Electronic cigarettes didn't seem to catch on after their Twin Cities debut two years ago. But an Anoka man is betting they will now, thanks to improved technology and falling prices.
Steven Ryan opened the eCigs Shop in Anoka last month. The store specializes in and only sells electronic cigarettes.
Electronic cigarettes are tobacco-free. They don't emit an offensive odor and according to Ryan cost about one-tenth the price of the real thing.
Ryan first tried electronic cigarettes because after trying everything from acupuncture to the nicotine patch to stop smoking, he was still a two-packs-a-day smoker.
Ryan said, "This is for those people who have tried everything and they are basically stuck on cigarettes."
Newer devices come in a variety of shapes and styles. Some look like cigarettes, some like cigars, some even resemble cell phones. They are customizable, unlike Ryan says, the versions that first hit the Twin Cities a couple years ago.
