TIMBERS LEAN ON BORN LEADER — SEE SPORTS, B8 PortlandTribuneTHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2013 • WWW.PORTLANDTRIBUNE.COMn d T r i b •u PUBLISHEDn THURSDAYe #raking in ■ Debate swirls about safety, public health effects of nicotine trend the bucks with good reviews Online praise is a game-changer for hospitality industry By Peter Korn The Tribune There came a point where Chris Ideson knew he had to jump on board or get left behind. Ben Arboleda Ideson is vice president of blows a cloud operations for Restaurants Unlimited, which owns 18 of vapor into Portland-area restaurants, in- his hand after cluding Stanford’s, Portland taking a puff City Grill and Newport Bay. from his For years, his marketing in- cluded advertising, of course, electronic and secret shoppers who were cigarette at paid to eat at escape vapor the company’s Lounge. e-cigs “People are restaurants helped Arboleda and report more likely back about quit smoking to believe the experi- cigarettes. comments ence. But in the from Yelp last few years, e-cigs sPArK or Facebook Ideson has or any seen social media take on social media a steadily in- reviews creasing role in defi ning his BUrning than they restaurants to would any the public. advertising Customers were posting in a reviews both QUestions magazine positive and or on a derogatory on here’s something in the cigs” is growing swiftly here and Yelp, TripAd- air at Escape Vapor around the world, and many predict billboard.” visor, Google Lounge and it’s not ciga- they’ll eventually surpass regular — chris ideson, and others. T rette smoke. cigarettes in popularity. restaurants More impor- Clouds of fruity vapors fill the E-cigs can be cheaper and come in Unlimited vice tant, potential room, from customers puffing on alluring fl avors like hazelnut, mango, president of new custom- electronic cigarettes that deliver peanut butter, strawberry, coffee and operations ers were in- mists of nicotine- chocolate. Perhaps creasingly de- laced liquid into their Story by Steve Law more importantly, pending on lungs. Some custom- some of the “vapers” those postings before deciding ers hover near a dis- Photos by Jonathan House at Escape Vapor where to eat. play case to check out Lounge say e-cigs According to one recent sur- the latest electronic cigarette mod- helped them quit smoking cigarettes. vey of smartphone owners, res- els — essentially battery-operated Matt Freeman, a 38-year-old from taurants are the single most- nicotine delivery devices — while Portland, says he started smoking at often searched business. Three others sample liquid “juices” used age 15 and had been trying to quit out of four phone owners to add nicotine and fl avor. for 10 years. After a month of vap- choose a restaurant based on Escape Vapor Lounge, on North- ing, Freeman says he lost the desire search results, and 84 percent east 82nd Avenue near Madison to smoke, and now fi nds the smell of look at more than one restau- Ben Arboleda concocts his own fl avored A battery-operated coil inside the e-cig High School, could be the fi rst of cigarettes repulsive. rant online before deciding “juice” to use in his e-cigs, such as his crazy heats up liquid juice that enables the user many “vaping parlors” in Portland. where to go. dutch blend. to inhale the fl avored nicotine. Use of electronic cigarettes or “e- see e-cigs / Page 2 “We recognized this was blowing up,” Ideson says. “Peo- ple are more likely to believe comments from Yelp or Face- book or any social media re- views than they would any ad vertising in a magazine or on a billboard.” Little Boxes, big sales, huge plans The impact of social media see sociAL MediA / Page 9 city’s small retailers hope to en- Local stores’ two-day tice shoppers to patronize the spielwerk toys event counters Black city’s “Little Boxes” — locally owner stacee owned small shops — instead of wion shows off a Friday, touts quality the big-box stores on Black Fri- quality-made bow day and Black Saturday, Nov. 29 and arrow set, By JenniFer Anderson and 30. made by Portland The Tribune Nearly 200 Portland business- woodworker es are participating this year, up Brendan Budge. Next week, a large number from 170 last year and 90 the the north williams of us will — either eagerly or year before. shop and others grudgingly — take part in the Shoppers can explore any of participating in mob scene of holiday shop- the 16 neighborhood shopping Little Boxes sell ping known as Black Friday. districts across the city: Alberta, unique goods, many triBUne PHoto: JAiMe vALdeZ Heading out to stores for big Beaumont, Broadway/Holly- of them made locally Portland city grill downtown, sales the day after