The End of an Era, A Eulogy for Space Jam

As we wind down the year 2019 I find myself struck by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. This has been one of the most insane and troublesome years to be a vaper, with lawsuits and bans are flying left and right with protests and petitions to counter, and no end in sight. In fact, this year has been so hectic, we missed the death of one of the great companies in vaping history. Which is surprising because I can recall a time, back before the industrial giants like JUUL and SMOKTech took over, you couldn’t walk into a head shop without seeing a Space Jam E-Juice bottle somewhere behind the counter.

Space Jam was one of the first and only vape juice brands to secure a proper distribution network in mainstream retail stores like 7-11 and gas stations. Before then the only vape device you could find would be the BLU cigs. Well, last month our greatest fears as vapers hit home for the folks at Space Jam.

As waves of sweeping vape bans hit California many of the juice manufacturers of that area are being forced to shutter their doors and close down. Unfortunately, it looks like Space Jam got caught up with the rest and will be closing their business. This email from Space Jam to their customers lays everything out in plain text and says it more poignantly than I ever could.  

“Today we are announcing, with a very heavy heart, that Space Jam is closing operations.  We have been very privileged to have worked alongside you over the years.

As for many of you, these past few weeks have been challenging, and this decision has not been an easy one.  We apologize that our response times have been delayed however we wanted to get this information to you as soon as possible. If you have emailed an order recently it has not been filled or payment collected.

Having the Space Jam brand on your shelves brought us a tremendous amount of pride, and we appreciate all your support over the years. We wish you success in all your future endeavors.”

Damn. They may not be the first casualty in this war on vaping, and they definitely won’t be the last, but for this reviewer, this is one that hits home. Space Jam was one of the first juice brands I ever tried when I began vaping years ago. To see them go from being one of the most successful juice brands to closing their doors over these vape bans is extremely disheartening, especially given the fact that JUUL, the only brand that had enough momentum to do something about the tobacco industry, sold out to Altria group and now have a former tobacco executive as CEO.

I don’t know what the future of vaping is, but I can tell you that it’s going to be just a little bit dimmer without Space Jam Juice around.