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Oxford Dictionary unveils new word of the year

Oxford Dictionary unveiled its new word of the year: vape, also known as vaping. Vaping is the action of inhaling and exhaling the vapor from an electronic ciga...

Oxford Dictionary unveiled its new word of the year: vape, also known as vaping.

Vaping is the action of inhaling and exhaling the vapor from an electronic cigarette, a trend that has been picking up over the last year.

"When we opened our first shop in 2013, we heard that 25 percent of smokers would switch over to e-cigarettes," said Jayde Tran, owner of Jayde's Vapor Lounge in Moline and in Davenport.

Tran said her customers come into the shop wanting something they perceive to be less harmful, but strong enough to quell their nicotine addiction.

"When people start vaping, they start caring about their health, about their children, and about the people around them," Tran said.

E-cigarettes may be a trend right now, but it's still controversial. Lawmakers in Washington are pushing for more regulations on the products, calling the e-cigarettes toxic, dangerous, and enticing for young adults who like the taste.

"We have about 85 flavors," said Tran. "We have the skittles flavor, cappuccino flavor, and peppermint flavor. Our top selling flavor is Captain Crunk, which tastes like a mix between Captain Crunch and berries."

Oxford said the word usage has more than doubled in the last year, using advanced technology to gauge what word people search for most.

Other word runner-ups included bae, budtender, slacktivism, and normcore.

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