Thanksgiv- wood, Division/Clinton, down- owned by seattle-based ing has become a national ob- town/West End, East Burnside, and others procured restaurants Unlimited, is one of session, with some stores an- Hawthorne/Belmont, Kenton, from around the the fi rst local eateries to make nouncing they’ll open their Mississippi/Williams, Montavil- globe. organizers use of a reputation management doors at dinnertime on Thanks- la, Multnomah Village, North hope for a big “shop fi rm to help it decipher and giving. Portland, Northwest Portland, local” turnout. respond to internet posts on sites Portland has a better way. triBUne PHoto: such as Yelp and tripAdvisor. For the third year in a row, the see LittLe BoXes / Page 11 JAiMe vALdeZ “Pamplin Media Group’s pledge is to Portland Tribune deliver balanced news that refl ects the UPSTART MUSICIANS STAR IN SOUNDCHECK stories of our communities. Thank you — SEE PORTLAND LIFE, B1 for reading our newspapers.” Inside — DR. ROBERT B. PAMPLIN JR. OWNER & NEIGHBOR On view at: October 10, 2013 – January 5, 2014 www.omsi.edu/sherlock National Sponsor: Major Sponsors: Supporting Sponsors: The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes was developed by Exhibits Development Group and Geoffrey M. Curley + Associates in collaboration with the Conan Doyle Estate Limited, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and the Museum of London 448929.100213 A2 NEWS The Portland Tribune Thursday, November 21, 2013 E-cigs: Regulators unsure how far to go ■ From page 1 Rising e-cig use “I’m still addicted to the nico- ■ 5.2 percent of Oregon 11th- tine,” Freeman says. But his graders reported using electronic health has improved now that cigarettes* in the prior month, in he’s not inhaling all that tar, car- an 2013 survey bon monoxide and other ciga- That’s up from 1.8 percent rette additives into his lungs. in 2011 ■ “I can taste food,” he says. “I 1.8 percent of Oregon eighth- can exercise. I don’t smell like graders used e-cigs* in the prior month, in the 2013 survey cigarettes.” That’s up from 1.3 percent Friends say he smells like in 2011 cookies. ■ Nationally, 1.8 million middle But the rapid spread of e-cigs schoolers and high schoolers — alarms public health experts, 10 percent of them — tried e-cigs who fear they could undo gains in 2012 from the decades-old battle to That’s up from 4.7 percent reduce smoking in this country. in 2011 So far, governments of all lev- ■ Nationally 23.3 percent of els have been slow to respond, high schoolers regularly used leaving e-cigs unregulated tobacco in 2012 while Big Tobacco companies Most common forms: cigarettes 14 percent; cigars 12.6 percent; move in to dominate the fl edg- smokeless 6.4 percent; hookahs ling industry. 5.4 percent; pipes 4.5 percent; In Oregon, there’s no mini- e-cigs 2.8 percent mum age to buy e-cigs. They’re ■ Nationally, 6.7 percent of not taxed, making them cheap- middle schoolers regularly used er than cigarettes and other to- tobacco in 2012 bacco. They don’t fall within Most common forms: cigarettes the Oregon Indoor Clean Air 3.5 percent; cigars 2.8 percent; Act, so people can vape indoors pipes 1.8 percent; smokeless 1.7 unless it’s barred by the prop- percent; hookahs 1.3 percent; e-cigs 1.1 percent erty owner. *Question was expanded in 2013 Some say that’s a recipe for TRIBUNE PHOTOS: JONATHAN HOUSE tobacco companies to attract a to include newer electronic cigars Smoke ‘N Vape salesman Mark Pittman lets customers try out some of the dozens of fl avors (at right) available for e-cigs. Pittman predicts and electronic hookahs new generation of customers at cigarettes will “go the way of the dinosaurs.” a time when cigarette smoking Sources: Oregon Health Authority, is declining. Centers for Disease Control and “It’s going to be a Franken- people can buy juices with dif- ing bans, that could lead to more Prevention stein monster,” says state Rep. ferent levels of nicotine, using it addicts, not less, he says. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, as a way to gradually get off “It’s sort of a public-health the Oregon Legislature’s lead- smoking and nicotine entirely. policy conundrum,” says Dr. ing anti-tobacco voice. “They can start at 24 milligrams Don Austin, a trained doctor of cigarettes. But now they are “I think the frightening part is of nicotine and work all their and professor emeritus at the going all-in. young people can be addicted,” way down to zero,” she says. Department of Public Health Lorillard Tobacco Co., which Tomei says. “People who smoke “It’s kind of like the patch.” at Oregon Health & Science makes Kent, Newport and other cigarettes now, they wouldn’t be University.