(Bebeto Matthews | AP file photo) Spike Babaian, owner of several Vape New York stores, works in her East Harlem store in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. Sales at small businesses that sell vaping products have plunged since August, when reports of vaping-related illnesses and deaths began. “We can never undo the government going on the news and saying it’s not safe to vape. The damage has been done,” says Babaian, who has been in business for eight years.