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columns
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Bodysuit: Blacklickorish latex
Shoes: Vintage Thrift
Neck piece: Blacklickorish Latex
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Vapers Helping Vapers
Time to Raise the Bar
A Phoenix From the Ash
The Life and Social Media
Times of John Ashton
You Say You Want a Revolution?
State of the Union
Crowd Chasers
How Much is E-liquid Worth?
Victimhood and Vice
CASAA Fights for Your Rights
features
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16
34
36
38
40
44
72
87
Vaping Taxation
Stealth Vaping
Low Number Apparel
Hul Box
Shisha Fruits
Italian Design
Vapor Hub
Monkey O’s
In Favor of Flavors
EVENTS
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66
71
ECC, Ontario, CA
ECC Forum
Vape Blast 2.0, San Antonio
VIP Vape Street, Salt Lake City
DEPARTMENTS
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49
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The Juice Judge
Cover Models
Holiday Gift Guide
VAPE Vixen, Candy Mefferd
5
NEWS, BUSINESS & CULTURE
Even though the weather is cooling off, our industry
sure isn’t. There seems to be more controversy in the
vape space than ever before, as noted with this year’s
events, which have had mixed reviews, in polarizing
news reports about vaping—should it be banned, is
second-hand vaping harmful, is it truly a smoking cessation product—the questions and the debate rages
on.
The controversy was more evident within reader comments on social media and in my email inbox. Right
along with the vaping industry, we too at VAPE are
growing, changing and striving to improve. We welcome all comments, both positive and negative. The
one thing they prove the most is that we have a readership who cares. You’re passionate about what you
vape; you read technical stories and rebut, creating a
dialogue; you are proud to be a vaper.
I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this
issue. Your colorful photos, thoughtful and insightful
stories and awesome interviews have made this issue,
in my humble opinion, one of our most well rounded
ones yet.
Editor Alyssa Stahr with MaliceDoll (left)
This is my favorite time of year!
Football season is in full swing;
the holidays are right around
the corner (in fact, we’ve published our first holiday gift
guide in this issue!) and who
doesn’t like a good pumpkininfused adult beverage or juice?
VAPE News Magazine is the only
international vaping industry
focused magazine with more than
35,000 readership in the United
States, Europe and Asia, where
vaping professionals find the latest
news, products and trends.
EDITORIAL
Editor in Chief
Alyssa Stahr
[email protected]
800-958-6427 x2
Art Director: Van Avanzado
Graphic Designer: Johnny Guerrero
Contributors: Random Andrews,
Steffanie Atkins, John Bohrer, Norm
Bour, Cynthia Cabrera,
Dave Cross, CJ Caswell, Susan Oser,
Maria Verven
ADMINISTRATIVE
Chief Executive Officer
Matt Schramel
Vice President
Jon Laverde
Chief Operating Officer
Alyssa Stahr
National Event Coordinator
Norm Bour
ADVERTISING
Mike Schramel, [email protected]
800-958-6427 x1
Jon Laverde, [email protected]
800-958-6427 x4
China-based advertisers contact
Wingle Group Electronics LTD
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Vapers
Helping
Vapers:
By Susan Oser
Amongst all the news media stories, FDA
regulations and even drama concerning
the vaping community, there is one story
that has been acknowledged but has yet to
be told. This is the story of vapers helping vapers. To me, this is
one of the best kept secrets of the vaping community that really
shouldn’t be kept secret, because everything going on in our
government as it relates to e-cigs and vaping concerns the
vaping community at large and how vapers are helping vapers.
So what do I mean by Vapers Helping Vapers? It’s more than
just a Facebook page (which can be found at https://www.
facebook.com/groups/helpavapor/). It is about helping
someone within the vaping community who needs financial help
(or other resources). It is about coming together despite the
lines drawn between vaping network shows, shops and the like
to help someone who needs it the most.
Around Christmas 2014, a member of the Blono Smoke family suffered a serious accident. His name was Dustin Otey, and
he was almost pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics
came to revive him and take him to the hospital. Because of the
accident and the impending hospital bills, his wife and kids were
in some serious financial debt. That’s when a few of members
of the Vapenet channel put their heads together and organized
and auction to raise money for the family. Word soon went out
on Facebook, other vaping channels, and even to vendors asking
them for help and donations. Soon, donations came pouring in
before and during the event, which raised more than $40,000.
To say that the family was grateful is a complete understatement
and Otey is said to make progress almost every day.
If it is not a personal charity, there are big charities such as
St. Baldrick’s in which the vaping community came together to
raise money for various vendors who were going to participate.
This included Vaping Watch, as well as Hooligan Vapes who
raised thousands of dollars for the organization. Once again
vendors donated. Once again the community came together.
It also was a great chance in the online vaping community for
vapers to come together in one or at least two channels to participate in the auction, as well as to raise money.
In taking the idea a step further I’ve created a Facebook
group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/vaperspraerandpostiveenergygroup/. This basically is a vaping
group in which as a vaper you can go and post any prayers
or good energy you need for whatever crummy thing is going
on. Occasionally I post on there as well, however the group
10
hasn’t gotten a lot of action, and it would be nice if more people
posted. Because along with the charity, one thing that the community is great at is coming together as a family and supporting each other on a spiritual level. For example, if we need to
vent, we have friends to vent with. If we need to ask for advice
or help on something, there is someone who might know or
who might know someone who knows. It’s probably one of the
greatest communities for something like that.
So that begs the question, if this is such a great community,
and the community helps each other, why isn’t this story being
told? Why aren’t we appealing to our governmental bodies and
telling them that if they implement bans on e-cigs, they are
also disbanding businesses as well as community. If they think
they are saving lives, they really aren’t, they are killing them
(but that’s another rant for another time).
The point really is this: This is the story that needs to be told.
Besides our own personal stories about e-cigs helping us to
become healthier as well as those around us (which not enough
of those stories are being discussed), the community coming
together and helping each other in a time of need is just
as important.
So why aren’t we telling that story right now (when it’s most
needed)? Perhaps it is because we are too stuck in the drama
and care more about what another person says about us or
what they did to someone else. Maybe we are so burnt out by
all this political stuff that we feel as if nothing can be done or
accomplished (yet it can, it has and it will). Perhaps we are
relying too much on the activist angle and other people to fight
for them, when as vapers we are all a part of the fight and all
need to do our part. Maybe as some people have stated, we are
too stuck on the shinnies and the clouds.
I’m not sure what the answer is, but the more we help and support each other (especially on an activist level and charity level)
the stronger we can become. Instead of just being part of the
online community we need to also reach out to the real community and the small businesses who care like we do and who
would be willing to support a charity event that we are behind
or sponsor. In addition, it’s time to put whatever disagreements,
skepticism and whatever divides us aside and come together
for the greater good. If other movements and communities
can do this (especially if it has taken them years to do so) why
can’t we? In fact, if we can come together for charity and help
a fellow vaper, I wonder what great things we can do on the
activist side and fight for our rights? In fact, why can’t we have
the same activity on the activist side of vaping? Aren’t we still
technically vapers helping vapers?
This is just one opinion on the situation.
About the Author: Susan E. Oser aka Angelwriterspeaks on
Vapenet (http://vapenet.com/) is an advocate for rights
when it comes to vaping, equality and more. She currently
works as a freelance writer and online tutor. She also has a FB
knitting store/site for the vaper who is looking for something
special to add to their vaping accessory collection which can be
found here: http://www.facebook.com/knitzyknitz. Find
her at http://www.angelwriterspeaks.com, http://twitter.com/angelwriter78 and https://www.facebook.com/
Angelwriterspeaks?ref=hl. If you wish to contact her directly
you can do so at: [email protected].
Time to Raise the (Vapor) Bar
has irresponsible participants). From
profitable and well known companies
to small mom and pop shops, there are
plenty of people operating with a short
term vision that involves lots of money
(great) without regard for business ethics
or responsibility (not great).
Frequently, I am asked what can be
done to shine a light on responsible and
proactive businesses and the answer is
quite a bit.
Similarly, retailers can
refuse to purchase from
manufacturers unable or
unwilling to provide detailed
testing information. Business
owners can refuse to participate
in “vapor events” that are not up
to the professional standard common
in other industries. Plenty of money
is made on the vapor and trade show
circuit, but little attention is paid to how
these events are viewed externally.
While free T-shirts and e-liquid are fun,
consumers, who can be extremely active
and dedicated, can be the first line of
defense in forcing quality products and
practices by holding their vendors to a
higher standard.
By Cynthia Cabrera, Executive Director, SFATA
In the face of tremendous uncertainty
about the future of the vapor products
industry, many point to the fact
that industries can “self-regulate.”
Theoretically that’s true, but the real
question is whether the vapor industry
has the potential to regulate its behavior
before federal regulations are instituted.
In my daily interaction with members
of The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade
Association (SFATA) and with people
interested in the vapor space, invariably
the question of when the industry will
“become more responsible” comes up
because the future of the industry rests
with the FDA but also with itself. To
paraphrase an old proverb, “the answer
to the vapor industry’s problem is itself.”
We are facing increasingly incorrect
and damaging news coverage—fear
mongering about the products has
become an easy way for the opposition
to get attention—and we have a nonsmoking and non-vaping public who
still needs to be educated about vapor
products and their potential.
Though unfortunate, it is undeniable that
the “good guys” are judged alongside
the worst players in the vapor space
(and make no mistake, every industry
When I hear statements like “the vapor
industry is filled with cowboys” it makes
me wonder how much thought is given
to that statement—both by critics of
the vapor industry and by those in
the space who consider themselves
mavericks. Cowboys were fearless guys
Consumers can ask their vendors and
that made things happen. They settled
retailers how they approach and maintain in inhospitable areas that went on to
quality control, industry advocacy and
become some of America’s greatest
ethical business practices. Do their
cities, they held themselves and others
vendors test and properly label products? to a code of ethics in an era where
Does their vendor go the extra mile (or
law enforcement was scarce, and they
two) by engaging elected officials at
worked long and arduous hours while
the local, state and federal level to fight
always trying to do better.
for the future of the vapor industry?
Do their retailers participate in age
Confusing the spirit that motivated
verification programs like Age to Vape™? cowboys with the immature antics of
The answers to these questions will tell
some of the businesses currently in the
consumers which vendors are proactively space is insulting to cowboys. We judge
responsible.
ourselves on our intentions but the world
judges us on our actions, and the same
In a free market, consumers decide
holds true of the vapor industry.
which businesses survive and which do
not. They will either buy from them
Many businesses have poured hundreds
because they believe in them or they
of thousands of dollars into meeting
won’t. Consumers truly interested in a
regulatory and compliance requirements
quality product will not shop based on
not yet demanded of them. They have
price alone; some of the most popular
instituted training programs worthy of
e-liquid on the market is definitely
Fortune 500 companies and keep looking
not the least expensive; proving that
for ways to improve. Consumers can
consumers will pay to get what they
support a product they believe in by
consider to be a superior product.
purchasing from those companies that
have made the investment of time and
Vendors and manufacturers can
finances to ensure they are providing the
hold their fellow business owners
best quality product possible.
to a higher standard by leveraging
their relationships. Several e-liquid
Let us reward the consumers and
and hardware providers insist their
business owners who are willing to
distributors and customers toe the line
do more by buying from them and
by joining SFATA and participating in our supporting them in the fight to keep their
Age To Vape™ in-store age verification
products accessible and available.
program.
13
State Affairs Manager for the
AMERICANS for Tax Reform
Talks Vaping Taxation
By Alyssa Stahr
Paul Blair has inserted himself into the world
of vaping in a way that might make one
chuckle—through tax reform. After going
to college in Washington D.C. and interning
in the Americans for Tax Reform (atr.org)
office, he is a self-professed political junkie
who made it to Miami, and now ECC, in
hopes to represent tax payers. Even though
the EDM music was bit loud, he didn’t waste a second talking to
ECC consumers and businesses about what taxation on vaping
paraphernalia could to do them.
VAPE News: How did you get involved with the Americans for
Tax Reform?
Blair: I interned here in college and worked on some social
media efforts regarding taxpayer protection plans. It’s a written commitment to oppose all efforts to oppose taxes. I think
we’ve got 241 house of reps and 41 senators in congress and a
little over 1,200 at the state level who have signed the pledge.
I transitioned into state government affairs and worked on government reform, increasing tax issues. We have an organization
that opposes all tax raises. We represent taxpayers and the
philosophical side of things. It’s been a fun revolution of issues
for me as a political junkie.
VAPE News: Do you vape?
Blair: I have tried it. I have two devices on my desk right now.
I’m not a smoker. I’ve been to a couple of events and tried 30 to
40 flavors. I’m a hardcore supporter and have enjoyed a number
of flavors I’ve tried out. It’s interesting—if you don’t vape at a
number of these conventions they are like, ‘What’s wrong with
you?’ It helps to understand what an atomizer is and how to reassemble a mod, so you need to learn the language. I’ve self taught
the basic elementary components and lingo, so when I’m talking
about policy I know what I’m talking about. It’s been much more
helpful in my efforts. It’s interesting as well; there’s not a universal set of terms and names for products. It’s different names for
everything in cases. In letters to legislators, when talking about
the difficulty in taxing these components, it’s difficult because
even the industry doesn’t have set jargon for everything.
it’s hard for an organization like ours to get people enthusiastic
and fighting for a cause. With the vapor community it’s different. There’s so much enthusiasm. I don’t have to spend hours
to get people to a hearing. So, I can focus more on the policy
side of things. It’s much more fun.
VAPE News: What is the plan after regulations in regard to
taxation?
Blair: I think in the last year and half 16 states tried to order
a serious legislation to tax e-cigs and e-liquids. Minnesota
increased from 75 to 95 percent this year. We oppose all excise
tax in general. My vision of success is that only the sales tax is
proposed. It’s not a tobacco product. You have a lot of legislators saying that tobacco revenue is declining, so they have to
figure out how to make revenue. We would say cut spending.
I think next year we’ll see about 15 states to consider taxations. States usually figure out what the tobacco cost is, so they
figure out what the cost equivalent is to e-cig or e-liquid, and
that’s where you get the wholesale cost. That’s also where you
see the uneducation. They don’t see the health impact, and
they don’t see how it will cripple the potential growth to the
industry. All you are going to do is chase all the business online
or a company will relocate to another state. So, that state (that
imposed the extra tax) will lose sales tax revenue.
VAPE News: Sounds like a grim future.
Blair: The future is grim only because legislators are so misinformed about positive economical potential on the state. What
they have going for them is small business owners and consumer enthusiasm. If we have enough of those conversations of
people directly going in and saying you will put 200 people out
of business or lose jobs due to this it will help, but I ‘m not sure
we are there yet. Minnesota has a 95 percent wholesale tax
currently. North Carolina has five cents per one ml of e-liquid.
VAPE News: What were your thoughts on ECC?
VAPE News: Do you have any advice for business owners and/
or consumers who want to talk to legislators? What’s their best
course of action?
