New shop brings ‘vaping’ to Nogales

An e-cigarette shop opened its doors in Nogales, offering local residents the chance to join a nationwide trend of “vaping.”

On Thursday afternoon, Nogales resident Lizette Andrade, 23, stopped by the Sin Humo vapor lounge, which opened downtown on Jan. 21 at the former home of La Michoacana on Grand Avenue.

“It’s cleaner. You don’t smell like the regular tobacco,” Andrade said of the devices, adding “regular cigarettes have all kinds of poisons” and are more expensive than e-cigarettes.

Proponents of e-cigarettes, which use a battery to heat a nicotine-infused liquid, tout the device as a way to reduce the harm caused by tobacco smoke and even help smokers kick the habit. However, the jury is still out in the public health community, which so far has given only cautious support for the devices.

Sin Humo sells vials of nicotine-infused liquid for $15, which 21-year-old co-owner Juan Aguirre said was equivalent to about 30 packs of cigarettes. “Even buying duty-free, you’re not going to get anywhere close to that price,” he said.

Aguirre said he replaced his half-a-pack-a-day smoking habit with e-cigarettes, which spurred him to open the vapor lounge, so named because of the vapor that is exhaled after taking a pull from the devices.

“It’s not a sacrifice and it’s easier and more enjoyable. You can make it taste like whatever you want it to,” he said.

Aguirre offers free tastings from 27 different flavors, including blueberry, strawberry, and tobacco.

The liquid in the e-cigarettes sold at Sin Humo contains a mix of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, Aguirre said.

Propylene glycol is used as a solvent for food colors and flavors, in the production of polyester materials, and in the fog used in theatrical productions, among other uses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vegetable glycerin is used as a dietary supplement and in medications and is sold over the counter at drug stores and Wal-Mart.

Ongoing debate

The debate over the possible health risks of e-cigarettes is far from settled, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stating in a Jan. 10 news release that it has not yet fully studied the potential risks.

Under Arizona state law, it is illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors, and both New York and Chicago recently banned using e-cigarettes in public places.

At the same time, two sociomedical sciences professors from Columbia University wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on Dec. 8, 2013 citing research that suggests e-cigarettes could be useful in reducing the harm caused by smoking and in helping smokers quit.

They ended their comments by saying: “If e-cigarettes can reduce, even slightly, the blight of six million tobacco-related deaths a year, trying to force them out of sight is counterproductive.”

While the jury is out on the effects of inhaling the vapor, e-cigarettes pose a unique risk not encountered with cigarettes: the danger of nicotine poisoning by swallowing the liquid or spilling it on skin.

In 2013, the Banner Good Samaritan Poison & Drug Information Center in Phoenix received 24 calls about nicotine exposure from e-cigarettes, up from 10 calls in 2012, according to a recent report by Cronkite News. So far in 2014, the center has received six calls, four of which involved children.