7 Cities Vapes recently opened a store at York River Crossing Shopping Center, Hayes.

This is the company’s second store. Its owners—Mike Maculley and Duane Lassiter, both of Newport News, and Dennis Davis of Hampton—opened their first store in Hampton in May 2014. They manage the stores with eight employees that rotate between the two shops.

Maculley said he and Lassiter had tried to quit smoking cigarettes unsuccessfully on a number of occasions. They learned about vaping and purchased their first devices on the internet. Vaping is inhaling and exhaling the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device.

E-cigarettes, called mods, are much more advanced now than in their early years, Lassiter said. They have become more mainstream in 2007 after a better device was created that was more powerful and could release a stronger airflow. E-cigarettes are battery-powered, Maculley said, and more than 150 flavors are available to enhance the vaping from wick...