A Vaper’s Guide to E-Cig Battery Safety

When it comes to any type of electronic device, there is always a risk of fires and explosions. This is really basic science: electricity creates heat and heat creates fire. This is why electronics always come with user manuals and a list of warnings. Luckily, manufactured electronics are usually carefully developed to reduce such risks and are run through safety tests before being put on the market.

The same goes for electronic cigarettes; however, certain vaping devices allow for a high level of customization and, all but too often, inexperienced users are customizing their devices to deliver more power and more vapor without any knowledge in electrical engineering or how batteries work. These customizable vaping devices are known as “Mods” or Advanced Personal Vaporizers (APVs) and are almost always powered by the more dangerous lithium-ion batteries.

If you are using a lithium-ion powered device, there is no need to panic; however, you do need to do your due diligence to ensure that you are using your e-cigarette in a safe manner.

Select the right battery. If you are using an e-cigarette that does not have a built-in battery, you will be required to buy your own. Do some research to make sure you get the right one. Do you know what battery ratings are? Do you understand milliamp hours or the difference between an ICR or IMR battery? No? Well then you got some work to do. Fear not though: there are ample resources online and you can always walk into a vape shop for some direction.Invest in a good charger. Your charger is no place to cut corners and investing in a smart charger is a great idea. A smart charger typically offers more safety features than a standard charger. Many lithium-ion battery failures are due to either overcharging or discharging, and a smart charger is a great defense against improperly charged batteries.Don’t mix chargers. While many newer style chargers are interchangeable due to their USB connections, they should still only be used to charge the specific devices they are intended for. Just because your e-cig charger fits into your smartphone’s AC adaptor doesn’t mean you should use it. There is a reason why electronics come with their own chargers: each charger is designed to deliver a certain level of electrical current. If the battery being charged is not capable of handling the level of current produced by the charger, this increases the risk of explosion, so it’s best to play it safe and only use chargers that are supplied with your vaping device or those recommended by the device manufacturer.Properly store your batteries. External forces can create a potentially dangerous situation for your batteries. Extreme temperatures are the enemy of lithium-ion batteries and should be avoided at all costs.Properly transport your batteries. As a vaper, you’ll probably want to carry extra batteries with you: Be sure to only carry them in a proper battery case. Loose batteries create a potential hazard. If your batteries come in contact with keys or any other bits of metal, it could complete a circuit between the positive and negative ends resulting in a possible catastrophic failure or explosion.Never use damaged batteries. If your battery appears damaged or if the wrapper around the battery is frayed or faulty, immediately discontinue use and properly recycle the battery.

Five deaths and an outbreak of serious lung illnesses have been associated with vaping in the US recently. Tobacco treatment specialist, Dr Colin Mendelsohn, asks ‘Should Australia’s 250,000 vapers be concerned?’

"Let’s set the record straight on the alarming headlines out of the US these past two weeks."

Nearly all the deaths and lung illnesses reportedly ‘linked to vaping’ involved people vaping contaminated black-market cannabis (THC) oil purchased from street vendors. No cases have been linked to nicotine vaping. Vaping nicotine is the most popular aid for quitting smoking in western countries and is a far safer alternative to smoking.

"The alarm surrounding the recent deaths in the US could prove to be devastatingly ironic."

If Australians who currently vape go back to smoking tobacco because they’re scared by what they’ve read – far more people could die from tobacco-related illness. Media reports have been quick to imply that all ‘vaping’ is risky, creating a ‘textbook drug panic’. Anti-vaping activists have exploited the opportunity to justify their opposition to vaping nicotine.

Their mistake, either inadvertent or deliberate, is failing to distinguish the vaping of toxic, tainted cannabis oils from life-saving nicotine liquid. This is vital, as any risk from vaping depends on what drug or chemical is being used. Vaping nicotine is not risk-free but it is far less harmful than smoking. Millions of former smokers have been vaping nicotine for over a decade without any evidence of serious lung harm, confirmed in a recent comprehensive review.

According to the UK Royal College of Physicians, the risk of long-term vaping is unlikely to be more than 5% of the risk of smoking. Most of the harm from smoking is due to the tar, carbon monoxide and thousands of other chemicals from burning tobacco. Vaping involves heating a liquid solution. There is no combustion, tobacco or smoke and only a small fraction of the risk to health of smoking.

In the US, some illicit manufacturers of cannabis liquid have recently been using Vitamin E acetate in the production process. This oil causes severe inflammation in the lungs when inhaled. Sufferers experience shortness of breath, cough, chest pain and damaged lung tissue which can be fatal.

Testing of most of the cannabis liquid samples by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has confirmed the presence of this toxic chemical. Legal cannabis liquid purchased from licensed shops is routinely tested and has not been affected. Some users were also vaping nicotine, but no samples of nicotine e-liquid have tested positive.

By labelling all vaping as harmful, anti-vaping advocates are throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Vaping black-market cannabis products is foolish. However:

"Vaping nicotine can be a life-saving alternative for smokers who are unable to quit."

In fact, vaping nicotine is arguably the most effective quitting aid available. A large randomised controlled trial earlier this year found that those who vaped were nearly twice as likely to have quit smoking compared to those using nicotine patches and gums, 12 months later.