Blair: It was awesome. The first convention I went to was
the World Vapor Expo in Miami. It was really my first in depth
look into the industry, and I think I had only seen a vapor
device once. For many people the knowledge of the industry is
cigalikes. Maybe only one at a convention is that. So, I really
understood more where the market is at with the tax and regulatory aspect. I was in the tent and it was somewhat amusing.
Every other booth had a DJ playing very loud EDM, and you can
barely see 10 ft. in front of you, and I’m talking to store owners
about tax policy. ECC was very exciting. Some of the issues we
work on are issues that most people just do not care about, and
Blair: No. 1 they should get tied up with CASAA, SAFTA or the
Vaping Militia. It’s always important to understand the motives
behind legislators taking up these bills. For most of them it’s
revenue; they see declined revenue from tobacco. If there’s
anyone addicted to smoking, it’s state legislators. The economic
argument is very strong, even to democrats who are traditionally supportive of public health concerns. The reality is that not a
single person has died as a result of using e-cigarettes properly
to date. You can’t say that about cigarettes. While there may be
setbacks, there aren’t enough to dissuade people from seeking
a healthier alternative.
14
By John Bohrer
I am a Stealth Vaper. I do not like being nicotine deprived, and I
have to spend time in places that not only ban cigarette smoking but also e-cigarettes and vaping. Some workplaces, hospitals,
New York, airports, cabs, restaurants, the list is long. I have been
Stealth Vaping since 2008 and enjoy it immensely. It is a very
liberating experience, reminding this 58 year old of the wonderful
days when one could smoke everywhere. Now I vape instead of
smoke, and I vape everywhere without problem.
What is Stealth Vaping?
Stealth Vaping is inhaling without detection by others. People cannot complain about something of which they are not aware. It is
my own personal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. I don’t bother to
inquire about permissions or restrictions, I just Stealth Vape.
Successful Stealth Vaping requires the proper equipment, materials and technique. Eliminating visual cues like anything that looks
like a cigarette or any sort of cloud is critical, along with odor
detection. An innocuous technique helps forestall any detection.
Equipment
Back in 2008 I was using one of the venerable Crown 7 devices.
Along with the pricey (about $150 back then) refillable rechargeable units, Crown 7 also offered a lanyard, shown below with the
original Crown 7 device. The lanyard covered the light at the end
of the unit, eliminating an important visual cue. One can puff off
the device while it is in the lanyard and it looked to others like I
was chewing on a pen or piece of black licorice. The Crown 7 had
its limitations, though. In addition to a relatively short battery
life (about 200 mAh), it was rather long and delicate, with brass
fittings. More importantly, the e-liquids back then from Crown 7
were somewhat inconsistent, with varying amounts of PG vs VG
and no real number for the milligrams/millimeter of nicotine.
Low, medium and high were the only designations. I had to buy
a bunch of different e-liquids from Crown 7 to get the right mix
of PG/VG and a flavor that had minimal scent. Unflavored
e-liquids were not offered, but I found their ‘Cream’ flavor
had minimal scent.
16
E-Liquid
These days, the proper e-liquid for Stealth Vaping is easy to obtain
from a number of sources. I only use U.S. or Swiss made e-liquid,
as they have been the highest quality for Stealth Vaping, very
consistent. The proper e-liquid does not produce any visual vapor
upon exhalation, and it has no odor whatsoever. That e-liquid is
unflavored 100 percent PG. Flavors produce telltale scents, which
in itself is a problem in hours long Stealth Vaping. PG is odorless.
Blind testing with unadulterated noses has borne this out. Are
you vaping for nicotine or something else? Stealth Vaping is for
nicotine inhalation, so willingly lose the flavoring. I do this for the
nicotine. If I want to taste peppermint, I will eat a mint.
Exhaled 100 percent PG produces no visual vapor. The key word
is “exhaled.” Puff lightly off 100 percent PG and one will see some
vapor, but inhaled completely into the lungs and exhaled, no vapor
will appear. I use 24mg/ml nicotine to minimize the number of hits
I take for full nicotine fulfillment.
Modern Equipment
You can’t buy the original Crown 7 anymore, but you have quite a
few excellent choices available in small devices that will be easily
hidden in your hand and/or stealthed with a sheath. All the pictures here show a grid with lines 1-inch apart for scale.
Technique
Technique is important, and you can perfect yours at home.
Press the heating coil button, inhale some, release the button
while inhaling and continue inhaling for a second or two to clear
out any remaining vapor from the device. Inhale a little further
from surrounding air, hold the total inhalation for a further second
or two and then exhale. No visually detectable vapor! With a little
practice, your Stealth Vaping is undetectable. Some of the vaporizers shown below easily are concealed in your hand.
The CE-V8 (uppermost) is one of my favorites for where I am
just sitting for hours. It is very small, light and somewhat delicate,
being plastic with friction fits for the battery/clearomizer joint.
Even to the initiated, it does not look like a vaporizer. It is oblong,
thin and wide, perfect for a shirt pocket. Black is my preferred
color, of course. Nothing bright or flashy. Nothing to see here.
In long-term environments where I have to move around, like the
workplace, I prefer the Mini eGo, shown in the middle. This tiny
unit is much less delicate than the CE-V8 and will survive being
stuffed into tight pants pockets all day long.
In meetings, an e-Smart (bottom) works well, as they just look
like a pen, especially with the black clearomizer, even more so
when one puts a pen clip on it. Not as delicate as the CE-V8 or as
obvious a vaporizer as the Mini eGo, it has its niche in my Stealth
Vaping arsenal. Painting the clearomizer’s metal parts flat black
turns the unit into a boring pen to observers.
If I am just wandering around a mall, visiting a friend in the
hospital or doing something at one of the local universities, I just
stealth my standard battery/clearomizer in a sheath, like the one
shown below. The material is thin enough for me to easily find
the power button and the material air permeable enough to vape
with the unit in its sheath. This Lux lanyard is holding a 900mAh
battery with a T3S clearomizer. Only a bit of the clear plastic
mouthpiece is visible, and just barely.
Properly done, you can inhale your nicotine anywhere without
questions, comments or problems. Happy Stealth Vaping to you!
A Phoenix from the ASH
By Dave Cross
With the Tobacco Products Directive being railroaded
through the European Council, the future looked about as
bleak as it could get for European vapers. Politicians either
misrepresented peer-reviewed science or, worse, laid the
groundwork for legislation based purely on baseless feelings and opinions.
Opinions of them acting out of self-interest (and the power
of the pharmaceutical lobby) spread from the usual confines
of the tin-foil hat wearers and began to gain credence with
the more levelheaded members of the community.
But, as has been widely reported, support has emerged
from a very unexpected corner.
The American Council on Science & Health (ACSH) have
been quick to cite this report in their latest press release:
The report goes on to highlight that around two-thirds of
vapers currently dual-fuel (smoke and vape) which, as they
say, supports the notion that smokers see vaping as the
most credible way out of their habit and offering the best potential for success.
The BBC was the first to break the story, including anecdotal evidence from a hospital as to the efficacy and safety of
the products before shifting to Dr. Robert West. West is to
release his latest piece of research next month and is a delight to listen to when he speaks. While British families got
ready for work and school, he destroyed the fallacies and
myths surrounding e-cigarettes, arguing strongly in their
favor and condemning those who opposed their free use.
Even the token anti-e-cigarette campaigner ended up getting twisted in his arguments and finished by totally contradicting himself, effectively agreeing with every one of West’s
points.
Deborah Arnott - ASH UK
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH UK), England’s antismoking charity, has not been one of the greatest supporters of vaping in the past. What ASH UK has done since
2009 is carry out annual research into electronic cigarette
use and, although not widely reported, its 2013 study demonstrated a number of issues being raised by anti-e-cig campaigners were nothing more than paper tigers. The largest
probable reason for this was the reluctance in media circles
to cover the subject in any depth.
With the second major UK channel, ITV, carrying an investigative programme into e-cigs during a prime-time slot a
couple of months ago, many major UK commentators hoped
that this would signify a shift in focus.
On Monday morning, ASH UK released its 2014 report and
was seized upon by both print and television media. The
impact of which carried across the Atlantic and was commented upon by the American Council on Science & Health
(ACSH).
ASH UK stated in their 2013 report that there was no statistically significant evidence to support the argument that
vaping acted as a gateway into smoking. It’s not news to
those of us who read it that this message has been repeated in the 2014 findings—but it has been treated so by
the media.
The 2014 report shows that there is no evidence that ecigarettes are marketed at or appealed to teenagers. It goes
on to show those teens that vaped tend to also be those
who were smokers or used to smoke.
Another major finding was the reappraisal of the number of
people within England who have now taken up vaping. Data
has demonstrated a threefold increase in the number of
vapers over the last two years. The given figure used by officials when debating the issue stood at 1.3 million; the emergence that there now are 2.1 million vapers could not come
at a better time as political parties are gearing themselves
up for elections to the European Parliament.
Dr. Gil Rosst: “I really don’t have much to add to the results
of this survey. It’s quite clear: in the UK, vapers have taken
to vaping quite enthusiastically, the goal being to escape
from smoking. Even though many both smoke and vape, the
health benefits of reducing your cigarette consumption is
also to be desired. And the teen data confirm what our own
CDC knows but refuses to divulge: teens who do not smoke
yet are attracted to e-cigs are few and far between, a fact
that should be drummed into the heads of our own politicians who seek to ban them ‘for the sake of the children.’”
Dr. Gill Ross
UK newspaper The Guardian pointed out that this report mirrors the findings of the University College of London, which
will release its full report next month. Other newspapers including the most right-wing Daily Mail, renown for carrying
many exploding battery and potential poisoning stories,
were equally effusive about the report’s contents.
Dr. Robert West
By midday, after a flurry of activity on Internet forums and
social media, ITV News interviewed the aforementioned
Deborah Arnott. During it she said, “There is no evidence
from our research that e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway
into smoking.”
For the benefit of any anti-e-cigarette campaigner who
missed the last paragraph, Arnott, representing the leading
body campaigning for strict tobacco controls and previously
against the adoption of vaping as a nicotine replacement
therapy, said, “There is no evidence from our research that
e-cigarettes are acting as a gateway into smoking.”
Not just do Arnott and the report clearly state that vaping
does not act as a gateway to cigarettes, “use amongst
never smokers remains negligible,” but it is its reaffirmation
that this applies equally to teenagers that will be of great
help to us on both sides of the channel. For far too long
have politicians hidden behind the mantra that what they are
proposing is being done in the best interests of children’s
health.
The American Council on Science & Health (ACSH) have
been quick to cite this report in their latest press release:
The legal and corporate affairs director of the e-cigarette
brand E-lites said, “Study after study is showing that scaremongering … is baseless nonsense” —a comment aimed
squarely at the British Medical Association (BMA).
With most politicians frequently getting confused by the term
“e-cigarette” and focus on the disposable cigalikes, the
report also reveals that vapers have become more sophisticated. We have moved on to second and third generation
devices, something we’ve been shouting about but no one
was listening. Disposable cigalikes now constitute just 8 percent of e-cigarette use but 90 percent of the justifications for
legislation.
Marketed at children? No evidence.
Flavors attracting children? No evidence.
Gateway to smoking? No evidence.
Gateway from smoking? Strong evidence.
Coupled with the peer-reviewed research of more than
19,000 users, released by Dr. Farsalinos last week, stating
that ec-igarettes have “significant health benefits” vapers
across Europe and beyond could not have wished for a
more timely and positive contribution from a most unexpected source. At a time when people were flagging in their
desire to carry on the fight and becoming ever more fatalistic, we now see our phoenix rising from the ASH.
21
The Life and Social Media Times
of John Ashton
Daedalus Smith was sitting in the public health prison of
his own design; the sun bore down as he contemplated
how best to deal with the rising popularity of electronic
cigarettes. Icarus burst into the room sending piles of scientific studies stamped “For Ignoring” fluttering like feathers to the floor.
“I have the solution, father,” exclaimed the hubris-flooded
boy, “We shall take to Twitter and everyone will come
around to our way of thinking.”
Aware of the problems connected with 140 characterbased communications, Daedalus cautioned “But haven’t
you seen the sticky situations Richard Dawkins gets himself into?”
Icarus laughed.
“But Father, I have clearly stated that the views expressed are my own and do not represent the views of
any organization with which I am employed or involved in
a professional capacity. ”
My life bears witness to some abysmal predictions: in
1978 the television program “Tomorrow’s World” informed
me I’d now be enjoying 24 hours a day leisure time while
robots took care of business, not forgetting the Millennium bug-fuelled hysteria which drew images of a postapocalyptic world.
I fancied a life of golf and jetpacks (even if I don’t play the
game and am irrationally acrophobic), but nothing compares to my longed-for Mad Max future. It would be fair to
say I was slightly disappointed when computers didn’t explode and phones die as the century passed; day-to-day
life in rural England can be terribly pedestrian. All told,
prognosticating outcomes is not easy, although it is much
simpler when things like this happen …
Professor John Ashton is, at the time of writing, the
president and chair for The Faculty of Public Health
(UK), a body set up to create and implement “standards” in public health. Standards are things implemented to control systems and, in turn, to control the
people who operate systems. Why? Because most
people are stupid and irresponsible so important,
clever people are put in charge of it. Important, clever
people like Professor Ashton.
Ashton, like many others of a certain age, has demonstrated a failure to come to terms with the use of (and
response to) social media. Despite the Daily Mail newspaper incorrectly reporting that he has stepped down
“after crude 'e-cig' rant,” they are correct regarding his
outbursts. It is a matter of speculation as to what
fuelled his Saturday night invective or what he hoped
to achieve when he wrote:
“These abusive e-cig people remind me of the lads
who used to play with themselves behind the bike
sheds at school.“
“They are even more pathetic than that. Need e-cigs to
get aroused.”
“I think I have identified a new species of human being
this week. 'Obsessive, compulsive, abusive onanist
with e-cig tendencies.”
“Have you always been an anonymous c***.”
He placed a number of vapers and public health campaigners on ignore, went through post histories of
others to pull up material to attack them with and then
went to sleep having firmly removed and lost the pin
from the virtual grenade. The tweets were gone by
Sunday but screenshots had been made and were in
wide circulation.
By Dave Cross
The response to his diatribe was predictable outrage,
given the position he held as a senior adviser to the
government on vaping matters. Well, predictable
unless you were a more seasoned watcher of his use
of Twitter—for as the Health Service Journal put it in
2013: “What happens when a senior figure broadcasts
whatever is on his mind, without the slightest regard to
his personal reputation?”
Letters were written, emails sent and teeth ground like
coffee beans. Demands were made for him to be dismissed, resign and (probably) fed to fierce creatures.
Which poses the question: what is it that we as vapers
collectively wish to see as an outcome? Does removing
a man from office move our cause forward or are we
far better off dealing with known entities?
For sure, schadenfreude can be very enjoyable. Videos
of fat ladies falling off tables, children running into glass
doors and men being hit in the testicles are all stock television entertainment. When that irksome person in the
office finally gets caught out and fired it is always a
good excuse for an office drinks outing.
