Business & Tech

Eagle Rock Proprietor Explains What E-Cigarettes Are All About

It's called "vaping," and marketers say it is a healthy alternative to smoking.

So what are electronic cigarettes, and how do they work? 

It seems more and more e-cigarette stores are popping up all over, and more and more young people seem to be smoking them in bars and nightclubs. 

Ryan Jefferson, manager of the new Vape Supreme in Eagle Rock, explains how they work in the attached video.

Click here to learn more about the business and its location's notorious history as a pot shop in our related story. 

According to Jefferson, e-cigarettes have helped him and many of his customers quit smoking tobacco.

"We cater to cigarette smokers, to really try to help them stop smoking. A lot of us that started up in Vape Supreme were heavy cigarette smokers. I myself was about a pack a day smoker. It definitely helped me stop smoking cigarettes," Jefferson said. 

I'm a former cigarette smoker and quit over four years ago. I tried a few puffs of an orange-flavored e-cigarette at Vape Supreme in Eagle Rock, and found it to be tasty, smooth and very light. I could not actually feel any smoke in my lungs, but only the pleasant taste. It was like a light version of smoking a hookah.

The devices are battery powered, which heats up nicotine-spiked liquid and propylene glycol (PEG) in the cartridge, which is the stuff theatrical smoke is made out of. The user then inhales a puff, and when the the user exhales, there's a cloud of PEG vapor that looks like smoke, which quickly dissipates. E-cigarettes have no tobacco products in them, only nicotine, which is why they are marketed as a healthy alternative to cigarettes, and as a way to quit smoking tobacco. 

However, there is little medical data on the claims to them being a healthy alternative to smoking and the FDA is in the process of investigating them. 

"We have an open investigation into this issue," FDA spokeswoman Rita Chappelle told WebMD. "What is happening right now is FDA has reviewed several e-cigarettes, e-cigars, and e-pipes, and have refused entry of these products into the country. We acted because these products appear to require FDA approval for marketing, and have not been reviewed by the agency." 

Vape Supreme is located at 2501 Colorado Blvd. 


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