Another large trial published in the Lancet this week also demonstrated that adding vaping to a nicotine patch increases the quit rate even further.

Australia is the only western democracy to ban the sale and use of nicotine for vaping. In New Zealand the Ministry of Health is actively encouraging smokers to switch to vaping. In the UK, vaping is promoted as a far safer alternative. Vape shops are now opening in NHS hospitals, to help smokers quit. Instead of a blanket warning to avoid vaping, we need a more nuanced, evidence-based approach.

"The healthiest option is not to smoke or vape - Don’t vape if you don’t smoke" Adult smokers who are unable to quit smoking with conventional treatments can consider vaping nicotine as a short-term quitting aid or as a long-term safer substitute for smoking.

Street drugs should be avoided at all costs. Illicit products are often contaminated, have unknown ingredients and no quality control. The tragic outbreak from tainted cannabis oil in the US is a reminder of that enduring message.

The wider uptake of vaping could help many thousands of Australian smokers quit their lethal addiction. However, smokers need accurate information to make informed choices.

BY EXPERT CONTRIBUTOR: DR COLIN MENDELSOHN Colin Mendelsohn is a tobacco treatment specialist. He is a Conjoint Associate Professor and Foundation Chairman of the Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association.

Photo Courtesy: Nine Digital - www.9news.com.au

When there’s an outbreak of deaths or illnesses from injected street drugs, do public health authorities demand diabetics and doctors stop using syringes? Of course not. Yet a host of public officials — from President Trump to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to members of the Squad — are taking just that sort of approach in responding to the spate of vaping-related illnesses and deaths around the country, report Jeff Stier and Henry I. Miller from The New York Post.

Cuomo, for example, went on a tear Sunday about vaping, calling it “a burgeoning health crisis” and threatening to declare an emergency to ban flavored nicotine e-cigarettes. That followed Trump’s announcement last Wednesday of federal plans to prohibit such devices.

The dramatic sudden outbursts of concern come after six deaths and 380 severe acute pulmonary illnesses, including at least 41 in New York. The cases were linked not to nicotine e-cigarettes but to vaping THC, the active ingredient in cannabis.

E-cigarettes like Juul are intended to be used to inhale nicotine, but other types of vaping devices can also deliver cannabis-derived substances such as butane hash oils, known as “dabs.” Scientists at New York’s Department of Health have led the way in pointing the finger at black-market THC-containing liquids, finding “very high levels of vitamin E acetate in nearly all cannabis-containing samples analyzed” in their investigation.

State laboratory test results found that “at least one vitamin E acetate-containing vape product has been linked to each patient who submitted a product for testing.” Vitamin E acetate is an oily substance used to thicken cannabis-derived vaping liquids.

Vaping devices, including e-cigarette hardware, are simply devices for delivering an aerosolized solution. Nicotine e-cigarettes, which serve as a substitute for deadly cigarettes that burn tobacco, typically contain a solution of nicotine, flavorings and vegetable glycerin or propylene glycol.

Globally, tens of millions of people have used billions of e-cigarettes without any acute ill effects. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration has told state health officials that lab testing of unused legal nicotine vape products of the type obtained from sick patients (who likely also used an illegal THC oil) found no contaminants or ingredients suspected of causing illness.

It’s a very different story when a vaporizer is used to deliver black-market street drugs like the cannabis-derived oils that are being dangerously adulterated with vitamin E acetate.

In announcing the planned federal ban on flavored e-cigarettes in the midst of the outbreak of lung disease, Trump is being misled. Vaping nicotine is an approach to harm-reduction, and appealing non-tobacco flavors are critical to reduce the likelihood that adults will revert to smoking cigarettes.

Exposure to nicotine is not healthy, to be sure, and kids should not vape (unless they already smoke cigarettes and want to transition to a less harmful alternative). But prohibition seldom works, and data from the FDA indicate that while vaping in teens is up, cigarette smoking has fallen to historic lows.

Still, elected officials continue their attack on e-cigarettes, recommending that nearly everyone stop vaping immediately.

That might seem like an abundance of caution, but it’s really an abundance of chicanery. Linking acute lung disease to e-cigarettes is no more logical than warning people about the dangers of vaccination because vaccines are delivered through a needle, and people can get hepatitis from dirty needles. Expansive warnings to stop vaping altogether, instead of to avoid illicit contaminated THC products, are like advising ex-smokers who have switched to vaping to return to smoking cigarettes. That puts vapers’ lives at risk.

What we need is aggressive state, local and federal enforcement against teen vaping and Drug Enforcement Administration action against illegal THC vapes that cause lung disease.

Meanwhile, why are politicians and public health officials behaving so badly? We have a hypothesis: Until now, the most prominent allegations of serious health effects (even for adults) from e-cigarettes were hypotheticals — such as that vaping would be a “gateway” to cigarette smoking — that have failed to materialize.

In fact, teen cigarette-smoking has been declining. Now, with reports of verifiable acute illnesses and even deaths, politicians are brazenly attempting to indict nicotine vaping, even though their case against the practice is without merit. In a reckless attempt to redeem their credibility in their war on e-cigarettes, they’ve doubled down on misinformation, disingenuously implying that cannabis-derived oils, home-brewed THC vapes and unadulterated nicotine-containing e-cigarettes all pose the same risks.