After the Faculty of Public Health press office turned its
answering machine on and the UK vaping social media
community had peaked in venting fury what are we left
with?
Contrast the Ashton meltdown with the actions of a
Matt Braund, ex-ABO Wind UK projects development
manager. Braund thought that social media is an appropriate place to deposit ill-considered and offensive
thoughts. ABO Wind UK is in the process of trying to
convert Scotland’s abundance of wind into electricity.
Ignoring Braund’s abilities to do his job or the relative
offense caused, it drew a poignant comment from
Andy O’Malley “I think guys like this should be allowed
to say exactly what they want to online so that we can
see who they really are and what they think. Then we
should set up a charity to offer them free 'Equality and
Diversity' training. The only way we will change people
is through education; simply shutting people up won't
change their attitudes, it will just make them more careful about what they say in public and not allow them to
learn and change.”
Ashton has since announced: “I very much regret my
choice of language to describe some vapers on Saturday evening and any offence caused. I am taking a
break from Twitter” A break that lasted a full seven
days, no lasting attitude adjustment here.
His employer initially echoed the “regret” but, after British media seized upon the story, finally took further
action and issued an unreserved apology for the language that personalized a public health issue. Meanwhile Ashton has stepped down for an internal investigation into the matter.
Daedalus Smith has banned Icarus from Twitter following some grotesque comments regarding the quality of
Greek wax and a wing manufacturer.
23
You Say You Want a Revolution?
By Norm Bour
In 1968 the Beatles asked that question and said, “We all want to change the
world,” and that is what all of us in the
Vape Space are doing. Whether we are
consumers, users or aficionados of e-cigs
or mods, we are changing the world.
If you have a brick and mortar shop or
make liquid or accessories, you are not
only part of the Revolution, but you are
spearheading the EVOLUTION as well.
In order to have an effective revolution, people need to be engaged and brought together, and that is done through magazines such as this, our VAPE News Radio show, plus countless
blogs that educate on the technicalities of vaping along with the
business side as well. Add in local meetups and informal gatherings, and you have a core of separated power groups.
Another way that people engage is with larger gatherings that
I have broken down into three categories: fests, conferences or
trade shows/expos, which I define as a combination of the first
two. This industry has evolved rapidly in the past two years,
and in this calendar year we have seen close to three dozen
events. My prediction: in 2015 there will be fewer.
To offer some insight on what type of event to attend and why,
here is how I define them:
The “fest” is a party looking for a reason and a place to happen. Full of tats and piercings and usually as many consumers/
users (B:C) as those in the business (B:B). These are noisy and
vapory and include lots of giveaways since this crowd loves free
shit. Fests will usually not offer much education, but it will offer
lots of knowledge, networking, loud music and fun. And vapor!
Conferences or trade shows: These are more serious and
industrial, more upscale, less noisy, usually attended by the
“big boys” i.e., Big Tobacco, industry experts and speakers and
heavy on updates, panels and education. Probably the king is
the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), which will
take place in Las Vegas (again), April 2015 and is by invitation
or accreditations only, so it is considered a B:B event. Tobacco
Plus Convenience Expo, also known as TCP, falls in to that
category as well and invites convenience stores and retailers
to discover what is new and upcoming—including this world of
vaping that has intruded into their (retail) space. Las Vegas
once again hosts in January 2015.
Expos: These are a blend of both and for lack of a label, I call
them expos. They include music, though more subdued and
also incorporates education along with the more fun events.
More button down shirts than T’s and less scantily clad mod-
24
els, I see this model as being the one to emulate and one that
seems to be gathering momentum.
In the past year I have attended or will be attending some type
of vaping “event” nationwide, including:
•
Long Beach, Calif. (Vapetoberfest)
•
Las Vegas (NATO) and E-Cig Vegas
•
Chicago (Vapor World Expo)
•
Los Angeles (Vape Affiliate Marketing Conference)
•
Salt Lake City (ViP Vape Street)
•
Ontario, Calif. (ECC)
•
Phoenix, Ariz. (Vapor Dynasty, October, 2014)
•
Houston (Vape Summit, November, 2014)
As this industry continues to evolve, so is the technology, the entrepreneurs behind the business and the consumers themselves. Why
would anyone—you perhaps—even want to attend any type event?
•
great way to meet others in the business and network
your butts off
•
get lots of free liquids, T-shirts and bling
•
learn about new hardware and other accessories you
cannot even imagine
•
have fun, damnit!
Recently the entire VAPE News Magazine/Radio team converged
at ECC in Ontario, Calif., which was the largest gathering of
vapers ever. With one and a half days to go they had an attendance of 17,000, and I project total attendance over two and a
half days was about 25,000. Imagine that! From half that size
just one year earlier at their inaugural event.
We at VAPE News Magazine would like your feedback. If you
have been to an event we’d like to know how you rate it. Would
you recommend it, and would you go again? The reason I
predict that there will be fewer events next year is because the
novices are being flushed out. There were several events this
year that did not pull a crowd and disappointed the attendees
as well as the vendors. In this industry you get ONE chance to
make a good impression, so we want to highlight the winners
and the professionals that are doing it right.
You say you want a Revolution? Be part of the battle and
Change the World. Continued success in the Vape Space!
Questions and show feedback? Email [email protected].
Norm Bour is VAPE’s National Event Coordinator, along with
being a contributing columnist and host of VAPE News Radio.
As a business consultant specializing in the vaping industry,
he founded www.VapeMentors.com and works with brick and
mortar stores, e-liquid manufacturers and distributors. He also
recently authored his book called “Vapreneur: YOUR guide to
Mastering the Vape Space.”
STATE
of the
UNION
(United Vape Nations)
By Random Andrews
Thank you. (Applause) Thank you so much. (Applause) My
fellow citizens of Vape Nation, today in America, we are under
attack. We are scrutinized. We are being pushed around,
kicked out, banned and soon to be controlled. It doesn’t matter anymore where you turn, the topic of electronic cigarettes
are burning up more media time than Miley Cyrus sticking her
tongue out. So, when it gets to that point, we have a serious
problem on our hands.
What started out as a well-recognized, safer alternative to
smoking is being molded into a child murdering, apartment
blowing-up, overdosing monster. All thanks to the media.
Whether your news outlet is television, newspaper, magazine or
Internet, it is the same story everywhere:
A child, who is intrigued by the aroma and color of the mysterious bottle of e-juice, believes that it is a sugary child beverage
and consumes it.
Only to later wake up in the hospital, overdosing from nicotine
poisoning, and that’s only if he or she is lucky. That same story
is spread through every news outlet in this great country of
ours. The media is claiming that the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) states the number of nicotine poisoning from e-cigarettes
has increased by 300 percent in the last year alone, but they
use this scare factor for a reason. As I browse through these
stories, the media never states what that number is. All they
ever do is throw an outlandish percent in the story to make it
look like children everywhere are finding e-liquid bottles like
Easter eggs and chugging them like a high school senior bongs
a Bud Light on spring break. Let’s back up for a second. Why
wouldn’t the media give us an actual number? Because that
number is so low it would sound ridiculous in the story. Threehundred percent sounds scary. But, if last year three children
were sent to the hospital for nicotine poisoning by e-liquid, that
literally means this year there will be nine. It sounds a lot less
frightening that way.
When was the last time you heard a breaking news story about
the number of children receiving nicotine poisoning from eating
traditional cigarettes/cigars? Probably not lately is my educated
guess. I can’t recall the last time I came across any such information, but here is a number that might shock some. In 2007,
according to the CDC the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) received 7,735 reports of potentially toxic
exposures to tobacco products among children aged less than
26
or equal to 6 years old in the United States. That is almost 8,000
children, well let me rephrase that, which is a 1,600 percent
increase than last year’s children nicotine poisoning from e-liquid.
Why are these numbers only found on the third page of Google
results and not in front of our faces like the before mentioned?
I unfortunately don’t have the answer to that, but my presumption is Phillip Morris & Company knows. I am willing to bet Big
Tobacco knows, and my guess is that they are the ones behind
all of the attacks on vaping.
It is no secret that Big Tobacco is taking a one-two punch from
this new technology. With more people making the shift from
analogs to electronics, Big Tobacco sales are declining. The ecigarette industry still is in the minor leagues compared to Big
Tobacco annual sales, but it’s enough to have them scout the
competition. It’s enough to have their PR departments feed the
media into negative campaigns against the vaping community.
But who knows, I have been called a conspiracy theorist a time
or two. I guess I just don’t always believe what is being pumped
into me by the mainstream media. And neither should you.
The bottom line is, if you are thinking about making the switch
from cigarettes to vaping, reason for yourself Don’t let anybody
influence your decision, not even this article. If you hear about
an e-cigarette blowing up, understand that is what batteries do
occasionally. Cell phones explode but we all still own one, probably even using one to read this very sentence. Car batteries
randomly can burst into a fireball engulfing your entire family,
but odds are that didn’t stop you from driving today. Laptops,
gaming systems, printers, the list could go on forever, but I
think you get the point. Use your own judgment, make your
28
own decisions, and for goodness sake, if you indulge in this
community, use common sense.
E-liquids contain a potentially poisonous ingredient, nicotine.
Nicotine has traces in more than just cigarettes, even can turn
up in eggplants. Nicotine is not the chemical in cigarettes that
is responsible for all the lung cancer and pre-mature death
tickets punched in. But, just like any other chemical, too much
of it, can possibly be toxic. Use precaution. Educate yourself,
and then educate your children. You wouldn’t keep your liquor
cabinet in your child’s reach, and you damn sure wouldn’t keep
your household cleaning supplies within their arm’s distance, so
treat each and every bottle of e-liquid with the same precautions. When charging your new device, use the recommended
charger; don’t let it overcharge; and don’t keep it near anything
flammable. As dumb as these safeguards sound, they can prevent these misfortunes from happening, but more importantly
than can save a loved one’s life. Do it for yourself; do it for your
family; and do it for the entire vape community. As for me, I
will continue preaching the good word, about the positives from
successfully quitting cigarettes almost a year ago. I will continue fighting for the rights for vapers everywhere.
So my fellow vapers and future vapers, I conclude this edition
of The State of the Union, but I am far from over. I haven’t
even scratched the surface yet; I just wanted to ease you into
my mind gracefully. Prepare for more.
Random Andrews
Owner of Sir Vapes-A-Lot LLC
www.SirVapes-A-Lot.com
Photos by Vaping Vamps 2014
Crowd Chasers:
How to Blow Up in the Vape Space
Don’t Forget About Nancy
I felt very out of place at the ECC (Electronic Cigarette Convention) in September.
For starters, I was one of relatively few
women and one of the very few who was
showing only one set of cheeks.
But if you run a vape or e-liquid shop and
want to blow up in the vape space, don’t
ignore folks like me. Women are definitely
in your target audience. But, you need to know how to appeal
to them.
That is, unless you want to set limits on your income. Yeah,
I didn’t think so.
The 20 percent of Americans who smoke represents a broad
cross-section of people—men and women, young and old. Since
there’s such a wide variety in the types of people who smoke,
e-cig and e-liquid stores need to know whom they’re targeting
and how to market to them.
In marketing terms, you need to define your “audiences.” Who
are they exactly? A good idea is to develop personas for each
audience type. Sure, there’ll be a “Sam” —a 20- to 30-year-old
tattooed guy who loves to tinker with his mods and who has
turned vaping into a bit of a hobby.
But there’s probably also a “Nancy” —a woman in her 40’s, 50’s
or 60’s who has been smoking for many years. Perhaps her son
even turned her onto vaping. She wants to try it, but she’s a
little intimidated by the process.
30
She may start with a cigalike purchased online or at a convenience store. But at some point, she may want to graduate to a
bigger battery and experiment with different flavors.
So she ventures into an e-cigarette store. She encounters a
bunch of young guys sitting around vaping. She already feels
out of place. And they’re not paying attention to her, because
they have no retail sales training. She walks out.
You’ve just lost a customer worth hundreds of dollars every
year. And you’ll never get her back.
So be smart and don’t ignore Nancy. In fact, you might even
talk with a few “Nancys” to get to know who they are, what
they like and how to sell to them. From my experience, most
women are not into tinkering with the gizmos. Give us a nice ecigarette kit with pretty colors and a simple explanation for how
to refill our tanks without making a mess. Treat us like the loyal
customer we want to be.
Hire salespeople for your store who are skilled at working with
people—and not your out-of-work buddies who love blowing big
clouds of vapor.
And you’ll be on your way to selling to “Nancy” and her crowd—
and bigger bucks.
Maria Verven is a marketing expert and owner of Verve P.R.
and Vaping Vamps.
Cartoon By Bob Kennedy
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r
How Much is E-Liquid
Really Worth?
By Nathan Shaw
If you want the cheapest e-liquid, your best bet is to buy all the
ingredients separate and make it yourself. It can be very cheap;
I pay about $0.06 cents per milliliter to make my own DIY e-liquid.
You can even make it cheaper if you find deals like the ones I
post on my website, http://VapingCheap.com.
However, if you don’t want to make it yourself and you still want
cheap e-liquid, your best bet is a discount e-liquid supplier like
Mt. Baker Vapor. It’s possible to get pre-made e-liquid for as
little as $0.13 cents per milliliter when you buy a large 236 ml
bottle and use a 10 percent off coupon code.
On the other end of the spectrum we have the super expensive
“premium” e-juice lines. The well-known brand 5 Pawns sells a
single 30 ml bottle of e-juice for $27.50. That works out to about
$0.91 cents per milliliter. I personally have never vaped 5 Pawns
because I’d rather spend $27 on a nice mechanical mod instead
of a measly 30 ml bottle of e-juice. However, I’m open to trying
a free sample if anyone from 5 Pawns is reading this.
The price on e-liquid can range anywhere from a few cents up
to a dollar. That’s a huge difference considering all e-liquids
contain the same basic ingredients.
Propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin are the base ingredients
in e-liquid and usually make up for about 75 percent of the volume. They also happen to be the cheapest ingredients; even in
small purchases the price drops below a penny per milliliter.
The other two ingredients, nicotine and flavoring, are more
expensive but still relatively cheap. Nicotine liquid works out to
about $0.15 cents per milliliter (100 mg strength) at My Freedom Smokes and flavoring costs about $0.17 cents per milliliter.
If you were to buy these items direct from the manufacturer
and in larger quantities the price would drop substantially.
When I discovered how cheap e-liquid is to make I started wondering what makes premium e-liquid worth so much. Here are
the different things I came up with:
Quality of Ingredients
Like everything else higher quality usually means higher prices.
I think e-juice companies should be more open about their base
ingredients. If they have better nicotine, PG, or VG than other
suppliers they should fill us in on how they know. Do they do
any special testing? Most of the time I just hear words like
“organic” and “premium” thrown around with no meaning.
Quality Control/Lab
Is the liquid made in someone’s basement or is it made in an
ISO 7 compliant clean room? How do they do quality control
and ensure the product is made to the correct specifications?
Sometimes I worry about all the new e-liquid suppliers popping
up; just because you can make e-liquid doesn’t mean you’re
ready to sell it.
