AUGUSTA, GA ( WJBF) – For local vape shop owner Roy Palmer, vaping became an alternative to smoking cigarettes, one that he said is a safer option.

“I’ve been smoke free for about seven years and I’m no longer hacking up stuff every morning and I can keep my breath when I’m out doing stuff with my kids,” owner of Backwoodz Vapor Co. Roy Palmer said.

On his shelves you’ll find many different vape options, but you won’t see any JUUL products.

He doesn’t sell them, and if an FDA ban goes through no U.S vape shop owner will.

A federal appeals court, put a temporary block on the FDA ban of JUUL products, but if the ban goes through it could take JUUL products off the shelves of vape shops permanently.

The FDA banned the sale of JUUL vape products after a two-year review found health and safety concerns including that JUUL has played a large role in the rise of youth vaping.

“They’re easy to conceal and they’re especially useful for kids who don’t want their parents to see them using them. If you go by someone vaping, you’ll kind of just smell a sweet smell and it isn’t obvious,” Dr. Alice Caldwell, Associate professor of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia said.

Some doctors said the size of the vapes and the fruity sweet flavors that disguise the taste of tobacco can target the youth and also be addicting.

“With e-cigarettes people can vape repeatedly and they can get a lot more nicotine quicker,” Caldwell said.

The CDC said while vapes do contain fewer carcinogens than cigarettes the risk of highly addictive nicotine is still present.

Research shows it can be linked to health issues like high blood pressure and increased heart rate.

However, Palmer said it still gives people an alternative to the harmful effects of smoking like lung cancer which can be deadly.

“My belief is that any and everything that helps your average American or average person quit smoking.. even JUUL will add years on to your life. You’re talking about time with your kids. You’re talking about time with your grandchildren,” Palmer said.

The appellate court pause on the ban will stay in effect until at least July 12.