They think they can get away with it because … well, virtually nobody has challenged them. It’s time more people did.

Courtesy: The New York Post (www.nypost.com) Henry Miller is a Pacific Research Institute senior fellow and the founding director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Biotechnology. Jeff Stier is a Consumer Choice Center senior fellow.

For smokers who have been accustomed to the simple act of buying a pack of cigarettes and smoking it, vaping can seem like a daunting task. We totally get it. With all of the buttons, flashing lights, customizations, and advanced features, it can be a bit of a time-suck to figure how it all works. The good news here is that we can make your life easier by simplifying everything.

To get familiar with the vaping lingo, nicotine salt devices that are open/closed systems are categorized under vape pods or pod mods. Vape pods are electronic cigarettes that have disposable pods and have a combination of high resistance and low wattage features that make it ultra-portable and perfect for smokers who are new to vaping.

Pod mods are marketed as a starter’s kit as they offer the choice of either open (refillable) or closed (not refillable) pod systems to help you find a device that will help you quit smoking cigarettes.

Essentially, pod systems are a mix between e-cigarettes and vape pens that have been revamped to meet the standards of today’s vaping technology.

Common characteristics of nicotine salt pod systems: Ultra-Portable and compact design Low wattage (ex. 16 watts) High resistance (ex. 1.3 ohm coils) Pods usually holds no more than 2 ml of nicotine salt e-liquids Either auto-draw or one button Either buy pre-filled pods/cartridges or refillable cartridges

Remember, when you choose a vaping device for nicotine salts, make sure that it’s not a high wattage sub-ohm device. Nicotine salts have high nicotine strength and are not made for high wattage sub-ohm devices due to the risks of taking excessive nicotine. Pod systems have become increasingly popular in the last year due to its simplistic design and cigarette-like satisfaction it gives smokers.

Closed system pods are essentially devices made for pre-filled cartridges. The ready-filled cartridges/pods are disposed of after use and are replaced with a new cartridge. The pod filled e-liquids contain nicotine salts in varying nicotine strengths (20-55 mg) and usually comes in packs of 4 or 5.

One way to look at it is that closed systems are similar to coffee pod brewers. In order to get your delicious coffee in the morning, you insert a coffee pod or k-cup of your liking and you’re ready to go.

Closed system vape pods work the same way.

Depending on the brand of the closed system device, the company offers a selection of flavors to choose from just as you would buy a pack of cigarettes at your local convenience store. The only difference is that you would have to recharge your device instead of finding your lighter somewhere in your pocket.

Not only are closed systems just as easy to use as a cigarette, it packs the same cigarette punch.

BENEFITS OF CLOSED PODS Hassle-free alternative - No need to make a mess while refilling since the pre-filled pods are easily replaceable Low Maintenance - No need to buy coils or have to clean the tank Low Profile - the sleek design fits easily into your pockets and feels natural in your hand. Furthermore, no need to carry around e-liquid bottles and it produces less vapor Low Investment - Closed systems on average go anywhere from 12 to 50 dollars. Plus, you don’t have to spend your time figuring out how to use your device User-friendly - Intuitive design, usually draw-activated and at most, only one button to press Easily switch flavors by using different cartridges and no need to change cotton or coils

DOWNSIDES OF CLOSED PODS Limited Selection of Flavor and Nicotine strength as you are restricted to the flavor and nicotine selection of the brand of device Weak draw - closed system is known to have tighter draws which can make it difficult to hit Vapor production is better compared to the older model of e-cigarettes and vape pens but does not perform as well as high powered devices due to the size of the battery Spitbacks can occur while vaping - spitbacks occur when the e-liquid bounces off the coil instead of vaporizing, similar to when water is boiling and water pops out Low battery life due to the battery size and can be a con for vapers who have to recharge frequently

Costlier than open system pods depending on your daily vaping habits and due to pods holding fewer e-liquids than open systems. The average price per pod is around 3 to 5 dollars. However, much cheaper than smoking cigarettes.

If you want a no-frills product and you just care about a device that delivers nicotine efficiently, then closed system is a perfect device for you. The only thing you have to worry about is recharging your battery and buying nicotine salt pods. Before you set your mind on closed system devices, take a look at what open system devices have to offer.

Open system pods are devices that allow you to manually refill nicotine salt e-juice. Unlike the closed system devices, you can buy any bottle of nicotine salt e-liquid at varying nicotine strengths to find a flavor that suits you best.

Think about ordering your favorite kind of coffee and brewing it in your coffee maker. The freedom to choose any flavor can help you play around with the flavors until you find that right one.

BENEFITS OF OPEN PODS Wider Range of Flavors and Nicotine Strength - more options to choose from and are not limited to the brands' offerings Smoother draw allows for more vapor production and better mouth to lung action User-friendly as the device either needs one button pressed or are auto-draw Low Profile design make it ultra-compact and portable which make it good for a night out with friends Low Investment since open system devices cost around 12 to 50 dollars and it is not much of a time investment compared to learning high powered mods More economical than closed systems and up to 85% savings compared to smoking a pack a day

DOWNSIDES OF OPEN SYSTEM PODS

Inconvenience - You have to refill e-liquids manually and have to change coils or replace cartridge after several uses Switching flavors is a hassle unless you have a separate pod filled with a different flavor Vapor production is limited due to battery size and it can be a drawback for those who want to get the maximum vapor. Low battery life is one of the downsides of the vape pods in general but it is also faster to recharge as well

If you are more explorative and want to find that right flavor, then open systems are perfect for you. With open systems, you can enjoy the flexibility that open systems have to offer and make it easier to transition to high wattage device if you prefer to.