Company/Brand Name
We all know that brand name goods cost more than the generics. I would call 5 Pawns a brand name whereas the vape shop
store brand would be the generic. Are you willing to pay more
for a name brand? Vaping 5 Pawns may be a status symbol
to some.
Mixologist/Flavor Creation
I think this could be one of the most important measures on
how much e-liquid costs. Is the flavor unique, complex and
tasty? Can I make it myself? Was it hard to create or did someone throw a few different flavors in the bottle and slap some
cool name on it like “Wizards Tit?”
Freshness/Steeping
I always see people advertising fresh e-juice, but in my experience most e-juice tastes better when it steeps for a while. If a
seller takes the time to steep e-liquid it could be a reason for
a higher price.
Presentation
This would be about the bottle, the label or anything else that
looks related. It’s nice to get e-liquid in a classy looking glass
bottle, but I think sometimes sellers go a bit overboard. I’m not
interested in paying more just because a stupid plastic trinket is
rubber banded to the bottle.
There’s a reason I don’t post many e-liquid deals; it’s just too
hard to tell if the price of e-liquid is a good deal. There’s just
too much range in price and variables to its value.
For the most part I don’t buy expensive e-liquid, I prefer to
make it myself. With so many different e-liquid vendors it’s hard
to tell who has the best e-liquid for the best price. For the most
part, I won’t pay much for e-liquid. I know how cheap it can be
made for and I don’t like getting ripped off.
Do you have a limit on how much you will pay for e-liquid?
33
What’s Your Number?
Low Number Apparel Company
Appeals to Vaping Lifestyle
By Alyssa Stahr
When Mike Baucum began vaping a year ago, he had just gotten married and his wife was done with his cigarette habit. He
tried everything to quit smoking, bought an ego kit for $100,
and found a home within the e-cigarette culture and lifestyle.
Baucum enveloped himself into the vaping community of Phoenix, Ariz. and found that there were a ton of shops in the area.
Even though if he wasn’t at work he was hanging out at a vape
shop until closing time,
he wasn’t interested in
opening up a store of
his own. He also found
that he was tiring of
wearing clothing that
didn’t fit his lifestyle.
“I don’t motocross, I
vape. There wasn’t apparel for the true hard
core vapers,” he said.
“I was done wearing
DC clothes; I wanted
to wear vape clothes
to show what I do and
who I am.”
“The words were already in everybody’s mouth. For instance,
I’m running a gem stellar No. 6. I’ve had Ghost Mod’s No. 3.
It’s part of the community—the whole aspect of it,” he said.
“The lower the number, the higher the price. You think about
low number mods and you think about the price going up and
people who care about what they are doing. They want low
number stuff.”
Low Number’s current
items include a Blowin’
Clouds shirt that is popular, and a new shirt is
coming out in March that
says Vape All Day, which
Baucum says is probably
the best design yet.
Baucum, who has owned more than 100 mods over the past
year, hooked up with his buddy Robert Jaymes, who was smoking cigarettes around the time that Baucum started vaping. He
traded Jaymes for an ego kit, and the pair has been in the vaping journey ever since.
The pair found that there wasn’t an entire line of clothing centered around the vaping lifestyle, so Baucum decided that he
had no choice in the matter. Baucum, who is more into the vaping scene, and Jaymes, who likes more of the technical aspect,
have proved to be the perfect fit.
“We decided to come up
with five designs and
partnered with Ghost
Modder, pumped ‘em out,
and people have enjoyed
them,” he said. “We’ve
made a huge name for
ourselves in our local
community in Arizona.
The name Low Number
comes from a term that
people in the vaping com-
34
munity use when
asking what number
a mod is. Baucum
says that the first
question that comes
out of everybody’s
mouth when they
see a mod is “It is
a low number?”
Low Number currently
houses a brick-andmortar store in Phoenix,
along with an online
store. Baucum says that
he and Jaymes are trying
to find the best vape experience, and with that
comes providing the best
customer service possible.
“We want customers to feel at home and feel that they can
ask questions, even if they aren’t experienced. They can feel
comfortable and be able to hang out and learn more. That’s the
kind of shop we want our clothes in, not liquor stores or smoke
shops or head shops,” he said.
Low Number’s future plans include a women’s line that currently
is being designed, along with some “exciting stuff that nobody’s
seen with some pretty big names” with mod makers and juice
makers, coming this summer.
Low Number merchandise is available at
www.lownumberclothing.com and on GhostModder.com.
Words by Alyssa Stahr
Photos courtesy of Marie Gacke
Your personal vaporizer no long has to stand on its own. In just
over a short year Robert “Trey” and Marie Gacke have turned
their family owne d business into an enterprise after a chance
meeting resulted in a unique idea.
Marie Gacke went to a wedding, and a friend handed her a vape
pen, which was her first introduction to vaping. The friend had
nothing to put the pen in.
“I thought, ‘I’ll find something for her. Surely there’s something
on the Internet,’” Gacke said. “I heard from other people that
there wasn’t anything in the luxury industry or even in the
regular industry. And, I woke up at like 3 a.m. and I had all of
these designs in my mind.”
Since no one in the industry was making boxes, that’s where
Gacke began. She started to ask more questions. What else
would you want? What do you need that we can help you with?
What do you really want to show off? After listening to suggestions in the market, Gacke found that consumers really wanted
higher end products that they could use in the office and in
their homes to show off their investment. She started the
company with wanting a timeless sense of unity, elegance and
craftsmanship from periods that reflect both beauty and function from past generations of their heritage.
The Gacke’s come from Czech and German backgrounds, with
histories that prides themselves in technology, science and
advancement of the arts. In a very short time, HůL has become
America’s best-selling line of luxury vaping pen accessories.
“Both my husband and I have Czech heritage, and when we
looked at how we wanted to structure the company, we saw
things that were out there, but nothing told the story of who
the company really was and what it stood for,” Gacke said.
36
With that in mind, the Gacke’s wanted a selective clientele and
wanted to do it “right” like their grandparents and parents did.
“They always said ‘Never sacrifice quality just to do something
quickly.’ That’s what so many generations ago were based on.
In Texas there is a huge population of the Czech heritage,
and it’s built to last to pass down to their children,” Gacke said.
“That’s what the industry is needing. We want to make accessories that are going to last as long as the vaping industry lasts.
That’s the principle.”
37
Shisha Fruits Developer Mohamad Badawi Finds
All-Natural Success Despite Personal Challenges
By Alyssa Stahr
you feel the same as eating it. It’s easy to change the flavor in
the shisha and it’s easy to wash because there’s no tar. Each
shisha should have only one flavor. It’s easy to smoke. Usually
to smoke shisha, you have to control the temperature because
traditional tobacco is more sensitive. With shisha there is no
problem. Add more, more vapor. Less is less vapor.
VAPE News: Any plans for new flavors?
Photo by vaporfruits.com
A road trip through the city of Shenzhen, China with a reporter
and business owner just wouldn’t be complete without an
interview. Mohamad Badawi speaks about developing Shisha
(commonly called hookah in the United States) Fruits, fleeing
Syria, and making his way to China after more than a decade in
Russia.
Badawi: We are going to have a new category—Asian fruits—
papaya, dragon fruit, etc. We don’t have it on the market yet.
We try to open new fruits with seasons. We are waiting for the
season, so we buy and produce and store because with some
fruits the season is too short. We store it in a cool, dry place
sometimes for eight to 10 months.
VAPE News: What’s your most popular flavor in the United
States:
Badawi: You know it’s changing. In general it’s the mixes now,
many flavors mixed together.
VAPE News: What have been some of your biggest challenges?
VAPE News: You’re from Lebanon originally. How did you end
up in China?
Badawi: I was born in Lebanon but moved to Russia in 2000.
I lived in Russia for almost 13 years. I came to China two
years ago to set up shisha production here. I didn’t think about
patents in the beginning—it was a hobby. I started in 2001
doing sales in Russia. At the time nobody knew what it was.
We promoted well and I decided to make my own shisha’s and
add some innovation. For example, the valve on the shisha was
added by me, and now it’s already standard. My production was
in Syria. Syria was the biggest manufacturer of shisha products
at the time. After the war started in Syria I went to Russia.
VAPE News: How did the idea for Shisha Fruits come about?
Badawi: The idea to use fruits in shishas is not a new idea.
It’s more than 10 years old, but it was difficult to save product
without adding any preservatives. I found that the technology
did not exist before, and I set up production here in China.
VAPE News: So this is truly an all-natural product.
Badawi: We produce totally new made from natural food and
components. There is no nicotine, no tar, no tobacco. Our
product is made from natural fruits. The main chemical goal
was how to save product for reuse. A lot of factories tried and
invested a lot of money to find out a solution for this without
using chemicals.
The Shisha Fruit is made from totally natural components.
You can even eat it. You can use a spoon. Vapor is huge. We
cannot call it smoke—it’s vapor. It’s just vaporizing. Vapor is
more smooth because there’s no tobacco, no burning and it’s
sweet. The flavor that we use is natural. When you smoke it
38
Badawi: With Shisha Fruits the biggest challenge was in my
experience of my life. The last three to four years the rules
everywhere became more strict on tobacco products. The idea
was to avoid using tobacco products and to get the same effect
and results. I worked on this for almost two years.
VAPE News: What are you most proud of?
Badawi: First of all I am an engineer and I have enough knowledge of machines and professional lines. I set up a different
kind of manufacturing and factories.
I don’t think I’m the only No. 1 genius, but I don’t think just
anyone can do it. It needs serious Shisha smoking knowledge.
I know that now and the last 10 years there is a lot of investment in this to use an organic product—a fresh, organic product
that we save for two years. Behind all of this I produced a lot of
new shisha designs and in China I set up a shisha manufacturing factory around 10,000 sq. meters of high quality, a premium
class. But at the moment we are focused on this product more
than others because this is going to be huge. I have a new
product now that’s almost the same for shisha vaporizing. It’s
going to be soon; it’s made of natural components too, but still
not tobacco.
For more information, visit
http://vaporfruits.com/.
f
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tes
By
40
sa
s
Aly
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Sta
r
cou
os
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o
Ph
e
cin
Offi
po
Sva
VAPE
News recently
spoke with Claudio Vultaggio,
owner of Officine Svapo. Since 2012 he and his partner,
Tiziano Bianco, have flown worldwide marketing and
selling their e-pipes collection, e-cigars collection and
big batteries collection. With a foray into the United
States ahead, Vultaggio hopes there is a space for their
designs everywhere in the world.
VAPE News: How did you and Tiziano form your
partnership?
Vultaggio: I am the director of sales and I take care of
the marketing and the commercial. Tiziano looks after
the technical side of the products. Our main shop is in
Milano, which is a historical shop in the center of town.
We go all over the world and make the deals now, and
when we started in Italy there were just a few shops. We
said ‘OK, we like the industry. It’s interesting’ and it’s
something new we could do. It’s a new field. Everybody
was starting very slow and then there was a big boom in
Italy.
VAPE News: How did Tiziano come up with initial
concepts?
Vultaggio: He was working on the design style, and at
the time we had the idea of thinking of the business
like the iPhone. ‘Let’s do something beautiful.’ Our shop
is in a very nice, important area. We wanted to design
things that are beautiful and Italian. We wanted to
make something beautiful and it was a challenge. We
want to improve, and we are getting very close to a very
important place and dealing with important
partners.
VAPE
News: What’s your
design specialty and where do you get
your materials?
Vultaggio: We make luxury wood and leather casings for
e-cigarettes that transform ordinary e-cigarettes into
stylish works of art. We hand make the lightest e-pipe in
the world. Dark wood is a very rare wood from Mexico,
Guatemala and Belize. The wood for the pipe is from the
Mediterranean Sea and from Sardinia, Italy—it’s the best
wood for the traditional pipe. Our yellow wood is from
Tuscany; it is very beautiful. And, the leather comes from
the crocodile, python, viper and iguana. We also work
with synthetic leather. For the e-cigar we use wood from
the forest of Brazil. We produce everything here in Italy.
VAPE News: When will products be available for sale in
the United States?
Vultaggio: We were focused on the Italian market in the
beginning, and then we wanted to widen the field to
Europe.
Of course the U.S. market is a large user of electronic
cigarettes. We believe it’s a big market, and there’s
always space just like any place
in the world for beautiful things.
Places like California; people like
Italian stuff.
VAPE News: What kind of
e-cigarette styles do your
casings accommodate?
Vultaggio: We started with the basic
650 batteries. Then we are now
increasing, moving forward to other kinds
of e-cigarettes with bigger batteries. The
U.S. market is strong in bigger batteries. We
can make all kinds of covers. Of course we
needed some numbers and focus. We needed
to know what models to focus on so it would
be affordable. We are using special materials,
leather skin, crocodile skin.
The good stuff is very nice; we are using very precious
covers. We work a lot on the skin. The pink crocodile
skin women go crazy go over that. It’s one of the
most expensive, but it’s just one piece so it looks very
nice. We also are working with some of the best pipe
producers in the world, so we have a large part of the
catalog dedicated to pipes. It’s very light, very balanced.
VAPE News: And you’re also working on liquids?
Vultaggio: The United States is very good at this. We are
planning to make liquids for the tobacco pipes. We are
working on this for possibly for the fall tobacco fairs.
We make a collection of liquid pipes, and if they buy our
pipes they can buy the liquids. So, all of the collections
will have the liquids with them.
VAPE News: What do
you want Americans
to know about
your products?
Vultaggio: We
want companies to
know our product is
good quality and a
good value. We are
strong in our three
collections: e-pipes
collection, e-cigars
collection and the big
batteries collection.
The cigar market is
very big in Miami, so
we also are focused
there. We select what
we believe is a good
target for our market.
We research and
choose and then make
it; it’s
very important.
For more information,
visit officinesvapo.
com.
Vapor Hub Takes Stock
of Vaping Industry
By Alyssa Stahr
Photos courtesy of Vapor Hub
It all began with a man and his mom, selling a mod in 2008, becoming a retail store in 2012, to now a company that has grown to the first and
currently only publicly traded vaping company on the stock market. Back in 2008, Kyle Winther decided to sell “old” electronic cigarettes, but
the one constant in the vaping industry is that it’s a rapidly changing industry. Therefore Winther realized that he and his mom weren’t ahead
of the trend and started losing sales.
The duo began selling eGo kits and e-liquids and then before they knew it, consumers drifted to mods.
“We ramped it up, and in 2012 we opened our first retail store (Vapor Hub),” Winther said. “But, we said that we had to make our own device.
I noticed that the buttons (on other mods) would malfunction and people would lose the spring. They spend all that money and then one drop
or button malfunction and they couldn’t use it anymore.”
Winther developed an octagonal button, and at the time he said that there weren’t any mods being made in the United States, so his innovation
really took off. Trying to continuously stay ahead of the curve, Winther constantly is looking for more ways to innovate with devices and to
stay ahead of the industry change curve.
“We saw everything come from the Philippines and it was so basic. We wanted some uniqueness, so we started to do colors,” he said. “We’re
one of the very first people in the industry that introduced colors and a design pattern to the mod. Now you see colors everywhere. We changed
the way mods looked.”
