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columns 10 13 21 23
Bodysuit: Blacklickorish latex Shoes: Vintage Thrift Neck piece: Blacklickorish Latex
24 26 30 33 92 96
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 14 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 59 64 66 71
ECC, Ontario, CA ECC Forum Vape Blast 2.0, San Antonio VIP Vape Street, Salt Lake City
DEPARTMENTS 47 49 76 98
The Juice Judge Cover Models Holiday Gift Guide VAPE Vixen, Candy Mefferd
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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 content@vapemz.com 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, mike@vapemz.com 800-958-6427 x1 Jon Laverde, jon@vapemz.com 800-958-6427 x4 China-based advertisers contact Wingle Group Electronics LTD +852 51759256 dev@winglegroup.com CONTACT News: news@vapemz.com New Products newproducts@vapemz.com Employment jobs@vapemz.com VAPE News Magazine is wholly owned by Starpixel Marketing LLC 2230 Highland Hill Dr. St. Peters, MO 63376 info@vapemz.com 800-958-6427
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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
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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: angelwritercreations@gmail.com.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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-
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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 Norm@vapemz.com. 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
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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
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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.
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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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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?
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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-
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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.
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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.”
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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
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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/.
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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.
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“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.
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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 jj@vapemz.com. 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.
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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
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Photographer Aaron Paul Rogers aaronpaulrogers.com Assistant David Damiata Models Amanda Harris amandaashleyharris.com Instagram: @amandaharrisla & Haley Brooke Lytle HaleyBrookeLytle@gmail.com Makeup and Hair Design Jessica Bronwyn Ramos Loveallartistry.com Loveallartistry@gmail.com Hair Styling Taylor Ehrisman tgehrisman@gmail.com Prosthetics Luis Vega FX Mcmfx.net Lab Work Melissa Jimenez mrs.hyde@live.com 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
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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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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.”
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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)
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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.
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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-
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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/
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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/
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TERIA
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Shop online or locate one of our retail locations at juicyvapor.com
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: wholesale@juicyvapor.com 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. Nixteria/Juicy Vapor Headquarters 37 John Glenn Drive Amherst, NY 14228 United States of America Tel: 855.52.JUICY Intl: +01.716.525.8429 juicyvapor.com
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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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