The Scenic City Vapers Club, a group of ex-smokers, is sponsoring a special meeting on Sunday (May 19) at 4 p.m. at the Fox & Hound at Hamilton Place Mall.
Dimitris Agrafiotis, owner of Portofino's Greek and Italian Restaurant in East Ridge, formed the club and he also hosts a weekly video podcast on Tobacco Harm Reduction ( http://vapeteam.com http://youtube.com/vapeteam ).
He said the unit includes "a group of ex-smokers like myself that have kicked the tobacco addiction (23 years of smoking for me) by use of a less harmful smokeless alternative>"
Mr.
Agrafiotis said, "We are ex-smokers that discovered electronic cigarettes as a less harmful alternative to tobacco. We believe in Tobacco Harm Reduction, which describes actions taken to lower the health risks associated with using tobacco or nicotine. A very important part of tobacco harm reduction is simply educating people about the risks of different sources of nicotine.
"Some electronic cigarettes (or e-cigarettes) look exactly like regular cigarettes or cigars; others look more like pens. They are battery powered, and create their effect by vaporizing nicotine which is dissolved in a solution of water and propylene glycol (which, minus the nicotine, is basically the fog that is used in fog machines). The result is something that feels somewhat like smoke in the mouth and lungs but without involving any real smoke, tobacco or combustion. This e-cigarette fog (or vapour) dissipates rapidly, and leaves little scent in the air or on clothing.
"E-smoking is almost identical to cigarette smoking. The major difference is that the e-cigarette is always 'lit'. Most of them even have an LED on the end that lights up like a cigarette ember when you draw on it. You can put it down or pick it up at any time without worrying about burning anything. It is only on when you actually draw on it. How much you smoke is related more to how many puffs you desire rather than on the length of the cigarette.
"Though we are uncertain as to how safe they are, we are fairly sure that they are safer than smoking cigarettes. Part of our certainty derives from knowing how harmful regular smoking is. Almost anything is certain to be safer and that's the principal behind tobacco harm reduction."
This is the group's event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/260987297380071/?context=create