“We wanted something completely different. We wanted something really industrial and really strong, and when we went to make the 26650 it
was way too heavy, so we went with the aluminum. It feels good and solid,” he said.
Vapor Hub also develops its own e-liquid, and feels ready for impending FDA regulations, due to the company’s pharmaceutical
grade lab.
“We hope it (regulations) happens. We know what they are kind
of looking for and the approach they are going to take. The FDA
can see that it’s not being made in someone’s back office,” Winther said.
Since they are used to being the first in several categories, Vapor
Hub is used to dealing with copycats in the industry. But, that
doesn’t mean that it’s something the company enjoys dealing
with.
44
“We put six months of blood, sweat and tears in R&D and someone comes in and sells your idea. It’s not cheap to manufacture
in the United States and we’re paying a premium to make sure it
gets built right,” Winther said. “It’s not a cheap product, and
there’s a lot of time that goes into it—and then someone else
comes in and steals from us and our workers.”
Vapor Hub patents and trademarks everything to protect intellectual property, however the first order of business is to go to individual shops
with a cease and desist order. In most cases, the shops don’t even know that what they are selling is a knockoff.
“We try to take the friendly approach. We don’t want to sue anybody. We’re just trying to create awareness that some counterfeit products are
out there and cheaply made and we want to distribute our actual product. People actually have tried to return something to us that is defective
that someone has pawned off as a real product,” Winther said.
Another way Vapor Hub marks itself as a legitimate company is by making the leap to being publicly traded.
“We have been very successful in selling strictly online, and then in 2012 we opened our first retail shop. In order to grow we needed more
money, more capital infusion, and we had investors looking at us,” Winther said. “There was no publicly traded company that would stand
behind its product. Some of these smaller shops are not as reputable and it’s discerning for people. We like to have validity behind our name.
We want people to know that we are legit.”
In becoming publicly traded, a lot of back and forth negotiation had to happen, which was a time consuming process. Now Vapor Hub participates in quarterly audits, keeping up with shareholders and writing press releases. While all time consuming items, Winther said that in the end
it’s all worth it.
“We want to be the market leader and basically be that backing name like Coca-Cola or Pepsi and be that worldwide distributor,” he said. “As
soon as you think of vaping we want you to think of Vapor Hub. We want to be able to supply every vape store in the world with high quality
product and be that worldwide name brand.”
For more information, visit
www.http://vapor-hub.com.
45
By Steffanie Atkins
Nuvola Nana Pudding 6 mg
VAPE VERDICT Taste- 3, Vapor Production- 2, Throat Hit- 3
REVIEW Nana Pudding is one of my most favorite things in the world. This flavor is
not. While it has an awesome banana flavor that I love, the pudding part isn’t there.
The flavor isn’t as creamy as I would have anticipated with the name entitled pudding. The vapor production is a little less than average; the throat hit is about average, nothing spectacular. The flavor is great, but considering I feel it is missing the
pudding, which is half of what the flavor claims to be, it’s only about average.
Exodus Vapor Blue Desert 9 mg
VAPE VERDICT Taste- 2, Vapor Production- 2, Throat Hit- 4
REVIEW This bottle looks really cool. It has a wax top with a cork. The functionality of
it is lacking. I popped the wax top and the cork broke in half. So I used the old wine
bottle trick and just pushed the cork into the bottle. Great, I can taste test the juice,
but bad because I can’t reseal it. So while it looks cool, it isn’t very functional if there
is a cork malfunction. Upon trying the juice, the first flavor I was able to decipher
was the custard. It definitely has a strong custard flavor but the blue part, which I’m
assuming is blueberry, is a bit bland and it kind of tastes like plastic. Blueberry pie/
custard type flavors are pretty hard to nail and it’s got the flavor, but it’s just rather
bland. The vapor production was below average, but it has a good throat hit. And the
taste is lacking. And the bottle can’t be resealed, which poses a potential hazard with
kids/dogs and generally clumsy people like myself.
Utopia Euphoria 3 mg
The Juice Judge
Judges are picked
from respected
members of the
vaping community
to give unbiased
reviews of e-juice.
The VAPE Verdict
is reached by
an initial blind
taste test, and the
review is written
afterward. Want to
have your juice
judged? Email
[email protected].
Reviews do not reflect the overall
opinion of VAPE News Magazine
VAPE VERDICT Taste- 4, Vapor Production- 4, Throat Hit- 4
REVIEW So while this flavor doesn’t cause general euphoria, it’s pretty darn tasty. It’s
a pear flavor, but it’s a good, sweet and smooth pear flavor, and personally I really
enjoyed it. It has a crispier finish, which is excellent for fall. The vapor production was
above average; it had a really good throat hit and the taste is really good. I definitely
recommend the flavor.
Eve Mango Colada 3 mg
VAPE VERDICT
Taste- 4.5, Vapor Production- 3, Throat Hit- 4
REVIEW
Mango Colada. It’s seriously one of the better flavors I have had the pleasure of judging. It’s got a great mango/peachy/fruity drink flavor. I imagine myself
vaping this while sitting on the beach drink in hand with of those little umbrellas
in it. It’s a superb summery flavor that I consider to be pretty enjoyable. Plus it has a
convenient dripper bottle, which always is nice for dripping. The vapor production
was about average while the throat hit was slightly above average. It will probably
take a lot to get a perfect flavor rating, but this flavor is pretty close.
47
COVER MODEL Amanda Harris
Amanda Harris is an actor and model based in Los Angeles.
She grew up in Southern California and began acting as a
child while establishing a successful modeling career into
adulthood. Her credits include Macy’s, Target, PacSun,
Louis Vuitton, Elle, Vogue, Dazed and Confused, Purple and
American Express. She also has appeared in music videos,
independent shorts, feature films, commercials and television
shows.
She strongly advocates healthy smoking alternatives. “I
learned about beauty and glamour from my grandmother,
who would show me old films. I grew up with adoration for
old Hollywood, but the film noir femme fatale especially
glamorized smoking. I saw my grandmother struggle with
her health on a daily basis because of cigarettes, yet seeing
smoke on screen was so mesmerizing and even more striking
in black and white. With vaping, it’s
fascinating to see smoke in a whole
new way and know that it can still
be an evocative and a sensual
thing.”
She also is a Star Wars
enthusiast who enjoys
art galleries, hiking and
analog photography.
Jumpsuit: Blacklickorish Latex
Choker: stylist owned
Gloves: Wilson’s Leather
49
Photographer
Aaron Paul Rogers
aaronpaulrogers.com
Assistant
David Damiata
Models
Amanda Harris
amandaashleyharris.com
Instagram: @amandaharrisla
&
Haley Brooke Lytle
[email protected]
Makeup and Hair Design
Jessica Bronwyn Ramos
Loveallartistry.com
[email protected]
Hair Styling
Taylor Ehrisman
[email protected]
Prosthetics
Luis Vega FX
Mcmfx.net
Lab Work
Melissa Jimenez
[email protected]
Fashion Stylist
Sean Panella
stylinwitalian.wix.com/seanypstyles
Instagram: @seanypstyles
Fashion Assistant
Jade Brazil
instagram.com/jadebbrazil
Designer
Alyssa Norman
instagram.com/blacklickorish
Location
pillarboxstudios.com
Dress: Blacklickorish Latex
Gloves: stylist owned
Necklace: Vanessa Mooney
Top: Blacklickorish Latex
Leather harness: BCBG
Goggles: stylist owned
Black pendant: Express
Bodysuit: Blacklickorish Latex
Faux Fur: H&M
Sheer cape: Zara
COVER MODEL Haley Brooke Lytle
Haley Brooke Lytle has spent most her life in sunny
California, but also has spent some time
on the East Coast. Driven by all
things creative, Haley soon found
herself modeling often, and
she developed a passion
for it, deciding to make
the next step by getting
signed when she was
18 years old. Now 21,
she is signed with Otto
Models. Haley has
shot for a variety of
companies, as well as for
some local magazines.
Haley also works for a nonprofit
organization that raises money
for musicians with cancer, illness
and other disabilities and spends
her time off painting and drawing.
When she isn’t busy creating, she
enjoys being in great company and
exploring the world.
When Haley was first
introduced to vaping
through one of her best
friends who was trying to
refrain from cigarettes,
she quickly became a fan.
Not only does it provide
a healthier alternative
to smoking cigarettes,
but she also has seen it
change the lives of others
around her.
Haley also thinks that the
way the smoke forms into its
surroundings is beautiful. Making
the normally unseen, seen. And by
providing a wide range of flavors, it’s
no wonder why vaping has become as
popular as it is now.
Body straps by: Sean Panella
Bodysuit: Blacklickorish Latex
Gloves: Blacklickorish Latex
Belt: stylist owned
56
ECC 2014 Appeals to All Five Senses
By Alyssa Stahr
Photos by Mike Schramel
Whether you loved it or felt it was a bit over the top, September’s Electronic Cigarette Convention in Ontario, Calif. left a
lasting impression not only on the Southern California vaping
scene, but also on the industry as a whole. The second annual
event was bigger than last year’s in both attendance and booths
sold (actual numbers vary depending on who you talk to; show
organizers could not be reached as of press time) and there
definitely was a mixed bag of surprises and familiar favorites
during the business to business/business to consumer event.
VapeRev made a return as a Diamond Sponsor again this year,
sponsoring the VapeRev Ballroom area that showcased a variety
of e-liquid brands during the event. Many of those companies
debuted new flavors, including P.O.E.T., who asked the public
to taste test three new unreleased liquids, ultimately deciding
which one would make the cut. Planet of the Vapes, Apollo and
BoilerMaker Vapor also debuted new liquids.
Giveaways at ECC were unparalleled, which created mixed
reviews amongst consumers and vendors.
59
“I saw it advertised on Instagram yesterday and we drove the
two hours to get here. We got in for only $7 and I got $500 to
$600 worth of juice,” Tyler from mid-California said. His girlfriend Carly echoed the sentiment. “It’s bright, colorful and has
good music. It’s a good price for what you’re getting. Not bad
for a two-hour drive.”
60
Drew Holman of OKC Vapes had a different outlook on
the giveaways.
“I’m floored by the amount of vendors not selling things. These
people paid to get in and get free stuff, but I’m surprised people
aren’t selling. As a vendor, we spent a lot of money to get here.
It’s huge and well organized, and we made a lot of good connections, but it makes it really hard to compete. It’s tough for
mid-sized companies like us to sell with all of the giveaways,”
he said.
61
Other companies enjoyed getting down to business by connecting with peers and consumers. Vape Organics E-Juice said that
they had a great response from everybody who came to
their booth.
“It was great to meet other people in the industry and network.
It’s a good learning experience. You can elevate things to the
next level when you work together.”
Kevin Canter of Holy Grail Elixir said his time at ECC was great
and very busy.
“I love having products that people enjoy and I love seeing
people enjoy our juice.”
Jackson and Elise from Orange County came to ECC to see what
the convention was all about. First-time convention attendees,
they wanted to see something new, and they got what they
came for.
“We came because it’s cool to see stuff that’s not covered in
our area.”
Perhaps Phil Busardo said it best while hosting the ECC “Talk
Show” event: “I wouldn’t have imagined it would be this big.
You have no idea what you mean to me.”
62
Industry Leaders Converge for ECC Forum
By Alyssa Stahr
ECC may have had plenty of conversations going on the show floor, however the
real talk happened on Saturday evening
in the Ontario Convention Center’s lobby.
Phil Busardo and Grimm Green hosted a
panel of industry leaders, executives and
advocates for “Vape Vibe by ECC,” a talk
show dedicated to updating the crowd on
hot industry topics.
The panel, which included Gregory Conley,
president of the American Vaping Association, Cynthia Cabrera from SFATA,
Lou Ritter of AEMSA, Dimitris Vapingreek
of TSFA, Pamela Gorman of NJOY, Julie
Woessner from CASAA and more began
with introductions and then delved right
into taking questions from the audience.
Impending regulations, legislature and
vaping etiquette were main topics that the
panel addressed in the more than twohour forum.
The forum opened with Grimm Green setting the tone: “This is kind of where we get
serious.” The crowd knew then that it was
time to ask the hard-hitting serious questions, and the panel did not disappoint with
its answers. While everyone on the panel
came from different organizations, they
stressed that they are all fighting together
for advocacy for the vaping industry.
Cabrera began by asking the business
owners in the crowd for a show of hands.
“How many of you guys feel really comfortable that you know what the FDA regulations would do to you?” she said.
Only two or three people raised their hands.
“We have to show that we as an industry
can make things better. That they don’t
have to do it by themselves. Improve your
business practices. Advocate,” she said.
Cabrera stressed becoming knowledgeable and knowing exactly how to talk to
legislators going forward. (See more on
Cabrera’s thoughts on page 13)
64
Photo by Mike Schramel
The Vapingreek provided some comedy
relief, stating that he is proof that vaping
does not help you lose weight.
Woessner demonstrated to the audience
how to properly stealth vape. She does it
out in the open as to not seem like she is
hiding something. She wants people who
don’t know what vaping is not to be turned
off by it, but instead for it to seem like an
every day occurrence.
The Vapingreek asked everyone to raise
his or her devices in the air. It was shocking to hear that everything that people
were using as of right now, if current
pending regulations and laws are passed,
will be obsolete. The only devices that
would be legal would be those pre-2007.
“I hope everyone likes Blu’s,” Busardo
yelled to the crowd.
Fighting big tobacco also was addressed.
“We started vaping to get away from these
companies, and they’re the companies that
are going to take it all away again,” the
Vapingreek said.
Conley then chimed in with another statement regarding R.J. Reynolds, the maker
of Camel cigarettes. It was followed by
boos from the crowd.
“Let me give you an idea of how fearful
tobacco companies are of each and every
one of you that quit smoking not using
products made by them. Last week we
discovered their FDA comments advocated banning all open-system products,
all e-liquid products and the vast majority of flavors. The three flavors that R.J.
Reynolds identified as being acceptable for
adult consumers to enjoy: mint, wintergreen and cream,” he said. “So if you
want a future where you are vaping coffee
creamer from your R.J. Reynolds fuse at
$5.99 for two cartridges, that’s what you
have to look forward to.”
So, what can vapers and business owners do?
1. Show up. Encourage your consumers to
show up.
2. Encourage more people who smoke to
switch, making a market too big to handle.
3. Be professional, be polite and dress
properly. No outbursts, don’t shout out
during public hearings or blow big smoke
clouds to irritate people.
4. Use your products as a tool, not a
weapon to intimidate with. Educate, don’t
frighten people.
5. Support companies who only support
you. Don’t support charities or vote for
legislators who are opposed to vaping.
6. Show that your retail store doesn’t allow
minors.
7. Tell legislators why you vape and make
it personal. Build relationships with staffers. Separate vaping from cigarettes. Get
them to know you not only as a consumer
but as a constituent with valid points.
“Stop Facebook activism. Just because
you share a post by Julie at CASAA. Just
because you signed a petition, which by the
way a wise man once said petitions are just
lists of poor people,” the Vapingreek said.
