OAKLAND, Calif. — Brandon Lockridge and his electrician-school classmate
stopped into The Vape Bar in San Jose, Calif., bellied up to the shiny wooden
bar and ordered the usual.
Thunderclouds of vapor soon swirled over the men’s heads, then vanished like
ghosts. This is the world of vaping — puffing on inhalers sometimes known as
electronic cigarettes or vape pens. The devices use small batteries to heat a
flavored liquid until it produces a vapor. The liquid may contain varying levels
of a nicotine kick, from zero (flavor only) up to 24 milligrams, but no tobacco
smoke is produced.
Vaping has become so popular that it’s now an official “scene,” a subculture
with its own lingo: Do you wind your coils in bunny ears or roller coasters? Is
variable voltage better, or drip style? How about an RBA (rebuildible atomizer)
you can tinker with to adjust the draw, and create more flavor and bigger vapor
clouds? Users can subscribe to VPR, “the leading Vape lifestyle magazine,” or
mingle at a “vape meet.”
“It’s not just the vapor, it’s about the style, being able to have this in
your hand,” said Peter Edwards, 29, of San Jose, at The Vape Bar, rolling his
e-pen with his fingers like a fine cigar. “Once you spark that button on your
pen and you get this going, whether it’s nicotine or marijuana or nothing in it
but flavor, it’s cool. You want to be GQ cool.”
Lockridge, 27, credits vaping for reduced nicotine intake — he’s down to
6-milligram juices — but he also just enjoys the bar atmosphere, like hanging
out at a neighborhood watering hole.
“I like coming in here, talking to people about the pens,” he said,
explaining the workings of his device. “This is a single coil. You wrap it, drip
the juice on it. I did a lot of research. This one is a second-generation Zmax
with a digital display, you can check the battery life. It’s fun to tinker with
it.”
Early e-cig prototypes were introduced in the mid-2000s, but refined devices
— many manufactured by the big tobacco companies — have grown in popularity
worldwide in the past few years.
Vaping has been big in Southern California, and the trend recently spread to
the Bay Area, where you can find at least a dozen dedicated vape shops in San
Francisco alone, not to mention e-cig and vaping supplies available at regular
smoke shops across the region. Many users also modify the devices to vape
marijuana or other drugs.
Some e-cig brands resemble real cigarettes, glowing on the tip when you
inhale. Others look like small mechanical cylinders; users joke they’re “Star
Wars” light sabers. Some are bejeweled with bling and come in more colors than
an iPhone 5C. In the past few months, e-cigarettes have been making news — and
not necessarily in a good way.
While proponents rave that they’re a great way to kick the tobacco habit,
public health officials and government bodies — from Bay Area cities to state
agencies to the FDA — are pushing for more research, possible taxation and
regulation under existing tobacco laws.
Some fear the sweet flavors such as bubble gum and blueberry and the
appealing lack of cigarette smoke will lure young people into the nicotine
habit, even though it’s illegal to sell them to minors. Most shop owners say
they ask for ID.
Search from here: http://www.ecig-mall.com/
“The act of inhaling anything into the lungs is a concern, particularly if
the ingredients are not known,” said oncology resource nurse Kitt Kelly at
Sutter Delta Medical Center.
He added that the medical community is reluctant to play “cultural police”
and tell adults what to do.
“But we need to be informed, with actual research,” Kelly said. “We need more
information, and not in the form of an advertisement or product claim.”
At the moment, there is no regulation.
The Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association estimates that about 4
million Americans now use the battery-powered cigarettes, and they project sales
of the devices to reach $1 billion by the end of this year.
Source from: theadvocate.com
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