CLOSED SYSTEM VS OPEN SYSTEM: WHICH IS BETTER?

If you want to successfully put an end to your cigarette habit for good, it’s imperative to choose a device that will work for you. It’s not about which device is better than the other. But more so, what your preferences are and what suits you best. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages but with the savings, you will get from switching to vaping, you can even try out both to see what works best for you.

Vape pods, in general, have advantages and disadvantages that are found in both open vs closed systems:

SIMILAR ADVANTAGES: User-friendliness Low investment Low profile and pocket-friendly Cheaper than smoking cigarettes Higher nicotine strengths

SIMILAR DISADVANTAGES: Vapor production Low battery life Limited devices to choose from Leakage issues

The universal advantage of vape pods comes down to convenience and simplicity. Using pod systems gives users cigarette-like nicotine satisfaction. The high nicotine strengths in nicotine salt will give you the instant rush that is comparable to smoking a cigarette. Many acclaims that vaping nicotine salts have been effective in curbing their cravings.

The user-friendliness of these devices is in stark contrast to the high powered devices that have become popular today. With pod systems only being draw-activated, it allows smokers to easily transition to vaping as a fuss-free alternative.

The ultra-portable design fits in your hand naturally and slides in your pocket with ease. Your pockets will appreciate the extra room, trust me ;) Not only are they significantly cheaper than smoking cigarettes, the devices do not cost a fortune. Even if you choose to buy an open system, changing coils are not as high maintenance as you might think since you will only be changing it at most twice a week.

The perceived disadvantage that comes with vape pods is due to the sacrifices made to make an ultra-compact design. Due to battery size, the battery life may be short-lived in comparison to high wattage device. However, recharging the battery does not take long as some devices may only take 30 minutes to charge at full battery levels.

Other devices claim to last up to a whole day depending on use. The minimalistic design also affects the vapor production and those who are used to more airier draws, the vapor production may seem lackluster. But don’t be discouraged, the build quality on these devices are far superior to the earlier version of cigalikes and you won’t be disappointed. Also, keep in mind that these devices do not require as much vapor to deliver the same amount of nicotine as high wattage devices.

Another drawback that some have reported are leaking issues. Although e-liquid leaking isn’t frequent, it can be a bit of an inconvenience to get paper towels and clean your device. Leakage can be prevented by handling the mouthpiece and inserting the pod gently. Another suggestion would be is to use the optimal PG and VG ratios that the device manufacturer has recommended.

Lastly, due to the relative newness of these products, the mainstream market is limited to a select few to choose from. Each device on the market has slightly different characteristics and performance. Those who are not happy with one device don’t have the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of pod devices. The lack of options in the market will start to decline as more manufacturers are adopting the pod systems with the increasing popularity of these devices.

FINAL DECISION: CLOSED OR OPEN POD SYSTEM?

If you want to get into vaping without all the fuss, closed systems are the best option for you. Closed system offers a hassle-free alternative with the starter kits already packaged with pre-filled pods and are ready to be vaped out of the box. Whereas with open systems, you will have to buy nicotine salt vape juice separately.

Closed systems also do not require you to buy coils making it low maintenance and fuss-free. The only downside is that you will spend more money in the long run buying pre-filled pods as well as being restricted to a limited selection of flavor since pods are not universal.

Even though, open systems allow for greater flexibility, you will not be able to switch flavors during the day as easily as closed systems. Although, you can prepare for this by putting different flavors in different cartridges/tanks. If you tend to be more patient and would like to have a greater degree of flexibility, then open systems are the best option for you.

Either way, both devices are built to pack a punch that will leave you satisfied and hopefully, keep you away from smoking cigarettes. The consensus in the science community agrees that vaping is a better alternative than smoking and whatever device you choose, the health benefits from quitting cigarettes is the most important choice you can make.

Check out our great range

of pod systems HERE

Source: ruthlessvapor.com

Our hearts go out to the community of Christchurch suffering from yesterday’s senseless violence. We offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and wish all that were injured a speedy recovery. To our colleagues, customers and vaping friends in New Zealand we send our love and support and pray for unity and understanding in New Zealand at this time of sadness.

A brand new study by New York University says if vaping was properly supported it could dramatically reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths a year.

Smoking continues to kill more people every year than any other preventable cause, making it as important as ever we have effective harm reduction and smoking cessation tools. Despite being only a little over ten years old, modern vaporizers have proven to be invaluable in this fight according to a growing pile of peer-reviewed research. Despite this growing consensus among academics, the majority of legislators and parents remain skeptical of what effect e-cigarettes are really having.

That’s why it’s great to see another piece of evidence published which strongly suggests the value vaping provides far outweighs any potential downsides. While it’s unlikely to have a significant impact by itself, it shows a growing sentiment among public health experts that smoking is much worse than vaping and should remain the primary focus of smoking cessation programs. So as the debate over how to regulate vaporizers continues, supporters now have another solid piece of research which proves the risk is well worth it.