“If this product has changed your life and it
has changed the people around you, your
family, your kids, call your legislator and tell
them that if they don’t get on board you’re
going to vote him out of office.”
Cabrera explained SAFTA’s free Age
to Vape program, http://sfata.org/agetovape/. The age verification process is
for vapor stores that exclusively sell vaping
products.
“You are showing Congress and the FDA
that you are responsible. This is very exciting right now and we’re having a lot of
good conversation and everyone is saying
really good stuff, but it’s very easy to leave
here and go back to your businesses and
forget that there is a very real threat,” Cabrera said. “A lot of people feel that there’s
a local threat and they address it and then
think that everything is OK. It’s not OK.
You have to go home and make this is a
part of your life.”
Words and photos by CJ Caswell
“Who brought a pack of cigarettes?!” yelled Jason Heminger,
Jason’s Juice Joint proprietor, to a throng of enthusiastic vapers.
Quickly enough, a pack of Camels rises above the crowd, in the
hand of a recent convert. Jason eyed them with a smile. “How
attached are you to those?” Not very, as it turns out. The offer
of a free tank leads to the lucky former smoker stomping the
analogs underfoot to cheers and laughter. This is the vape community at its finest, and a great improvement on Heminger’s
earlier shenanigans: the man seemed to have an unhealthy
fondness for giving out women’s tank tops, mostly to heavy set
men, then having them wear them on the spot. I guess no one
told him they look better on the ladies.
What else would you expect? Heminger is a Texan, and this is
Texas. San Antonio, Texas, to be precise, and you should expect
at least three things from Texas: heat, attitude and bigness in
all forms. At VapeBlast 2.0, put on by coordinators Kenny and
Sarah Brittain, we got all three. The August sun beat down with
a vengeance, the outside temperature reaching 113 degrees on
my car’s finely calibrated thermometer. The attitude was there
in force; larger than life personalities and costumes thrived, and
despite a disappointing lack of cowboy hats, the facial hair on
the men—even on a couple of the women—was spectacular. You
want big? Fill your gas tank at Buc-ees, just off I-35, at one of
their 120 gas pumps. Yes, 120 pumps. Then go inside and grab
a beverage in a convenience store so huge, it could host its own
climate system with enough space left over for college football.
The superb Lazarus Vintage booth
The San Antonio Event Center enjoyed its own weather, maintaining a pleasant-smelling haze all weekend. The lone exception was an unfortunate explosion, which left the atmosphere
at SAEC slightly acrid. The big boom went off around 8 p.m. on
Saturday, and yours truly wasn’t there to witness it first hand,
as I was eating steak at the time, and I regret nothing. Here is
the most common of a half dozen different versions of the story.
During the second round of the cloud competition, one vaper
got the switch stuck on his Mutant clone. The battery promptly
heated up, and the owner of said Mutant dropped it to the floor.
When it hit the ground, it exploded, sending scraps of mod flying high enough to leave tiny puncture holes in the ceiling tiles.
The type of battery is unknown, and there is a possibility that
the switch had been modified; no one is totally sure because
there wasn’t much left of the thing. Instantly, Facebook and
Youtube blew up (pun intended) with the news.
Phil Busardo, attending his second VapeBlast, was not pleased.
Less than two hours earlier he had talked battery safety with an
intimate crowd gathered for a fun Q&A, emphasizing that builders need to stay conservative. Then this.
Austin Hopper from Cuttwood speaks to the crowd.
66
No one was seriously hurt. San Antonio’s police and fire departments showed up promptly and reacted with relief at the lack of
damage. The Event Center staff was equally relieved and understanding. The cloud comp was cancelled in favor of a battery
safety class given on Sunday by the staff at Coval Vapes. And,
several vendors came together to give the competitors some
very nice prize packs to make up for the elimination of their
event, particularly Moon Mountain Vapor and Cuttwood.
“Fortunately, it was a reminder to be careful, and nothing
worse,” Event Coordinator Sarah said. “We probably won’t hold
official cloud competitions at VapeBlast events after this.”
The strong actions are encouraging, but the incident too clearly
says that work needs to be done educating vapers, encouraging care and demanding accountability. Whoever dropped the
mod did not stick around to own up to his or her mistake, which
hurts the community as a whole. Every vaper should be glad
that no children were allowed to be close and local press coverage was lighter than at the Lewisville event.
Disturbing fun at
Jason’s Juice Joint
This is a single poor mark on an otherwise fantastic event.
The burning question here is, how did VapeBlast 2.0 stack up
against VapeBlast 1.0, held in Lewisville earlier this year? The
comparison is a little unfair. The SAEC is a bigger venue, and it
played host to a tremendous festival of all things vapor related.
Thousands of attendees enjoyed the attention of more than 60
vendors that came in from far and wide, from Boise to Baltimore to Shenzhen, China, each offering schwag by the bagful.
“They put on a great event,” a smiling Heminger said. “We’re
happy with all the space, and really happy that they verify ages
and keep everyone over 18. Those two things make for a big
improvement, and I’m seeing VapeBlast get better and better.”
Several vendors and VapeBlast veterans like Heminger who
attended Lewisville, praised the new venue for its improved
lighting and superior layout.
Sarah and Kenny loved the turnout. “We learned some lessons
from the last convention,” she said. “It’s bigger but more cohesive, not sectioned off from one area to the next. We were able
to place the main stage in the center, which made for a better
environment.”
There was, indeed, only one actual separation of space. A front
room was used, in true Texas fashion, to put up a bar. And several vendors gave away koozies, so your beer stayed cold. God
bless Texas.
The atmosphere felt both celebratory and theatrical. Some of
vaping’s biggest personalities, like Phil Busardo, Dmitris “The
Vapingreek,” and Richard “VapingwithTwisted420” roamed
all over the place. Austin Hopper, “Sauce Boss” and CEO of
Cuttwood, took on the role of MC, announcing giveaways and
raffles in waves of growing magnitude. The raffles, in particular, drew lots of attention: juice, hats, bags, shirts and some
very nice mods flowed at a continuous rate into the hands of
everyone smart enough to sign up prior to the event online, or
sign up with vendors on the spot. Dovpo raffled off half a dozen
of their much loved E-Mech mod, local juicemaker Notorious
Liquids gave away a dual battery 18650 box mod built by Cloud
Nerds in New Jersey and Pip from Suicide Bunny gave out
prizes like shirts and full lines of juice on the main stage, along
with autographs and
lots of hugs at her
booth. Did I say free
juice? There were
too many vendors
handing it out to list
them all, but of particular note, Baker
White celebrated the
launch of their Odin
Kim and Jason Heminger from
line by giving out
Jason’s Juice Joint
15 ml bottles of joy.
The award for the most elaborate display goes to Lazarus Vintage, premiering their new Valley of the Kings line. Cleopatra
rode to the main stage on a sedan chair carried by the Lazarus
staff, in the best tradition of convention craziness, but their
booth stole the show by carrying the Egyptian theme over the
top. The wall covered in hieroglyphics and full size statue of
Horus watched over the new line of juice, along with a treasure
chest filled with 7000 ml of their original Seven Wonders line, a
bounty that will soon be placed up for auction. Proceeds will go
to benefit wounded warriors and cancer research.
The enigmatic Sir James, marketing lead and partner at Lazarus, gave warm accolades to the event.
“The atmosphere is great here, very open, very friendly. The
organizers made this an event to remember, and the launch of
our Valley of the Kings line went better than expected, so well
that we now plan to push up our release date to early September,” Sir James smiled as he said this, certainly aware that
allowing people to try the flavors but not buy them yet is a form
of Geneva Conventions-grade torture.
Julie Woessner from CASAA shared some time on the main
stage, as well, emphasizing the organization’s role as a consumer group, not an industry group.
“We represent vapers everywhere, and we’re starting to see
some progress. Legislators are figuring out that this is developing as an industry, that’s it is safer, that we haven’t grown a
third arm or anything.”
One smart mouth next to me chuckled at that comment. “Speak
for yourself, lady.”
Again, it’s Texas.
Everyone had fun, that much was clear. And aside from the
explosive lesson in battery safety, there is little to fault. The
layout could have been improved still, as some vendors ended
up in hard-to-find places. And while new juice was everywhere,
there were only a few new mods to see. But all in all, San Antonio was the place to be on this weekend, and local vapers raved
about it. Sarah told me that they may host four events yearly in
Texas starting as soon as next year, which would continue the
process of turning the Lone Star state into a Mecca for enthusiasts on every level. Let’s see it!
VIP Vape Street:
Salt Lake City Hosts
Its First Event
Words and photo by Norm Bour
The first vaping event in Salt Lake City, Utah took place in
late July, and it broke a few boundaries. This was the first 100
percent outside event, and one that was held in what many
consider to be one of the most religiously and morally conservative cities in the country.
The more than 90 degree temperatures didn’t detract from the
fun, though it may have impacted the crowd, which was less than
expected. There are events and there are fests, and this one was
a fest, with non-stop music, socializing, spraying of water and
taste testing everyone else’s products. The three-day crowd was
casual, tatted, pierced and ready to party, with beer and plenty of
alcohol available from many of the attendees and vendors.
ent drawings and giveaways. This event was also unique since
it was held at the State Fairgrounds, which was highly regulated
and had a notable police presence sniffing around the periphery.
A point to mention is that events like this, once few and far
between, are becoming increasingly common. Just a few years
ago major events were held in only larger metropolitan areas
and pulled in crowds of a few hundred people. Now those stages
are getting larger and even smaller cities can sponsor and host
an event and plan to bring in a decent crowd. Is having an
outside event in July in a city more than 4,300 feet above sea
level a good move? Probably not, but this industry is evolving
and learning. These are just parts of the process and steps to
generate better and better events.
Promoter Joey Woodward and his team were busy throughout
the day, orchestrating a cloud competition and a series of differ-
71
Words and photos by Alyssa Stahr
“I love when necessity breeds invention” was a
line voiced at the Monkey O’s booth at September’s
Electronic Cigarette Convention. And, that’s exactly
what the owners and founders of Monkey O’s
wanted to hear.
Gene Gamble and Miraj Patel went to a hookah lounge one
night, and it completely changed their lives. Not big hookah smokers themselves, they were simply hanging out with
friends. Then the friends started doing tricks with the smoke.
non-glass shattering, so they decided on a plastic model.
“We didn’t know if it would work or not. We would get back five
prototypes and work them out,” Patel said. “But, the very first
time we tried blowing a bubble through it (the chosen one),
it worked. We stress to our customers that it’s easier than
you think.”
“It was crazy to us to see how much fun they were having with
simple tricks. It created a different kind of vibe at that table.
People were just amazed at what people could do with it,”
Patel said.
The Gainesville, Fla.-based duo had a fun time coming up with
the company name while going through prototypes.
The tricks immediately caught Gamble’s attention. He realized
that people could have that same fun experience with vaping,
and one night while watching “The Mask” with Jim Carrey, he
saw the scene where Carrey was trying to seduce the girl.
“He was struggling with her and then he pulled out a cigarette
and I thought, ‘This was it right there,’” he said.
Original plans for Monkey O’s included an o-ring, a clay product
and a glass blower. Hired engineers went though about 50 to
60 prototypes until the partners came up with the one that they
wanted about three months later. The duo understood that consumers want a low-cost solution, and they wanted something
“It was pretty funny because while we were experimenting with
the models we were talking about how we would explain to
people how to use the product,” Patel said. “We were making
all sorts of sounds to produce and we were going ‘oooohhh’ and
‘ahhhh’ and it sounded like a monkey. It kinda just came to us.”
Even though Monkey O’s are a simple product to use, there is
some challenge to them, since Gamble didn’t want users to get
bored. There isn’t a perfect “o” every time, and one can get up
to 80 rings (so far) from one drag of a hookah or e-cigarette.
Sizes can vary in thickness and can go several distances.
“Gene is the bubble man because he can blow the biggest
bubbles. We have bubble contests on Instagram,” Patel said.
Along with Monkey O’s comes the Monkey Juice, optimized for
bigger and stronger bubbles.
“We used to carry a bowl with solution inside of it and it was
kind of hard to explain to people, especially if they had been
partying a little bit,” Gamble said. “It came down to me telling
them to dip it very gently and you will get the bubble.
They would get it all over their clothes by dipping too hard.”
Gamble and Patel realized that they couldn’t keep this concept
up at a venue like a convention, so they came up with a foam
and a screen that users can dab the Monkey in. There was no
solution flying everywhere, therefore consumers wanted the
new product. Monkey Juice, not a simple soap and water concept, was born.
“We went through a bunch of different solutions. It makes
stronger bubbles so they don’t pop as easily. It adds value,”
Patel said.
“It’s always a new market. People are interested in new things
and everything is just so open, especially with social media. I
think it’s a movement,” Patel said. “You aren’t just inhaling and
blowing something out. It gives an added element of fun. To
blow smoke rings you have to practice, but with this even the
most casual of vapers can do this.”
Customizable Monkey O’s also are available, along with a glowin-the-dark product.
“The market is going into customizable. We’re working with a
jewelry store owner to product high-end ones with 14K gold
that we’re getting into now that we have our base product out
there,” Patel said. “We’re doing something new and cool for the
vapers (still in development) that’s gonna be sweet. The product that we have—we want to take it a long way. We’re here to
grow together.”
For more information, visit https://www.monkey-os.com/.
The fascination with rings in our culture isn’t a new concept,
so that’s why Gamble and Patel feel that Monkey O’s have
staying power.
73
We asked and you answered! We’re excited to present our first ever holiday
gift guide, brought to you by industry professionals’ submissions. Hopefully a
product or juice will catch your eye and make it into your loved one’s stocking
this holiday season.
EJuicePub.com
Apple Martini
Apple Martini is the hottest
item on EJuicePub.com’s menu.
It’s the No. 1 choice for a guaranteed great time. What’s
better than master mixers handcrafting your favorite martini
vape, especially for you? If you are looking for classic adult
themed e-cigarette flavors, you are in the right place. Along
with Apple Martini refill liquid, EJuicePub.com features a
range of other adult drink themed e-liquids.
• Retails starting at $5.98
http://goo.gl/u9xYCx
Raze Vapor’s
Magnificio
eCigar
Big Power. Big Hits.
Not just the conversation
piece, the Magnificio. Now you can enjoy a high quality cigar anywhere, anytime. It’s not a disposable, this
rechargeable will produce more than 2000 large vapor
draws per charge, and last for weeks. And the Magnificio is not just cigar flavors. RAZE has embodied every
single aspect of its premium e-cig line into the Magnificio
to produce, without a doubt, an experience like you’ve
never had before.
• Retails for $39.99
www.razevapor.com/magnificio
Wordup Ecig’s Freedom
Mini BCC Starter Kit
The eco-safe Freedom Mini BCC Starter Kit is a Wordup Ecig
exclusive! The company worked directly with the manufacturer
to custom design the sleek and easy to use Freedom Mini. It’s
the first true Mini BCC (bottom changeable coil) clearomizer—
the heating element is constantly immersed in e-liquid ensuring vapers never get a dry hit. Despite its smaller size, vapers
always get quality vapor saturated with flavor. The Freedom Mini
Kit comes with two complete e-cigs and a free 10 ml bottle of
Wordup E-Liquid—select from more than 100 flavors. The Wordup
Freedom Mini is a great gift for new vapers this holiday season.
