A woman smokes an electronic cigarette.
Credit: Getty Images
Smokers who have been driven outdoors (and out of public parks)finally have a refuge where they can puff away inside, legally and without judgment.
New York City’s first e-cigarette bar, the Henley Vaporium,had its grand opening on Thursday, hawking dozens of “vape”-able flavors from staples like strawberry and mango to more exotic, mysterious offerings like “Jamaican Me Crazy.”
The bar, which doesn’t serve alcohol, is fashioned after a juice bar, with a holistic focus on a healthy lifestyle that brands e-cigarettes as the hazard-free alternative to rolled tobacco.
Staffed by “vapologists” who can give expert opinions on devices and advise as to the amount of e-juice customers should try of each flavor.
“We’re the hookah bar of the now,” Henley founder Talia Eisenberg told The Week.
E-cigarette sales are booming in the United States as the quality of available products has improved and more people have bought into the idea that nicotine, unaccompanied by the chemicals in smoke, is not inherently harmful but ratherakin to caffeine. Sales have been doubling each year over the last five years, up from $20 million in 2008 to $500 million in 2012.
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