The New Report

The report was conducted by a team of researchers hailing from several respected institutions and schools, led by Dr. David B. Abrams of New York University. The team wanted to understand the real-life impact of accepting vaping compared with continuing to treat it as merely an alternative forms of tobacco, as is currently the norm in America. To do this, they went back over years of reports and data to uncover any relevant connections and trends. The team ultimately concluded that if most cigarette smokers switched to exclusively using a vaporizer, it would save an estimated 6.6 million lives over ten years, resulting in 86.7 million fewer life years lost due to smoking.

While this was their most shocking revelation, it wasn’t their only one. The team first established vaping is a worthwhile endeavor in virtually all scenarios. In fact, the team concluded that only their most unreasonable simulations found the effect of vaping to be a net negative for public health, with most seeing it as a significant gain. They also made a strong argument for the often uncomfortable truth about the nature of vaping, “Even if the risk of harm to some youth who otherwise would not have smoked is marginally increased, such risks must be weighed against the substantial and immediate benefits of displacing smoking with safer nicotine products among both youth and adults.”

In Support Of Vaping

Aside from this latest report, we already have a robust list of evidence supporting many aspects of what makes vaping an effective harm reduction and smoking cessation tool. For starters, we can say with near certainty that vaping is much safer than smoking. In fact, going back as far as 2015 we got a report from Public Health England which concluded vaping is at least 95% safer than smoking. Backing up these findings have been many reports over the last three years which also indicates e-cigarettes significantly reduce your exposure to harm, including a report published in December which concluded vapor has around 93% fewer toxicants than cigarette smoke. But perhaps most impressive is the report which found the excess lifetime cancer risk of a smoker is roughly 57,000 times higher than a demographically similar vaper.

Going past the harm reduction value and there’s still a lot of reason to support vaping. For instance, a report by researchers at the University of Louisville concluded that not only is vaping a useful smoking cessation tool, but it’s more likely to be successful than anything else, including prescriptions drugs. But for many, one of the biggest reasons to question the value of vaping is their impact on teens. Luckily, we have a report of over 60,000 students which concluded only between 0.1% and 0.5% of non-smoking teens are ever picking up a vaporizer full time. Which means a lot less are ever turning to combustible cigarettes.

Implications

Studies like these are increasingly vital in the fight for vaping rights. Most experts can now agree that vaping has plenty to offer society, but now the question is what are the unintended consequences and are they worth the price? Evidence like this which looks directly at this question is our best chance to look into the future and see what sort of impact our policy choices will have. With the debate over the value of vaping reaching a head, its never been more critical for the vaping community to band together to help teach those in our lives about what e-cigarettes have to offer. If we ever want to end the smoking epidemic once and for all, this report indicates we must utilize vaping to its full potential.

Source: VCU University News; churnmag.com,

The Vaporesso Cascade One Plus SE Starter Kitfeatures a higher capacity and longer lasting battery version of the original Cascade One. The SE versions features all new colours and designs for the user along with increased e-liquid capacity. The Cascade One Plus SE features a 24.5mm diameter and is powered by the advanced Omni Board Mini to ensure high performance and vape satisfaction for all users whether they are first timers or seasoned vapers looking for a no fuss, throw in the pocket, stealthy tube mod. This starter kit features the Cascade One Plus SE Mod and the flavourful Cascade Baby SE Sub-Ohm Tank.

The Cascade One Plus SE Mod features rapid and even heating for consistent flavour and vapor from the first to the last puff. The Cascade One Plus SE features a built-in 3000mAh internal battery that utilizes a simple one button design with a battery life indicator. The Cascade Baby SE tank features a 6.5ml capacity which may be filled from the top using the locking mechanism, and the mod's internal battery is charged via the micro USB port using the included micro USB cable..

The Cascade Baby SE Tank features an isolated coil and juice chamber which helps reduce dry hits and extend the coil's life. This very neat tank also has triple adjustable airflow slots and utilizes the popular GT Core atomizer heads.

THE VERDICT: For under AU$68.00 this AIO (All-In-One) kit represents outstanding value.

After several months of review, the government of the United Arab Emirates has announced that it will lift its ban on the sales of vapor products. The first approved products are expected to be available in mid-April.

We reported last fall that the UAE regulatory agency Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) was taking a second look at the rules that have been in place since a 2009 law banned sales. Possession and use of vapes is not illegal.

Sales will be legalized with standards in place for products, according to The National. Vapes will also carry health warnings similar to those on cigarette packages, and sales will probably be age-restricted like combustible products. Public use will be regulated exactly as it is for cigarettes, a Dubai health official told the Khaleej Times.

"Countries in the Middle East were

among the first to ban the sales of

vapes, and many still maintain

restrictive laws."

Standards will be made public soon, and will also regulate importation, manufacture, distribution, and packaging. The regulations will be published as UAE.S 5030, according to Abu Dhabi World. In addition to vaping products and e-liquid, the regulations will cover heat-not-burn tobacco products like Philip Morris International’s IQOS device.

According to Abu Dhabi World, officials say the standards will reflect European and British regulations, which may mean a limit will be set for nicotine content. The EU Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) limits nicotine in e-liquid to 20 mg/mL, which makes small devices like cigalikes and pod vapes less effective and attractive to users.

