Two local siblings have opened a vapor shop in Andalusia driven by the need to help others stop smoking.

The brother and sister pair, Anthony and Hannah Carter, opened Vaporous with inspiration drawn from their maternal and paternal grandparents.

“My inspiration for the business side comes from my paternal grandparents who own Carter’s Contracting Services,” Hannah said. “My other inspiration comes from my maternal grandparents, who both died within the last month.”

She said their maternal grandmother recently lost her battle with lung cancer, and was a big inspiration for this vapor shop.

“The want for people to be healthier and enjoy life comes from my maternal grandmother,” Hannah said. “I started smoking an electronic cigarette back in August, and haven’t smoked a cigarette since.

“This is a great way and the only way I’ve found to quit smoking,” she said. “I want to help others do the same.”

Because there is not a local store, Hannah said people like her have to drive to Enterprise or Dothan, or order the electronic cigarettes and equipment online.

“It would be a lot simpler to be right here in our hometown,” Hannah said. “We want to keep it local.

“You can get the really basic ones in convenience stores, but here you can get advanced tanks and batteries, where you can adjust the voltage and the airflow, and you can try the juices before you buy them,” she said.

When cigarette smokers try to quit, she said they want to mimic the same taste or find something to replace it. She said their store provides samples of the flavored juice (liquid used in the electronic cigarette) before a purchase is made.

“This is a good way to make sure you get what you want when you pay for it,” Hannah said.

The pair opened the store on Black Friday and offered many discounts, deals and saw a good support from the community.

“We have a loyalty program and more than 30 people have already signed up for it,” Hannah said. “The ones that signed up this weekend got a deal of 40 percent off their next purchase.”

She said they would be pulling peoples names from a fishbowl every two weeks for a chance to receive a free container of juice, a $22.50 retail value.

“We’re still running a really good deal on starter kits,” Hannah said. “You get two electronic cigarettes, five replacement coils and a charger for $34.99.”

She said it costs roughly $40-50 to get started in vapor, but the cost is less than smoking cigarettes.

“You’re saving about $150 a month if you choose to use electronic cigarettes,” she said.

Ahmad Crittenden visited the store looking for e-cigs that can be modified and said he enjoys vapor because of the variety.

“I like that I can change the flavor,” Crittenden said. “I used to smoke, but hated smelling like it. I wish everyone would smoke these because it’s better for them.”

Crittenden purchased a modifiable e-cig and a fuzzy navel flavored juice, one of the many flavors currently available.

“We’re going to be continually expanding,” Hannah said. “We may have our first cloud competition in 2015, if we get people that want that. We just want to satisfy out customers.”

A cloud competition involves people blowing the biggest, densest vapor cloud from their modified e-cig.

They also have plans to make the store into a lounge type area where people can come together and vape.

Hannah said their main goal, though, is to help people quit smoking.

“We want a lot of people smoking vapor, not cigarettes,” she said.

Vaporous is located at 228 River Falls St. and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., but the hours may change after the New Year depending on what customers would prefer.

For more information, call 334-582-VAPE (8273) and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vaporousandalusia.