David Overlund has brought the “smoking of the future” to Cortez by opening Nomad Vape Shop, he said Thursday.
The shop, at 119 E. Main St., will offer vaping equipment and a variety of juice flavors, as well as oxygen bar equipment when it opens Nov. 1. Overlund, who also owns a vaping business in Virginia, said vaping is not as harmful as cigarettes because it contains no carcinogens. Overlund has known thousands of people to make the switch to vaping from smoking, including himself.
“It’s a big life change when people quit smoking,” he said. “It’s about healing.”
He hopes to help others through the transition from cigarettes. The shop’s space, formerly La Gina’s Place, features a combination of rustic nature art and futuristic lighting.
Though the vaping industry in its early days featured lower quality products, the hobby has evolved quickly in the past several years, Overlund said. Equipment is safe, juices are lab-tested for quality and producers are subject to FDA regulations, he said.
Vaping devices can alter the nicotine content to a high or low level, or with no nicotine at all, Overlund said. He said he has used all the products in his shop and tested them for quality, he said.
Nomad is offering a wide variety of vape juice flavors, with tobacco, fruit and dessert flavors. Adventurous vapers can find exotic flavors such as “fried ice cream” and “maple berry pancake.”
Overlund said he has always been a wanderer, traveling around the country in an RV. The Nomad name for his shop comes from the philosophy that Nomads live free, and those who quit smoking also can live more freely, he said.
“This is a lifestyle,” Overlund said.
