The Vape Loft is encouraging healthier lifestyles within the community

By Bethany Adams, For the Tribune

TRUSSVILLE — With everything from textbooks to board games going digital, it seems like nothing is escaping the e-revolution. But one innovation that has come as a result of the digital movement could mean a healthier lifestyle for some people, and one local business is here to help spread the word.

Kenneth Sundberg runs the Vape Loft on Gadsden Highway, one of a handful of locations across Central Alabama, and he has experienced first-hand the effect that e-cigarettes can have.

“I smoked for 10 years,” Sundberg said. “I was a customer for probably about eight months, and then I finally got hired on and I’ve been with [the Vape Loft] ever since.”

The Vape Loft’s Trussville location opened three years ago, and the store now offers a wide range of e-cigarette products.

“Mainly, our goal here is to get people off of cigarettes and give them a healthier alternative to smoking,” Sundberg said. “I have probably over… 200 customers that quit smoking.”

Photo by Bethany Adams

While the health benefits of e-cigarettes are still being studied, Sundberg explained that the “e-juice” used in vape devices usually contains only four chemicals: vegetable glycerin, propylene glycol, nicotine and flavoring.

E-cigarettes also allow users, to an extent, to control the level of nicotine they are taking in.

“We have different levels of nicotine,” Sundberg explained. “Most of our premium juices are at three and six milligrams, but we do have some other brands that go all the way up to 18.”

In addition to the benefit of switching to a healthier option, Sundberg explained that some customers have come to them for job-related reasons.

“If you’re working in sales or something, you don’t want to smell like a cigarette,” Sundberg said. Additionally, some users turn to e-cigarettes simply for the taste, or as an alternative to calorie-heavy sweets.

All of the e-juice options sold at the Vape Loft are USA-made, and the store even provides a handful of local products made in places like Oxford and Moody. And another thing that the Vape Loft offers customers?

“Great customer service,” Sundberg said. “I’ve been to a lot of vape shops in Jefferson County and in the whole state, and one thing that’s kind of hard to find is a friendly atmosphere.” He said that the staff at the Vape Loft works to provide just that for the community.

Most importantly, Sundberg hopes that the business will offer community members a chance to be a little healthier and a little happier.

“I love my job,” he said. “I love helping people try to find something better than just smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. It’s better on people’s kids and just overall better for their health.”

Whether or not the machines ever decide to take over, some digital advancements are already changing lives. In Trussville, the staff at the Vape Loft hope to help the community make healthier choices, one customer at a time.

Vape Loft is located at 1483 on Gadsden Highway and open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call the store at 527-6986.