The UAE is a federation of seven small monarchies on the Persian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia. The Emirates have a combined population of less than 10 million, but have the second largest economy in the Middle East (after Saudi Arabia), and control the seventh largest oil reserve in the world. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the largest cities in the country.

Countries in the Middle East were among the first to ban sales of vapes, and many still maintain restrictive laws. Aside from the UAE, Bahrain, Brunei, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia maintain bans on sales of e-cigarettes. However, enforcement varies from country to country, and it can be difficult to get clear answers on what the laws actually say. Even in countries with strict sales bans, there is often a brisk underground vaping products market.

Source: Vaping360.com

E-cigarettes were more than twice as effective for smoking cessation than nicotine-replacement therapy, according to a randomised trial of e-Cigarettes versus NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) in research funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Cancer Research UK.

Vaping skeptics question the efficacy of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, often citing the lack of clinical trials proving a benefit to smokers. Randomized trials are usually used to test drugs intended to treat specific conditions. They typically compare two or more therapies with each other, or test drugs against a control group that receives a placebo.

The problem with translating drug research to a consumer product like e-cigarettes is that the strict protocols of a drug trial (all participants use a certain drug at a certain dose and interval) may not translate to products that succeed by offering a wide range of possibilities to users. After all, vaping isn’t a cure for a disease, but rather a less risky consumption choice that competes with cigarettes.

There have been large smoking cessation trials using e-cigarettes before. However, the most recent were from 2014, and the data in those studies were collected even earlier, from trials of first generation cigalike products. Nevertheless, even though those studies used primitive vaping devices, the results showed cessation success on par with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products.

Now a study led by Prof. Peter Hajek of Queen Mary University of London describes a randomized trial comparing smokers attempting to quit using a vaping product with others using NRT. And even though the study participants who attempted to quit by vaping were given the choice of just one product, the results were impressive.

After one year, 18 percent of the vaping group was abstinent from cigarettes — almost twice as many as those who used the pharmaceutical nicotine products (9.9 percent). (Abstinence was verified with a carbon monoxide test, which shows evidence of recent smoking.)

“The figure may sound low,” notes Prof. Hajek, “but…if they were quitting on their own, the quit rate would be about 3 percent.” That makes using vapes to quit (with proper advice and support) about six times more effective than quitting with no help.

Other researchers involved in the study came from Queen Mary and other British universities, and from an American institution. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The journal was apparently so embarrassed about the positive results that it commissioned not one but two accompanying editorials slamming e-cigarettes, one offering questionable advice to doctors (insist smokers try and fail with NRT first; use low nicotine vaping products), and the other advocating for a vaping flavor ban.

The Research A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy | NEJM Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine — A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy.

The trial divided 886 smokers into two groups. The participants in one group got their choice of NRT products like nicotine patches, gum, lozenges, mouth strips, inhalers and nasal spray. Additional NRT products were provided free for three months, and the participants were allowed to use multiple products. The other group was given a simple all-in-one vape kit (the Aspire One Kit or the Innokin One Kit 2016) and one or two 10 mL bottles of 18 mg/mL tobacco-flavored e-liquid. The vaping group was instructed how to use and refill the device, and encouraged to buy additional e-liquid from a vape shop where they could choose other flavors (or even other devices). Both groups had in-person counseling sessions weekly for the first month.

The counseling might have helped the new vapers feel more at ease about their choice, although it probably couldn’t replace visiting a good vape shop or even asking questions and interacting with other vapers on a forum like ECF, where experienced vapers offer tips and encouragement freely. Perhaps some of them did get further help at shops when replacing the e-liquid received from the researchers (which only amounted to a 2- to 8-day supply, unlike the 90 days of NRT products the other group received).

The vaping group had less intense cigarette cravings. They also experienced less nausea, and smaller increases in irritability and lack of concentration than the NRT group. And among participants who had issues with coughing and phlegm before the trial began, significantly fewer in the vaping group had those symptoms after a year.

Vaping opponents will probably make much of the fact that many study participants in the vaping group were still vaping after a year (80 percent of the quitters, versus just 9 percent of NRT users who quit). The goal, they say, is to eliminate all nicotine use. But that’s wrong. The goal when someone quits smoking is to stop smoking. Nicotine is a separate issue — if it’s an issue at all. Vaping (or NRT use) after quitting may prevent an ex-smoker from reaching for a cigarette later. There is no evidence that nicotine use causes health problems, but considerable evidence that many ex-smokers relapse long after they quit cigarettes.

Among trial participants who didn’t quit smoking, 40 percent of the vaping group continued to vape and smoke (“dual use”), while just 4 percent of the NRT group kept using NRT. Unlike vapes, NRT products are real medicine: they’re not attractive, fun or tasty, and they do nothing to replace the huge void a smoker feels without a cigarette in the hand. Those dual users may gradually reduce the cigarettes they smoke, as so many vapers do.

The authors of the study are continuing to follow the trial participants, and it will be interesting to see how many in the vaping and NRT groups relapse to smoking, and how many who were still smoking at the one-year mark quit later. There is no reason to believe that many won’t. Some full-time vapers spent longer than a year transitioning to e-cigarettes.

