girl, police said Wednesday. Pankaj Suneja, 47, of Evesham, faces a potential fine of between $250 to $1,000 for the disorderly persons offense. Police said he was charged after officers observed him selling the cartridge to the girl during a surveillance operation. Investigators said the surveillance was launched after the police department received an anonymous tip employees at the store had been selling tobacco products to persons underage. The arrest was announced amid a nationwide health scare surrounding vaping and electronic cigarettes and serious illnesses believed to be tied to the practice.

9/30/19
First All-Electric U.S. Gas Station Goes Live
RS Automotives, a Maryland gas station that has been around since 1958, has ditched gasoline for electricity, according to CNBC. Depeswar Doley, owner of the station, was unhappy with the way oil and gasoline companies structure contracts and decided to switch to 100% EV charging.

9/30/19
Mixed Views on Plastic Bag Ban
Most New Jerseyans initially support a single use plastic bag ban, but many back away from that support when considering the impact on consumer shopping habits, according to the Monmouth University Poll. The vast majority of Garden State residents say that ocean pollution caused by plastics is a serious problem, but few have heard much about the issue of microplastics in the environment. Nearly 2-in-3 New Jerseyans (65%) claim to support a ban on single use plastic bags, while 29% are opposed. Just over half (52%) also say they support a ban on plastic straws, with 44% of state residents opposing this.
 
 
 

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  Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices  
 
Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior. Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.
 
 

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  Member Benefit Partner Message Board  
 
 
    









 

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  Classifieds: For Sale and Help Wanted Ads  
 



NEW!


FOR SALE:

New! Business For Sale: Business for sale and lease: 6 lifts, 10 spaces, plenty of parking, fleet accounts, loyal customer base. 50 years in business. Turn key operation, busy corner highway. All stock and equipment, tools included. Used car dealer license, transmission shop equipment also included. Email: viener@outlook.com for more details.


Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.


New! Parts For Sale: Incon TS-1000 tank monitor works well just taken out of service. Printer is aprox 2 months old. Also, Incon 8, tank probes. System replaced because on an Exxon upgrade. Call John Twin Towers Exxon (201) 224-8444



 

 

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