Billionaire Phillip Frost invests in e-cigarette company Vaped Magazine

Billionaire Dr. Phillip Frost made his fortune treating diseases, but now he’s an investor in an e-cigarette company.

Frost owns 10.8 percent of Miami-based Vaporin (OTCBB: VAPO), which operates out of the same building as his company Opko Health, according to SEC documents filed in August.

, which distributes and markets e-cigarettes and vaporizers, announced last week that it raised $880,000 from investors to acquire The Vape Store, which operates four locations on Florida’s West Coast.

The company has earned about $600,000 so far this year, according to an investor release. Vaporin recently rolled out e-cigarette vending machines and will sell its vaporizers to marijuana dispensaries in California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon.

The health effects of e-cigarettes are still unclear. Earlier this month, the American Lung Association asked the Food and Drug Administration to hurry its oversight of vaping products, and the World Health Organization called for a ban on their public use.

Frost, whose net worth is nearly $4 billion, recently led an investment in a Jacksonville drone company.

Source: South Florida Business Journal