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Another new business has opened up on downtown Bangs Avenue.

Evaporate Lounge caters to the growing subculture of e-cigarette users, or “vapers,” since what they inhale is a vaporized mixture of food-grade flavorings combined with propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine rather than the combustible ingredients traditional tobacco products.

Many vapers, including store owners Chris Cook and Irina Gasperian [shown above, respectively] are former “traditional” cigarette smokers that have switched over to vaping with the battery powered units, viewing the practice as a more healthy option than smoking regular tobacco products.

The vaporized mixture, called “e-juice,” is nicotine optional. Users can add nicotine doses up to 24 milligrams and wean themselves off, gradually reducing the amount of nicotine they add to their e-juice in 6 milligram increments over time until they reach zero, Cook said. Heavy smokers who have made the switch to vaping tend to prefer the tobacco flavored juices while others tend to lean towards the coffee or fruit flavors, he said.

Gasperian’s favorite e-juice “Honey Do” offers the sweet fruit flavored taste of the honeydew melon. Other flavors the store carries offer tastes similar to orange creamsicles and pomegranates, and one a mixture of Belgian waffles and wild berries.

 

Evaporate is equipped with a tasting bar that was custom built by Cook and Gasperian, tables, lounge chairs and a relaxed vibe where customers are invited to sample the e-juices they carry from brands Uncle Junk’s, Halo and Prescription Vapor. Bottles of the juices are priced between $10 and $13.50. The store also carries batteries, tanks, liquids and accessories that accommodate a wide range of prices, with full kits starting at $29.99 and more high end collectible devices priced around $350. Charging stations allow customers to power up their units in-store if need be.

The two are also working with the city on approvals to add an outside seating are in the front of the store.

Whereas the vaping movement began with e-cigarettes that mimicked the look and taste of traditional cigarettes and were largely sold in gas stations and convenience stores, the industry has grown into a collective of hobbyists who customize their own units, trading tips and insight into how to beef up their own “mods,” Cook said.

Although the store has just opened within the past week, it has amassed a group of regulars rather quickly, including local business owners who have made the switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping and hobbyists who sit, chat and work on customizing their units on-site, Gasperian said.

A little over a year ago, former smoker-turned-vape hobbyist Josh Gladden [shown at right, building a twisted duel coil for his mod] traded his pack of cigarettes for a vaporizer and hasn’t looked back since. Whereas he was once winded after climbing three sets of stair to get into his apartment, he noticed that stopped about a month after he started vaping. He credits his new hobby with not only giving him a healthier way to satisfy his desire to smoke, but as a way to break social barriers between people he may not have otherwise associated with, he said.

“It’s taken some of the walls down and opened up my core group of friends, so that’s cool,” he said while sitting in the store working on his mod. “It [vaping] went from being a cigarette alternative to a hobby really quickly.”

Looking to make the most out of the new hobbyists niche, the two will host monthly vape meetups in the store so enthusiasts can hang out together to share information and ideas about the growing industry — including the politics.

Potential long-term health risks associated with vaping are unknown and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has its eye on the industry, proposing a rule that would widen the agency’s scope of authority to include goods that meet the legal definition of a tobacco product, such as e-cigarettes. Currently, the FDA Center for Tobacco Products regulates the use and sale of cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, roll-your-own tobacco, and smokeless tobacco, according to the FDA website.

Evaporate Lounge is located at 611 Bangs Avenue. Store hours, subject to change, are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday – Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Customers must carry valid proof of I.D. and be 19 years of age or older to enter.

For more information, call 732-455-8277 or visit the shop’s Facebook page.

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