This is an excellent interview\/conversation between David Plazas of the Nashville Tennessean and Dimitris Agrafiotis.\u00a0 Very proud to call Dimitris my friend.\u00a0 Very well done!<\/p>\n
The original article\/interview can be found HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dimitris Agrafiotis smoked for 23 years, unable to kick the habit despite many attempts and treatment alternatives.<\/p>\n That changed when he discovered vaping, or smoking e-cigarettes that vaporize nicotine instead of combusting it like regular cigarettes do.<\/p>\n As executive director of the\u00a0Tennessee Smoke Free Association<\/a>, he represents “mom-and-pop” vape shops and has worked on regulations as well as fighting myths and threats to their businesses.<\/p>\n Those threats include vendors that\u00a0sell products to minors<\/a>, as some of the bigger companies have done, including Juul.<\/p>\n That’s especially relevant now that a\u00a0Stanford University study<\/a>\u00a0found that teens who vaped were five times more likely to become infected by COVID-19 than those who did not.<\/p>\n Agrafiotis said his association supported a state law banning sales of e-cigarettes and vaping products to anyone under 21.<\/p>\n He also said the lung diseases caused by e-cigarettes filled with cannabis oil\u00a0caused officials nationwide unfairly to lump all vape vendors together.<\/p>\n When he is not working, Agrafiotis and his family are doing home remodeling projects and streaming programs\u00a0on Netflix, Amazon Prime\u00a0or YouTube, including “America’s Most Wanted,” “Tiger King” and “Narcos.”<\/p>\n Op-Ed by Dimitris Agrafiotis:<\/strong>Vapor products can save lives by helping smokers quit<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n