Hallandale’s Vapor Shark evolves into Elevate Smoke Shop

“We have the credibility and trust from consumers after our many years in the market delivering high-quality products and service,” says proprietor Geo Tejada. “We specialize in what we do and focus on excellent products, product knowledge, and customer service.

“We know all of the alternatives to smoking cigarettes, so we can help our customers to transition to a product that is more beneficial to their smoking experience.”

Also, as the laws governing smoking have changed, placing an online order for smoking products has become more complicated. “Lawmakers don’t want these products to end up in the hands of minors,” Tejada says. “The new laws force you to come to a reputable store, where the salesperson can check your identification, to make sure these products and devices are being sold only to responsible adults.

“At Vapor Shark, we follow the rules for what is being done ethically and correctly in the marketplace. A lot of mom-and-pop smoke shops will help anybody who walks in. We don’t do that.”

Today, the 1,500 sq. ft. establishment is a smoker’s version of the proverbial “kid in a candy store,” filled with displays for all kinds of tobacco and alternative products. Here is an overview:

E-cigarettes
Electronic cigarettes were developed as an alternative to smoking tobacco. They eliminate the tars and other byproducts found in tobacco smoke, and in this sense, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant, if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.”

E-cigarettes are vapor products. They consist of a battery-powered heating element and a tank holding a liquid “juice.” When heated, the juice forms an aerosol that the user inhales. The juice contains nicotine, the primary addictive ingredient in tobacco. Other ingredients in the vapor may include propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and a flavoring agent.

“The level of nicotine in the juice ranges from 0 to 50 percent,” Tejada says. “This helps smokers switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping and gradually reduce their nicotine consumption.” Vapor Shark offers a wide variety of vaping devices and juices.

Fumes
Fumes are disposable electronic cigarette devices. They come with a built-in battery, coils and filters that don’t need changing and a supply of flavored e-juice. “You buy it for the flavor, use it for 1,000 to 2,500 puffs, then dispose of it and buy a different flavor,” Tejada says.

Some of Vapor Shark’s most popular flavors are cool mint, grape, mango, melon ice, piña colada, and strawberry banana. Also available is “Cuban tobacco” flavor, which doesn’t come from Cuba. “That would be illegal,” Tejada emphasizes.

Hookahs
A hookah (water pipe) is a glass or plastic vase topped with a bowl where tobacco or some other substance, called shisha, is burned. The smoke passes through water in the vase and then into a hose on which the smoker sucks.

Shisha may be a combination of flavored tobacco with a molasses base, or some tobacco-free herbal preparation, plus charcoal to create the combustion, Tejada explains. Shisha flavors span a broad range, including fruit, mint, spice, vegetable combinations and different kinds of tobacco with varying strengths of nicotine (or none at all). Vapor Shark sells a complete line of hookahs and supplies, including the pipes themselves in a variety of sizes, shapes and a vast array of smoking options.

Pipes
Unless you’re watching a Sherlock Holmes movie, you may not see many old-style pipes these days, but they’re still around. Vapor Shark sells an assortment of wooden and glass pipes. They come in different sizes and shapes. You pack the bowl with tobacco and light it directly with a match or lighter. The shop also sells multiple flavors and strains of pipe tobacco. These pipes also can be used to smoke hemp flowers.

Roll-your-own cigarettes
The paper on commercially manufactured cigarettes may contain many impurities that affect the flavor of the product. As a result, some smokers prefer to roll their own cigarettes. Vapor Shark sells unrefined hemp rolling papers with no chemical additives - just the purest natural fibers of organic hemp. So what do you roll in these papers? Choose from a variety of high-quality tobacco leaves or hemp flowers.

Vapor Shark has three convenient locations - the one in Hallandale Beach, and two others in Hialeah. All are open from 10 AM to 10 PM daily:

730 W Hallandale Beach Blvd., Unit 107
Hallandale Beach, FL 33009
Phone: 954-210-8921

2794 W 68th St., unit 108 Hialeah FL 33016
Phone: 305-503-0150

459 E 49th St. Hialeah FL 33013
Phone: 786-636-1643