The headline here is good: more vapers were able to quit completely than NRT users. But ignored in all the news stories about the trial is the fact that vaping products offer thousands of product choices that can’t be adequately reduced to a single vaping experience. Those trial participants who weren’t able to quit smoking in a year may still try a new device or flavor that strikes a chord, and helps them join the ranks of ex-smokers.

Source: The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM); Vaping360.com; Vaping Post

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our valued customers and their families our best wishes for a wonderful joyous Healthy Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Prosperous New Year.

Our factory hours over the Christmas New Year period will be as follows, so please ensure that you get in now and place your orders early to avoid getting caught up in the Christmas Parcel Crush :

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After a smoking ban in British prisons last year led to riots, the Ministry of Justice allowed prisoners to vape. The program has been a big success, with 33,000 inmates now buying e-cigarettes in prison, reports Jim McDonald for Vaping360.com.

The smoking ban caused havoc in the prisons — not surprising considering 80 percent of the U.K.’s prisoners smoked. Violence among inmates and assaults on guards had increased, according to Metro.co.uk. Some smoking prisoners even tried to smoke nicotine patches.

After the unrest, the Ministry of Justice launched a pilot program in Wales allowing vapes to be sold. The prisoners are allowed to buy a limited number of refill cartridges each week, and prisoners say the refills have become prison currency, much as cigarettes used to be.

“We could buy six packs of refills every week but the girls obviously swap and sell each other packs, it is like how burn (tobacco) used to be a currency in jail, some people owed up to 20 packs when I got in there,” one prisoner told the news site.

“All closed prisons in England and Wales are now smoke free reducing the risk of second-hand smoke to prisoners and staff,” a Prison Service spokesperson told Metro.

“Prisoners have been given support in quitting smoking if they need it including vapes, e-cigarettes and nicotine replacement therapy.”

“I could not have done my two month sentence without my vape,” one released inmate told Metro. “I saw how bad it was when the smoking ban came in last year and when I had to go back in I was dreading craving a burn. However, I got a vaping machine and it made my sentence a lot easier.”

Some local and county jails in the United States have allowed prisoners to buy e-cigarettes for years, although the programs are generally considered revenue generators for the municipalities rather than a service to the inmates or a harm reduction tool.

Philippines Legislature Backs Vaping

In a surprising move, the Philippines House of Representatives is urging that vaping be included in the country’s tobacco control strategy. The legislative body issued a resolution asking the health department to promote tobacco harm reduction, reports Jim McDonald for Vaping360.com.

The resolution, authored by Reps. Anthony Bravo and Jose Tejada, references the experience in the U.K., where public health authorities have promoted vaping as a safer alternative for cigarette smokers. According to the Manila Standard, the lawmakers specifically cite the landmark reports from Public Health England and the Royal College of Physicians.

A resolution is not law or even binding on the regulators. It is a recommendation by the legislature that the department of health regulate vapes without banning them.

Earlier this year, government officials attended a Philippine tobacco harm reduction conference, organized by advocacy group The Vapers Philippines. There experts like Greek cardiologist Konstantinos Farsalinos spoke about the benefits of low-risk nicotine products as alternatives to combustible cigarettes. Farsalinos urged the country to adopt regulations that recognize the difference in risk between vaping and smoking.

According to the most recent national tobacco use survey, 23.8 percent of the adult population smokes. That was in 2015. Since then, president Rodrigo Duterte has instituted strong tobacco control measures, including the threat of prison for those selling to minors.

Few expected the legislature in a Duterte-controlled country to advocate for tobacco harm reduction measures. The country’s leader is known for approving brutal treatment for drug users, including murder. During his presidential campaign, he promised to kill 100,000 drug “addicts” and dealers, and said the fish in Manila Bay would grow fat feeding on all the bodies he would dump there.

“We thank our legislators for keeping an open mind to the growing body of scientific evidence supporting e-cigarettes as a significantly less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes,” The Vapers Philippines president Peter Paul Dator told the Standard. “We urge the [Department of Health] to do the same and help save lives.”

That’s a question that many people seem to be confused about. From well-meaning vapers who say “It’s just water vapour” (no it isn’t) to tobacco control fanatics yelling, “We don’t know what’s in it” (yes we do), misinformation and weird beliefs about e-liquid are all over the place.

Luckily, there’s no real mystery about how e-juice is made or what goes into it. In fact the ingredients are usually all listed on the label. That’s the law in the EU and soon will be in the USA, but reputable juice makers have been doing it for years anyway.

So it’s easy to find out what’s in your e-juice, but is that really very informative? Most of it is chemical names, which can look intimidating – and they also don’t say a lot about what the substances actually are. That makes it easy for people to create scare stories, such as “E-liquid contains antifreeze” (it doesn’t!)

Most e-liquids have four main ingredients; there’s some variation, but not really very much. If you know the basics you’ll be able to spot any differences quickly. In the meantime, here’s what you can expect to be pouring into your atomiser.

Vegetable Glycerine Liquid designed for modern atomisers is mostly vegetable glycerine, (or VG) – this can be up to 80% by volume. If you want to know how it is that e-cigs have gone from producing a little wisp of thin vapour to belching out huge white plumes, this is why.

Glycerine is a natural substance that can be processed from most kinds of fat. The glycerine used in e-liquid comes from vegetable oils, which is why it’s called VG, but it doesn’t really make a lot of difference. One important point is that although it’s processed from oils it isn’t an oil. In fact it’s an alcohol, which makes it safe to inhale.

