SALEM, Ohio - By mid-October, it will be illegal to smoke in the state of Ohio if you are under the age of 21, and at the same time, a new tax will go into effect on all vape oils.

Now there's a concern that the vape tax could cause people to revert back to what's often referred to as a bad habit.

Katina Spier, the owner of Vapors stores in Salem and Boardman and a drive-thru in Niles, along with the entire vaping industry, are preparing to take a one, two punch from lawmakers come mid-October.

That's because Ohio's governor has signed off on a law that will raise the smoking age to 21 and that includes vaping.  

Shayne Iday of Lisbon doesn't believe the new law will make a difference. "Age is not going to matter; they're going to get the product regardless.  I think it should just stay at 18. I don't think it should jump up to 21.  You can join the military at 18, why can't you smoke a cigarette at 18?"

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine also vetoed the portion of the bill that called for 'grandfathering in' anyone between 18 and 20, and already smoking or vaping.

The new law also calls for an increase in the vape oil tax by 10-cents a milliliter.  

"It's not cheap as is already, and now that they want to take the taxes up more. It's going to make it even more expensive.  And it could draw people back to smoking cigarettes again," Iday said.

The Vapors store owner says while she does not advocate for people to vape or smoke, it's unfair to tax one industry more than another.

"You know a lot more people are vaping and many of them have quit smoking, or they talk about the teens and that it's up 200%, but they don't tell you how much smoking is down in teens," Spier said.

When the tax on vape juice goes into effect in mid-October, you'll be paying $3.00 more on a 30-milliliter bottle, $6.00 more on a 60-milliliter bottle of vape juice, and an additional $12.00 on a 120-milliliter bottle, and that doesn't include the county's sales tax.