• Retails for $59.99
http://goo.gl/Zxw2I4
76
Spectrum
Vapor’s
Dream Steam
Maple Leaf Vapes Vader Puddin
We had to visit the Death Star and fight Darth Vader
for this recipe. Actually it was given to us by Darkside
Vaper to share with you. This a beautiful creamy Vanilla
Custard Pudding—sweet, smooth and oh—so satisfying.
Darth Vader says you will love it, or else.
Can’t sleep? Vape on Dream
Steam and become sleepy
on the first exhale. Dream
Steam is 100 percent natural; the active ingredients
wear off in two and half to
three hours, eliminating
the groggy feeling found in
over-the-counter and prescription sleep aids. Featuring a 3 ml bottle and a 1.6 ml dedicated clearomizer,
it’s the perfect add-on to any e-pen, kit or liquid.
• Retails for $15.99.
• Contains melatonin
• 100 percent VG-based formula with no nicotine
• Average of 50 doses per bottle
• Micro-dose by two puffs to achieve desired effects
• Retails for MSRP $14.99-$19.99; $7.50 per unit;
$6.99 per unit per case of 50+; $5.99 per unit per
case of 200+
http://goo.gl/Xv1yGS
• Retails starting at $5.98
http://spectrumvapor.com/
Virgin Vapor’s Juice E-Jewels
Semiprecious Stone Drip Tips
Virgin Vapor is proud to be the exclusive distributor of Juice E-Jewels’ line of semiprecious stone drip tips. These gorgeous tips
are carved from genuine semiprecious stones such a jade, tiger’s eye and rose quartz. Each piece is a unique work of art and
may vary from what is shown in the product photo.
• Made to fit standard 510 cartomizers, including cartomizers carried by Virgin Vapor that take a replaceable drip tip
(excludes CE5’s).
• Each tip comes beautifully packaged
• Retails for $29.95
http://goo.gl/7vlszT
77
EKOWOOL Silica Wicks
EKOWOOL is made of amorphous silica fibers, and it’s very different than Chinese made silica wick. There are three types of wicks:
braided silica wick hollow, with silica threads inside and with cotton threads inside. One of the huge benefits of EKOWOOL
is that it’s braided, leaving a hollow tube through the center. It has various diameters. The hollow center allows users to stick
a paper clip down the center to stabilize it while you wrap your coil. It also sucks up e-liquid better for faster wicking.
• Retails for $90 per kilo starting December 2014
shop.ekowool.com
Paradise Vape’s Premium E-Juice
Paradise Vape is an Orange County, Calif.-based company
that produces USP grade e-liquid for use in e-cigarettes. The
company has been testing its recipe for more than two years
to find the perfect blend of e-juice. It strives to use only the
best U.S. made ingredients produced in a health department
approved facility.
• Retails for MSRP $9.99 to $14.99
www.gotvape.net/paradise-e-juice.html
EVE E-Liquids
With award-winning flavors like the mouthwatering
Lake Custard and Blueberry Church, you can’t go
wrong! Delicious premium e-liquids all the time,
every time.
• Retails for $9.95 to $11.95
www.eveliquids.com/shop
78
Trippy Tips
Art glass drip tips are
unique, one-of-a-kind handmade gifts that improve
flavor, airflow and vapor
production. Each Trippy
Tip is an excellent way to
express your personality.
Dollar for dollar it’s one of
the best upgrades you can
buy!
• Retails starting at $30
www.TrippyTips.com
E-Cig Gallery’s 454 Big Block Atty
The 454 Big Block Atty by E-Cig Gallery is a unique single post design. Instead of
a dual or quad negative post, there is a ring and it uses the entire outside of the
base for the negative. The 454 has an adjustable airflow design that will produce
a single, dual or quad holes that are both direction and airflow adjustable to accommodate whatever coil build you prefer. The single post uses a copper inner
that goes from the bottom of the atty all the way up through to the bottom of the
positive coil holes.
• Insulator is high temp plastic called ULTEM.
• Removable top acts as a heat sink.
• Retails for $69
http://goo.gl/obSHMy
Council of Vapor’s Aris Atomizer
The Aris atomizer includes 24k gold-plated posts that sit
within a 6.6 mm deep drip well, complemented with an
adjustable airflow control designed specifically for producing
unparalleled flavor.
• Retails for $50
http://goo.gl/HK35Yt
81
SEEGO Ghit Type B Starter Kit
This kit is perfect for the person who is just starting out.
• Kit includes a Ghit Type B atomizer (for regular liquid),
650 mHh battery, USB cable/charger and a liquid needle
bottle
• Retails for $24.99
http://goo.gl/ovjSMu
AngelCigs MEPHISTO Style Rebuildable Dripping Atomizer by IVOGO
•
•
•
•
Size chart: depth 22 mm, height 30 mm, width 22 mm, weight 107 grams
Connection threading: 510
Colors: copper, black, gold; Material: stainless steel
Retails for $13
http://goo.gl/xPjgUf
83
Primera Technology, Inc.’s LX900 Color Label Printer
The LX900 Color Label Printer is an affordable, desktop sized label printer LX900 is the perfect
solution for small volume, full color e-juice labels you can print on demand.
• Retails for MSRP $2,995
www.primeralabel.com
ZampleBox
24-7’s New
Prefilled,
Disposable
Vapor Tank
PFT25
The 24/7 team continues to innovate. And,
the new Prefilled Disposable Vapor Tank is
their latest triumph. With the PFT25, there’s
no refilling. You just screw in and go, for a full
2.5 ml of American-made flavor and satisfaction. It’s simple and convenient—no mess,
tamper-proof and disposable.
• Retails for $3.95
https://24-7ecigs.com/
84
ZampleBox is the original and leading e-liquid of
the month club for vapers. Every month we send
thousands of vapers around the world a gift box
containing up to 11 bottles of liquid from the best
brands. Find your next all day vape at 70 percent
off retail prices with ZampleBox!
• Presented as a gift including gift bags and tissue
paper; have it sent directly to the person you’re
gifting it to with ease.
• Retails for $14.95
www.zamplebox.com/subscribe/
NI
TERIA
CRAFTED BY
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It Tastes Great to Vape!
We have 13 nicotine levels, over 1500 gourmet flavors
and a wide variety of e-cigarette accessories.
Join our mailing list for special offers and promotions.
Order Wholesale
For more information email: [email protected]
The vaping community is currently under attack with new legislation that would cripple our
growing industry. Do your part to stop these bills. Contact your government officials, and
share your stories about how vaping has impacted your life.
Let your voice be heard. If you have a New York address simply go to JuicyVapor.com and
click the "Right To Vape" link on the left navigation bar. Enter your information, and then fill
out the comments form. Please help by sharing your stories about how vaping helped you to
quit smoking Tobacco.
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In FAVOR of
F L AVOR S
Flavors are
HUGE. And
Ingredients Have a
HUGE Impact.
By Tom Schrier
Flavors are as essential to e-cigarettes as limes and tequila are
to margaritas. No matter what the recipe, margaritas just gotta
have tequila and lime juice.
Like margaritas, the quality of the ingredients also has a huge
impact on the flavor. Cheap tequila can have a harsh, burnt
taste. The same is true of nicotine. You can ruin a perfectly
good margarita by using cheap tequila. And you can ruin a
perfectly good e-liquid by using cheap nicotine that overpowers
rather than enhances the overall flavor and experience.
The fact is: we love flavors in our e-cigarettes. Just take a
look at the number of flavors now on the market: some 7,700
flavors are sold by 450 e-cigarette brands, according to a new
survey published in Tobacco Control (http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.
com/content/23/suppl_3/iii3.full).
And, the flavor wave continues unabated; about 10 new
brands and 242 new e-liquid flavors are being created every
single month!
The list of flavors falls into several different categories. Most
companies offer tobacco (93.4 percent) and menthol (92.1 percent) flavors. Fruit flavors (84.2 percent) also are very popular,
followed by flavors inspired by dessert/candy (79.9 percent),
alcohol/drinks (77.5 percent) and snacks/meals (25.7 percent).
Three a Day (Flavors, That Is)
Naturally, all e-cigarette companies Tobacco Control researched
offer various levels of nicotine in their flavors. That’s because
flavor variability is “very important” to the vast majority of
former smokers or dual users (of both cigarettes and e-cigs),
according to another study authored by Konstantinos E. Farsalinos, Ph.D., (http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/12/7272)
published in the International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health.
This study, which interviewed more than 4,600 people, found
most vapers use three different flavors on a regular basis.
In fact, seven out of 10 respondents changed flavors at least
once a day.
New vapers tend to start with tobacco flavors, but most
eventually switch to fruit and sweet flavors. Among all users,
fruit flavors were the most popular (69.4 percent), followed by
sweet (61.4 percent), tobacco (43.9 percent), drinks/beverages
(36.8 percent) and mint/menthol (31.8 percent) flavors.
If flavors were restricted, the vast majority (68.9 percent)
said vaping would be less enjoyable. Restricting flavors could
also have a negative impact on people trying to quit smoking.
Almost half (48.5 percent) said that restricting favors would
increase his or her craving for cigarettes, and nearly 40 percent
said they would be less likely to reduce or quit smoking.
Every one of us in the industry is vehemently against any regulation that would restrict flavor variability. These studies clearly
show that restricting flavors would only harm those who are
trying to quit smoking. And, our detractors have yet to prove
that restricting e-cigarette flavors would offer any positive public health benefits.
How Nicotine Affects Flavor
Saveurvape, one of the world’s largest producers and
wholesale distributors of e-liquids, offers literally hundreds
of different flavors.
“We’ve grown quickly because we offer a top shelf product,”
Lonnie Bozeman, president of Saveurvape said. “We don’t
settle for anything that’s substandard.”
But, Bozeman said that they had a difficult time finding
a nicotine vendor that offered a top shelf product.
“We’ve tried just about every nicotine vendor under the sun,”
he said. “Some offered quick service but an inferior product;
some had a good product but inferior service. We needed a
solution that offered a consistently good product and good
customer service. That’s how we ended up with NicSelect.”
Bozeman said they’ve been using NicSelect for more than
two years, to rave customer reviews.
“We are always trying to achieve that ‘Wow!’ factor,” Bozeman
said. “That’s why we start with the highest grade ingredients on
the market, because it trickles down to the quality of the product.
“The best possible quality, ‘premium’ nicotine is also the
smoothest,” he said. “You don’t want to taste the nicotine.
It used to be something that was accepted—a necessary evil.
But, there shouldn’t be a peppery taste when you’ve vaping
strawberry. Now we have a product that offers nicotine’s effects
without a harsh throat hit or spicy aftertaste.”
“We care about every drop that goes into our bottles and every
product that goes out our doors,” said Dan Baker, president of
Baker White, which makes 36 different flavors.
“We select only the finest ingredients for our premium line of
juices,” he said, explaining that Baker White screens its flavor
ingredients to ensure they’re free of diacetyl and other potentially harmful chemicals. Baker White’s top selling flavors are
their bold and sweet Melon Baller, Strawberry Fields, Summer
Tea (a blend of ice tea and lemonade) and Very Cherry.
Plays Well With Others
Rich Henning, president of NicVape, one of the first e-liquid
companies to start using NicSelect, said putting the best quality nicotine in their e-liquids filled a unique niche at the time.
“Back then, there just wasn’t a reliable source of nicotine we
could import into the U.S.,” Henning said. One of the things I
really like about NicSelect is that it doesn’t have a lot of taste.
It works well no matter what flavors we blend it with. Our
customers tell us that the throat hit is really good and they
can’t taste the nicotine in our e-liquids.”
One of NicVape’s most popular flavors is ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’
“It’s an homage to Elvis whose favorite snack was peanut
butter and honey,” Henning said. “Everyone takes away
something different from it; the inhale is a different
experience from the exhale. It also plays really nicely
with NicSelect.”
Another one of NicVape’s popular flavors is ‘Super Mint,’
which is a combination of several different mint and
menthol flavors.
“Colin (Henning’s business partner) was trying to make a
flavor that tasted like Newport cigarettes. Finally, in frustration, he grabbed five different mint and menthol flavors and
combined them. And our distributors loved it!” Henning said.
NicVape’s chocolate mint flavor, ‘Jr. Mints Daddy,’ was the
first and only non-tobacco flavor to be given five stars from
Dr. Vapenstein, a popular e-liquid reviewer.
“The combination of the target flavor and the 25 mg nic level
work together to provide a throat hit that is one of the best
we’ve seen here in The Lab,” wrote Dr. Vapenstein. “I am not
kidding, this juice is not kid’s stuff. This juice is not afraid to
hurt your feelings. It is the single most satisfying non-tobacco
vape I have had in terms of initial impact.”
Vermillion River E-Juice also has dozens of flavors—72 and
counting. Their goal is to offer at least 100 different flavors,
according to Dave Pettis, Vermillion River owner.
Vermillion River’s staff samples every new flavor for several
weeks before it’s sold to consumers. The final flavor is also
tested for its nicotine titration level as well as any substances
that could potentially be harmful if vaped frequently.
“Most people judge the quality of nicotine by its smell and
clarity, but scientifically and chemically, it’s not the true test
of quality,” Pettis said. “Color actually doesn’t tell you anything. Purity is the most important proof of quality. “And as
particular as we are about our flavoring, we need every single
ingredient to be the highest quality.”
Tom Schrier is V.P. of Alchem International, maker of
NicSelect premium nicotine.
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VICTIMHOOD
AND VICE
By CJ Caswell
Vapers get into a lot of fights these days. I
don’t mean “sweep the leg” physical fights,
but arguments, usually about whether vaping
should be allowable in society. Few hobbies
draw the level of scorn vaping draws, what
with all the exaggerated scare tactics and hand
wringing every politician and mainstream media
voice hurls with self-righteous fervor. So we
must defend ourselves, and everyone has his or
her own strategies for how to go about this, but
there’s one particular type of vaping enthusiast we need to talk
about. That’s the “convert vaper.”
You know this person. Hell, you might be this person. Tell me if
you recognize this attitude: “I was once lost, doomed, enslaved,
oppressed, addicted, I knew something was wrong, but I felt
powerless. I was a smoker. The cigarettes, they had me in a
chokehold. Dead man walking. Cancer, emphysema and offensive smells were my destiny. But I tell you, brothers and sisters,
I found my savior! It is the electronic cigarette! Vaping is my
salvation, my escape from certain death! Hallelujah! I have
been freed!!” Sound a little familiar?
I see and hear this everywhere. The religious tone might not
always be quite so bold, but if anything, the demonization
of cigarettes often holds even more rancor and disgust. This
person sounds like they were tricked, captured and literally
held in a dungeon by a pack of menthols, his or her perspective
emphasizing the victimhood of the e-cigarette convert.
