Health concerns or no, a culture has sprouted up around vaping—to the derision of many. A sample headline for a post on The Awl from December 2013: “Fake Smokers Insist On Fake Word For Fake Smoking.”
There are many different kinds of vapists, but my favorite—and the kind that was most in attendance at a recent Vape League convention in the ‘burbs—is the “vape bro.” Perhaps you’ve seen them around DePaul?
They’re similar to a regular bro—shorts, tank or muscle tee (it is summer, after all); white socks in New Balances; one of those tiny drawstring backpacks—but they’re the kind of person who would go to a consumer vaping convention all the way up in Rosemont. The peak of vape bro-ness is a post on the viral content website BroBible
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, titled “Bros For Life? Florida Man Allegedly Vapes Friend’s Semen On Camera.” Or maybe it’s Brodist, an app that’s like a Tinder for straight vape bros trying to connect with each other. Or maybe it’s the vape pen company Vape Bros.Of all the flavors of e-juice I tried at the Vape League, one was completely unrepresented: marijuana. Vaping weed has been popular with stoners since the late ’80s, and with public attitudes toward marijuana relaxing, its popularity will only grow. Snoop Dogg even has his own line of vape pens.
While there are plenty of weed-only conventions throughout the U.S., it may be some time before most Chicagoans will be able to vape legally at a convention; though Illinois is in the midst of launching a four-year medical marijuana pilot program, it comes with some of the strictest rules in the country. As of May, only 2,300 Illinoisans had medical cards.
Some vapers have become so wary of government regulation of their e-juice that they are running for office to stop it. Liam Bryan, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the UK’s last general election as part of the Vapers in Power Party, told London’s Daily Mirror in March, “Our chances of getting elected are nonexistent. We hope our chances of fighting the e-cig laws are slightly higher.” He ended up receiving 49 votes.
Sam Stecklow is a RedEye contributor.