Smoking vapor at Pop's Shop

A smell of candy lingered after a vapor mist emerged from the owner’s mouth and into his nostrils as he French inhaled.  

In the window sat a spinning wheel with shoes on the end, representing the idea of “kicking smoking.” In the back of the shop there was a smoking lounge, where customers can relax.

But throughout the entire shop, there wasn’t the slightest aroma of a smoked cigarette.

Owners Sandra and Troy Douthit opened Pop’s Vapor Shop in April 2014. They aimed to take advantage of the exponentially growing vapor cigarette market.

The Douthits allow customers to come into Pop’s to learn about vapor smoking and taste different flavors.  

Troy Douthit said he and his wife opened the store because so many people smoke in Libby and vapor cigarettes are an emerging market.

“We knew that there was no one here really doing it, and doing it on this level,” Douthit said. “We are kind of a niche here.”

When smoking a vapor cigarette, consumers press a button that causes a heating coil to vaporize a nicotine solution that releases vapor.

Different vials contain different levels of nicotine, similar to the way cigarettes are sold in regular, light and ultra-light. Some contain no nicotine at all.  

“I actually don’t have a problem with smoking, but this is way more fun,” Troy Douthit, who smoked for three-years before switching to vapor cigarettes, said. “I started doing this, and I still have half a pack in the car.”

The weirdest flavor Pop’s sells, said Troy Douthit, is lavender-vanilla.  

“I think people switch because it is more enjoyable,” Troy Douthit said. “You don’t stink anymore, and your sense of taste and smell come back.”

Kyle Stern, one of Pop’s customers, said his favorite flavor tastes like the energy drink Red Bull.

Stern had been smoking for a couple years before switching to vapor cigarettes four or five months ago.

“I’m going into the Air Force and I don’t want to have my lungs beat up,” Stern said. “I like it because I don’t smell like smoke for my girlfriend.”

Instead of smelling like cigarette smoke, vapor cigarettes smell like candy. For this reason, Troy Douthit said the bars in Libby are vapor-friendly.

Vapor cigarettes do not contain tobacco or formaldehyde, which results in no tar or carbon monoxide being transferred to the smoker’s lungs.

While electronic cigarettes are pitched as a potentially safer alternative to standard cigarettes, this claim has been the focus of numerous studies.

A study by the University of California San Francisco showed the amount of middle and high school students who use vapor cigarettes doubled from 2011 to 2012, and continues to grow.

The consistency of the vapor makes smoking tricks much easier.

Peter Rice, an 18-year-old high school student, said he started smoking vapor cigarettes in November with a basic setup, but now he has a “super-dope” setup.  

“I like to chill out with my friends and do smoke tricks,” Rice, whose favorite flavors are meant to taste like orange Tic-Tacs or Skittles, said. “You can kind of just smoke it forever.”

The feeling users get when inhaling is different than that of a normal cigarette.

“You’ve got something to do with your hands, and it’s a cool feeling, the inhale and the exhale,” Troy Douthit said. “Most people want the coolest looking one they can find.”

Instead of looking like a cigarette, vapor cigarettes look like space-age creations. Pop’s is trying to get one that looks like a light saber.   

“We are trying to create a new thing around here,” Troy Douthit said. “It’s baby steps, but we are busier than we had anticipated.”