Now, while I love the enthusiasm, that particular argument is
… well, it’s a problem. It’s going to hurt vaping in the long run,
and it needs to stop.
But why? You may ask. Vaping really is a boon to public health!
Well, compared to what? If you mean it’s an improvement
over cigarettes when closely monitored for quality, then that’s
certainly true. Some politicians, like Senator Dick Blumenthal,
agree with you and think that there is a place for them as aids
to quitting analogs. But Blumenthal is no friend of the industry.
He obviously believes that the only acceptable use for e-cigs
is as a substitute—a temporary and not necessarily pleasant
substitute—for Big Tobacco’s cancer sticks. He wants to get rid
of flavorings like bubble gum and fruits. He wants them to be illegal to buy and sell online. And the controversies over diacetyl
and acetyl propionyl look like great excuses to jump in with
both feet on pricey regulation that may hurt small manufacturers.
That all makes some sense if vaping exists just for the sake of
your health, but that doesn’t sound like what vapers want.
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By the way, it might not be that healthy. No matter what you
might be reading from people who feel compelled to cast e-cigs
in the best possible light, there really is quite a bit we still don’t
know about the long-term effects of taking in large amounts
of vapor every day for years or decades. That’s not to say that
vaping is anywhere near a health hazard on par with smoking,
and medically, it seems unimaginable that it’s worse than fast
food or the air in downtown L.A., but it might not be totally
benign. Even if it is, it hasn’t been proven. Nor can we wait for
the research to get to a point where we know, without a doubt,
that vaping is safe. It took decades to prove that cigarettes are
dangerous. Assuming vaping is at least mostly benign, how long
will it take to confidently prove a negative?
But, never mind all that. This entire controversy isn’t really
about the nuances of personal health. Think about this: there
are tons of activities that are perfectly legal and basically unregulated in America where people take risks with their body.
What makes vaping—and smoking—different?
Simply put, addiction makes them different. When you discuss
what it means to live in a free country, addictive substances
walk on a dangerous line, because freedom means preserving choices, and using something addictive means that it could
thwart your will to make your own choices once addicted, as the
convert vaper says. This gets complicated, because on the other
hand, not allowing people to make these choices isn’t exactly
the most freedom-friendly policy one can imagine, either.
So society has a choice between perspectives: either view
the use of addictive substances like analogs and e-cigs as a
personal choice where the individual holds the responsibility to
gauge the risk over time, like when they deal with Big Macs,
bungee jumping and vacations in shady parts of Mexico, or assume that people are vulnerable and must be protected from
what, in the long run, is less of a choice and more of a trap. In
a culture awash with Puritan moralism, where your health care
is increasingly funded by taxpayers and that has spent half a
century up to its ears in propaganda that associates exhaled
clouds with cancer and emphysema, you know which way a lot
of people will lean.
If you say that addiction made you helpless to cigarettes, you’re
making the anti-vaping case for them. Since e-cigs generally still use nicotine and still can be expected to be addictive,
every argument that’s been made against analogs can and will
be used against us as vapor displaces them. We ask for this.
Too many of us talk like America is trying to decide between
cigarettes and vaping for title of America’s preferred vice. Nope.
The fight is with people who want you to put nothing in your
lungs but fresh air.
They have a point. Look, if most vapers were concerned first
and foremost for personal health, we would have found a way
to quit everything long ago, without needing this kind of crutch.
We don’t vape strictly, or even primarily, for health. We vape
because we enjoy vaping. This should be okay, but if our main
talking points revolve around comparing vaping to smoking and
then calling e-cigs a medical miracle, then we’re building our
house on sand. It won’t last.
view that requires a bit of consistency. Don’t take on this view if
you think that society holds an obligation to pay for your medical care down the road. Don’t take on this view if you expect
that knowledge is something that other people owe you, as opposed to something you have to pursue yourself. And definitely
don’t take on this view if you are uncomfortable with risk, which
includes situations where your knowledge isn’t perfect.
Look, if most vapers were concerned first
and foremost for personal health, we would
have found a way to quit everything long
ago, without needing this kind of crutch.
I know that the convert argument is easy to make, and it works
often enough. It’s nice to feel like you’re on the right side, for
once. Long ago, before vapor took the country by storm and a
lot of us smoked cigarettes, we simply had to deal with being
talked down to by activists. Suddenly, the logic of harm reduction is on our side, right?
Stay consistent on these ideas, and we can be left alone, too
irritating to be worth going after constantly. This can work over
the long run. If the vaping community is going to have a defensive strategy, this is what it needs to be.
No, not really. You can imagine how they look at us now as we
defend vaping, which is cheaper and still allowed in most public
places: No matter what, they have to have the nicotine, and
everything else seems to not matter. They just say what they
need to say to keep it coming. Our children could end up like
that! These poor, poor people. They need help! Ban everything!
We cannot be that pathetic, using such a weak argument, and
win. If you want to save vaping in the long run, you have to
put the stress was on the autonomy of the individual, where it
belongs. It’s an ideological approach, one with a certain point of
We can fight for what we like to do on honest terms, and most
people will respect that. Most people aren’t sweating over our
small-time vices. We can keep it that way if we avoid the hysterical arguments, and start behaving like sensible people who
simply aren’t going to tolerate stupid legal interference with our
lives. Making the vaper out to be a victim in any sense can, and
will, screw us out of the trust necessary to convince people that
we can handle our own business. Respect comes from showing
accountability, and addicts specialize in avoiding accountability.
Vaping can’t be associated with that attitude.
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President of CASAA (www.casaa.
org), Julie Woessner, stresses that
we need to fight for our rights
as consumers. CASAA, formed in
2009, is a non-profit consumer
advocacy organization with more
than 26,300 registered members as
of press time. Woessner talks about
going from smoking two packs
a day to being an “old school”
vapor, discreet vaping and how
to get involved.
VAPE News: Take us back to why you started vaping and how
it’s changed your personal life.
Woessner: I wasn’t trying to quit smoking. I had tried so
many times to quit smoking with no success, and I quit trying
to quit. I was at two packs a day at that point. In December
of 2008 I looked, and I ordered a device in 2009, and in three
days I completely transitioned. On the first puff I thought, ‘Wow
I may actually quit smoking.’ It was pretty wild. If I could’ve
cut back to a pack and a half a day I would’ve been thrilled. If
I had gotten down to a pack or less I would’ve been dancing
in the street. And, I completely quit and I was so happy. I had
been smoking for more than 30 years. For most of us in my age
bracket … for years I’ve done damage to my body and I’m still
at risk for smoking related problems. For the younger people,
we worry about young people who are picking up vaping instead
of smoking. What you should be doing is being thankful that
young people are switching over sooner than later so they have
time to reverse the effects. This is such a successful alternative
for so many smokers. People have so many problems associated with smoking, and they still can’t quit, so it allows you to
enjoy the effects of smoking without the risks.
VAPE News: What do you like to vape?
Woessner: I use more old school devices with variable wattage, and it doesn’t look like an e-cig at all; it looks like a box.
By Alyssa Stahr
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I drip liquid directly into the atomizer. I am so old school it is
ridiculous. In terms of liquid I use a very high strength nicotine—3.6 to 4 percent—and I like bubble gum and peach. I
choose to vape at a higher nicotine strength because I use less
than one ml a day now. I prefer not to chain vape. You don’t
even think about it; your body just knows what it wants.
VAPE News: Why and how did you first get involved in CASAA?
Woessner: I’ve been advocating for e-cigarettes since 2009;
I was a practicing lawyer and I had the skill set to get involved.
I’ve always been an active CASAA member. I got involved very
simply because I believe that these saved my life; I believe
they prolonged my life. I could step in front of a bus tomorrow,
but I feel that they improved my quality of life. I had given up
trying to quit and resigned to dying as a smoker. It was nothing
short of a miracle. I watch people like me. I watch people who
are 70 and who have been smoking their entire lives and seeing
improvements (with vaping). How can you not get involved?
VAPE News: The panel at ECC discussed vaping etiquette in
public. How does the public perception work with you?
Woessner: Most people don’t even notice. I’m a discreet vaper,
and I don’t blow vapor in traditionally non-smoking areas. People
have no idea what I’m doing, and they don’t notice me. Some
see me putting something up to my mouth and they come up
and say ‘I’m just curious, is that an e-cigarette?’ Years ago a
police office stopped me in North Carolina on the beach; he was
curious what I was using. This was in the early days. I look like
a soccer mom, so I don’t think he was seriously concerned that
I was doing drugs or something, so I showed him and he was
pretty excited about the thing. I’ve only had one truly negative
reaction. Other than that people have been very supportive.
Sometimes people will say I don’t mind not using my e-cigarette where it’s not allowed. It’s one thing if businesses don’t
allow something; it’s up to them to say where it’s allowed or not
allowed. But it’s not right for the government to tell businesses
if they can or can’t allow it. It’s just not appropriate to tell a
business that they can’t allow something; a business should
make that decision on their own. It’s more about not opposing
barriers to people. There are people who might pick up an ecigarette and say ‘I can use this in places where I can’t smoke
or it’s much cheaper’ or ‘I might try it for the convenience or
the cost,’ but we find a huge number of people wind up staying with the e-cigarette because they are feeling better and it’s
enjoyable. It’s not just a poor substitute to smoking.
VAPE News: Can you tell us more about CASAA?
Woessner: We are fighting for our rights as consumers. We’re
not fighting for the industry; we’re fighting for ourselves. We
forge our own path and work cooperatively with other organizations, but we aren’t an industry organization. What we’ve
done with a shoestring budget is pretty remarkable. If the FDA
actually finalizes the regulations in any kind of form that looks
like what it looks now, we’re going to file a lawsuit. Hopefully it
won’t come to that. Hopefully if there’s a shred of compassion
in the government it won’t destroy the industry.
Woessner: The first one is of course the FDA proposed regulations. That is a big one. It’s something that’s not going to happen immediately. They are going to go through a process, and
it’s going to be a few years before we feel the negative effects.
That’s a few years down the road, but now is the time for us to
be dealing with it proactively. If we wait to see what the FDA
does it will be too late. We are working on an action plan; we
are putting out calls of action to inform legislators. We need a
solution coming from congress. A lot of people don’t seem to
realize how grave it is—how it’s written. It’s death by paperwork. It will remove everybody but tobacco companies.
The second biggest issue is getting vapers involved in advocacy.
I think sometimes it’s not seen as a whole lot of fun, and people
want something so easy, to sign a petition. Unfortunately if
it’s super easy it’s probably not terribly effective. I want to get
people engaged and tell them how they can advocate for ecigarettes in their life in ways that don’t take up a whole lot of
time. It’s got to be more than just a form letter.
The third issue is that we’re being buried with state and local
legislation. There is definitely a huge public perception problem.
These legislators keep insisting that these products are industry
owned by tobacco companies. I keep trying to explain that the
tobacco companies are Johnny-come-latelys. The way it gets
set up is that it favors the tobacco companies, so that legislators are fighting tobacco companies in a way that it’s handing it
over to them.
VAPE News: The ECC panel gave so many great tips for how
consumers should handle themselves with legislators, during
meetings, how to get involved, etc. Do you have any personal
advice you’d like to give that goes beyond that?
Woessner: Etiquette-wise in terms of being out socially, people
should be polite and respectful. Sometimes the first time that
someone comes across a vaper, it may be you. What someone
sees in vaping for the first time may in large part be because
of you. In addition to being polite it’s your opportunity to be a
vaping ambassador of sorts and engage in conversation. Realize
that the people who are bystanders, what they know is by large
part is what they see in the media. For the most part it’s been
bad information. For them, what they see, it may be upsetting
because they think it’s damaging or harmful to them. We want
to encourage positive conversation. Just be aware.
When we attend hearings advocating for our rights, letting officials know that we are vapers and we vote, it is important to
show respect. Dress in at least business casual. When I’m trying to be respectful to someone else I look at what would that
person feel is respectful.
VAPE News: What’s your ideal outcome for the vaping industry?
Woessner: I’m an advocate, so my ideal would be that the
FDA realizes that it can’t possibly regulate us in the fashion that
it’s trying to do and congress would have some good legislation that’s good for consumers. Quality assurance, childproof
packaging, and that we are allowed to use these and recognized
as a low risk alternative to smoking. Oh and variety, I like my
variety. I like my bubble gum.
VAPE News: There are so many issues with legislation and
vaping right now. Name the top three things that are perhaps
the most worrisome to you right now.
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Photos by Roy Doug Dreibelbis
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I’m a Oklahoma girl, but I live in Nebraska, an area filled with
corn fields and small towns, where it would come as no surprise
that if you had asked me anything about vaping more than
about a year and a half ago, I could honestly tell you that I’d
never even heard of such a thing. As far as e-cigs went, all I
really knew of them were the cheap ones that were sold at the
local gas stations.
About half a year ago, when I was approached with the opportunity to help found an e-cig store, I knew a little about the topic, but decided to do a little bit of research first. What I found
changed entirely the way that I look at smoking and vaping. I
realized then that through this store, we could create so much
more than just another place that sells e-cig supplies. We could
change the way e-cig and vaping stores were viewed.
In the beginning I had a tough time with people leasing me a
nice building because they wouldn’t lease to vape stores in the
nicer, more upscale areas. I think their view of vape stores was
that they were these dumpy old cig shacks that they were used
to seeing on every corner. My vision was to create an upscale
place to vape and to buy top of the line e-cig products. I also
wanted to show people that vaping isn’t something you have to
do out back by the trash bin in a little designated section like
smokers have to do with cigarettes nowadays.
Vaping isn’t so much something you do, but it has become it’s
own sort of lifestyle. Whether you’re looking to a healthier life
by quitting smoking with a simple starter kit, or an enthusiast who can spend hours working on building the perfect coil
setup in your newest mod, or anywhere in-between, vaping fits
numerous lifestyles. I quickly
saw just how appealing this
lifestyle is. In a few short
years, I went from barely
knowing a thing about e-cigs
and vaping to being a partner
in owning a few e-cig and
vape stores.
The key to our stores is
simple: we don’t aim to sell
somebody a product, we
aim to promote a lifestyle,
a healthier choice. Where
instead of coming home
smelling like an ashtray and
smoke, you smell like pina
colada, mocha, cinnamon or
mint chips. Yes the e-juice smells that good! My favorite e-juice
is Backstage Blends Metal Milk.
A lot of people are still unsure about what vaping is. I want to
change that. That’s also why I decided to create the Vi Vape
Girls for promo events to help vaping get noticed more. Our
stores have the chill vibe of a lounge. It even has it in our
name, “Vi E-cig and Vape Lounge.” It is a place that allows
those who vape to kick back, relax and sample flavors, as
well as to socialize with others in the vaping community and
to exchange ideas. It is for the starters to the extremists, and
everybody in between and beyond. Like I said, from everyone
from those who may be completely new to vaping, as I was not
so long ago, to those who view it as I do now, a lifestyle, we all
have one thing in common, and it’s the love to vape.
-Vape on, my friends.
Candy
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