5 Vaping Stores Opened in Cary. Why?
Cary, NC — At least five new vaping stores opened recently in Cary. We decided to learn more about this “trend” and answer the big question – is it really healthier than smoking?
The “Vaping” Trend
At CaryCitizen, we pay a lot of attention to what businesses are opening around town. A couple of years ago, self-serve frozen yogurt shops were opening left and right. This year, we’ve noticed a lot of fast-casual burger and pizza joints popping up around town.
Right now, the trend is vaping stores for “e-cig” or electronic cigarette users.
What is Vaping?
We looked to vapersoul.com to learn more about vaping.
The source explains that vaping is “the act of inhaling e-liquid through a personal vaporizer, the tobacco-free version of the original cigarette.”
How It Works
This vaporizer or “e-cigarette” is a battery-powered, handheld device. The battery powers the atomizer which heats the e-liquid and creates vapor for the user to inhale.
E-liquid is made up of propylene glycol (PG), vegetable glycerin (VG) or both. Unlike cigarettes, e-liquids don’t contain tobacco, but, based on the user’s preference, they can contain nicotine. The liquids are combined with natural or artificial flavors to create flavors like cinnamon, cotton candy, vanilla, blueberry cheesecake, buttered popcorn, raspberry and more.
Is Vaping Safe?
Many are worried that vaping’s interesting flavors and popular endorsements make the practice more appealing to people. WebMD summarizes it as, “If you don’t smoke, don’t start vaping. There are no health benefits and some risks.”
E-Liquids Aren’t Regulated
There’s also a lot of talk that the chemicals found in e-liquids can be harmful, but multiple sources confirmed that the main ingredients, PG and VG, are non-toxic and recognized as safe by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nicotine is never called safe.
It’s important to note that e-liquids and vaping aren’t yet regulated by any governmental authority, although AEMSA, the American E-Liquid Manufacturing Standards Association, was created in 2012 to regulate the manufacture and distribution of American-made e-liquids.
E-liquid manufacturers aren’t required to be certified by AEMSA to make and sell their products, but many choose to. The certification consists of an application and review process along with various evaluations, amendments, scheduled and unscheduled inspections and more.
Many manufactures make their own liquids on-site, and some mix special flavor combinations for customers. Cary’s The Vape Escape on Maynard Road, for example, offers 87 flavors of AEMSA certified e-liquids that are mixed to your personal specifications on-site as ordered.
Some other vaping stores in Cary include The Juice Vapeorium (Chapel Hill Road), Avail Vapor (Kildaire Farm Road) and E Cigs Cary and The Vapor Society (Harrison Avenue).
Vaping vs. Smoking Cigarettes
I know several former-smokers who have switched over to vaping. From what I’ve heard, people like the distinct flavors and not having to worry about secondhand smoke.
But is vaping really the better option?
Most e-liquids contain nicotine, so they’re addictive, but evidence suggests that e-cigarettes may be safer than regular cigarettes. According to WebMD, “The biggest danger from tobacco is the smoke, and e-cigarettes don’t burn. Tests show the levels of dangerous chemicals they give off are a fraction of what you’d get from a real cigarette.”
Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University’s School of Public Health, said:
Obviously, it would be best if smokers could quit completely. But if that’s not possible, I think they’d be a lot better off with e-cigarettes. They’re a safer alternative.
Can Vaping Help People Quit Smoking?
It’s true that vaping has been widely advertised as a better alternative to smoking. It is also advertised as a way to help current smokers quit smoking altogether.
According to vapersoul.com, “e-liquid comes packed in different nicotine strengths categorized in milligrams: ultra-light (6mg), medium (12mg), regular (18mg), and strong (24mg). There are e-liquids that contains no nicotine for those who just want to vape minus the nicotine hit.”
The idea is that current smokers who are trying to quit can gradually work their way down in nicotine levels until they are no longer addicted.
What Do You Know About Vaping?
Are you a “vaper?” What is your experience with vaping? Comment below and let us know.
Story References:
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Story by Jessica Patrick. Photo by Vaping360.
I agree with everything the first 2 posters said. Smoked for 36 years, never would have quit and, thanks to fruit and candy flavors and a device NOT brought to me by Big Tobacco, I have now been smoke free for over 19 months and will not be going back to smoking.
All the wrong people make too much money from the sale and use of cigarettes, and this has got to stop. The liars should be held accountable for all the lives they ruin….and I don’t mean Big Tobacco. I mean Tobacco, now earnestly pretending to be, Nicotine Control. Vaping has already solved the problem they have been pretending to solve, willing adult smokers are transitioning away from nicotine at no cost to the taxpayer, and with no help from them.
But nothing succeeds like a good idea whose time has come, and vaping won’t be stopped. But if the dinosaurs in public health and all their scads of blood money prevail, they WILL succeed in driving vaping underground. And that would be just wrong.
Nicotine has been sold over the counter in gum and patches for 18 years. Apparently, by itself it’s not very addictive to people who never smoked. The percent of nic in consumer liquid isn’t very important. If you start to take in more than you’re comfortable with you notice and stop.
There is no evidence that regulation is needed. Where are the reports of doctors treating illnesses caused by using EC (ecigs)? The real purpose of regulations is to interfere with access to the products so kids will start smoking and smokers will keep smoking. Governments world wide collect around half a trillion dollars a year in taxes. That’s easy money. Hard for corrupt governments to give up.
Almost all jurisdictions have laws banning possession of EC by kids. Those laws are never ever enforced anywhere. Until they are government should have no authority to limit access to ecigs. Letting governments become drug dealers was a very bad idea. If there were no excise taxes on tobacco public health people would love ecigs and the inventor would get the Nobel prize in medicine.
I quit a 40 year, 3-pack-a-day habit a year and a half ago by switching to e-cigarettes. Prior to that, I’d spent decades and literally thousands of dollars trying everything from hypnosis to Chantix. Nothing the Medical Establishment had to offer worked.
Here’s my experience so far:
In the first month, I coughed up a lot of phlegm — some of which may have been sitting in my lungs for years. Also, my breathing began to improve.
As my lungs cleared, my energy went through the roof because my blood was no longer laden with carbon monoxide. This energy boost backed off a bit and normalized over time as my body made fewer red blood cells because it no longer had to compensate for the lack of oxygen. I still have much more energy than I had during the last ten years of smoking.
At around 3 months, I noticed that my lungs were regaining their elasticity. I could breathe in more deeply and expel air more thoroughly than I had in decades. This has continued to improve over time.
Four months in, a doctor — who did not know my smoking history — listened to my lungs and said they sounded good. I told him I’d been a long term, heavy smoker just a few months prior with all the signs of COPD, and he was amazed.
My ability to do strenuous work without getting winded just keeps improving.
Several months ago, I had to start REDUCING the nicotine level in my e-juice because its effect had become too strong. I’m currently at around 2/3 the level I started at and expect to have to lower it further over time.
My story is not unique. There are many vapers who would paint a similar picture.