VG is a non-toxic colourless liquid with no smell, but a sweet taste. It’s very thick and viscous, which means high-VG liquids don’t work well in older atomisers and small clearomisers – it’s too thick to wick well. Some liquids use aqueous glycerine to solve this, basically just VG with some distilled water added. Lots of common products contain VG. It’s used in the food industry as a sweetener, and also added to some foods to keep them moist. Many medicines contain it too. Scientists have studied it for years, and it’s never been linked to any health problems. Liquids with a lot of VG produce lots of dense vapour, but not a lot of throat hit or high flavour rating.

Propylene Glycol Most of what isn’t VG in your liquid is probably propylene glycol, or PG. Some liquids contain more PG than VG; these work better in clearomisers and older atomisers, because they’re less viscous.

PG is an alcohol, like VG, and it’s also nearly odourless. It has a faint sweet taste, although not enough for it to be used as a sweetener; it does get added to foods, medicines and other products to keep them moist, though. PG will make flavours more pronounced in e-liquid and most commercial e-juice is in a 70% VG / 30% PG ratio to enhance flavour but still produce a good thick vapor.

One other use for PG is in antifreeze, and it’s because of this that some people like to claim e-juice contains antifreeze. In fact this is totally dishonest. PG is only one ingredient in antifreeze, and it’s actually there because it’s non-toxic; PG-based antifreeze is less harmful to children and pets. It’s worth pointing out that water is also an ingredient in antifreeze; just because something is used in a product that has a reputation for being poisonous, that doesn’t say anything about how harmful that substance is.

It’s true that there have been some minor health issues linked to PG. It’s been studied since the 1940s and is classed as generally safe; swallowing or inhaling it won’t do you any harm. A small percentage of people are sensitive to it, though, so if liquid with a high PG content makes you feel unwell, switch to one with more VG. As mentioned PG produces less visible vapour than VG, so it’s unpopular with cloud chasers but liked by people who want to vape discreetly.

Flavourings One of the best things about vaping is the wide choice of delicious-tasting juices, and that’s all down to flavourings. Liquid doesn’t have much taste on its own, so it’s flavoured with food-grade additives.

If there are any health concerns about vaping that’s mostly down to flavourings. There are some ingredients that are safe to eat but not to inhale – diacetyl, for example. However, the industry has done well at eliminating additives that there are worries about. Don’t use food flavourings from the supermarket though; some of them contain oils, which are harmful if inhaled. Stick to flavours from vape manufacturers, because these have been elected for maximum inhalation safety.

Nicotine Finally, most liquids contain nicotine (but not always). This is what makes vaping such an effective substitute for smoking; you can satisfy your nicotine cravings without having to set fire to tobacco leaves. Nicotine also gives a good throat hit, so if this is important to you try higher-nicotine liquids., then over time gradually reduce the nicotine level of you e-juice.

Although it gets a lot of bad publicity, nicotine is actually a very safe drug: It’s the smoke from cigarettes that causes harm, not the nicotine. It is toxic in high does, but there’s really no chance of poisoning yourself by vaping. Long before you get to a dangerous level it will make you feel slightly nauseous, then give you a headache. Vapers (and smokers) are very good at getting just as much nicotine as they need, and no more.

4 Chemicals Vs 4000 Chemicals | You Decide

It’s usually best to avoid e-liquids that contain anything apart from these four ingredients. Vitamins, colouring, supplements like caffeine – these don’t do anything for the quality of your vape, and unlike flavourings they haven’t been selected for inhalation safety.

But if you stick to the ingredients listed here you can look forward to a low-risk and enjoyable vaping experience.

Source : Vaping Post – Geneva, Switzerland

As the Australian government maintains its harsh stance towards e-cigarettes, a local poll indicates that more than half of Australian adults want the ban on the devices lifted.

In Australia e-cigarette devices are legal, but the use of nicotine-containing refills is not. In August 2016, several public health activists, amongst which the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA), had submitted proposals to local regulator Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to remove nicotine concentrations of below 3.6% from the Poisons Standard. However, in February 2017, the TGA rejected the application and upheld the nicotine ban.

“The TGA is essentially saying to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have already quit smoking by using e-cigarettes: You quit the wrong way. We are not going to let you do this. But you can go and buy a pack of smokes, no problem.” said Dr. Attila Danko from NNA AU, at the time. In order to be able to purchase nicotine-containing e-liquids, Australian smokers who wish to switch need to first obtain prescription from a doctor, and then find a pharmacy that actually sells the liquids. However ironically, buying a packet of deadly cigarettes that are about 95% more harmful than e-cigarettes, is very easily done over the counter.

The Australian government urged to change strategy.

Not surprisingly, a recent survey indicated that the majority of the public is unhappy with the current situation. The Australian Retail Association poll, conducted by the Crosby Textor Group, indicated that 61% of the 1200 adults surveyed, are in favour of legalizing the devices. The ARA’s executive director Russell Zimmerman, is urging the government to follow the lead of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand and revise the current regulations.

“More and more Australians are buying personal vaporisers with nicotine online from overseas, simply because they can’t buy them locally,” said Mr Zimmerman in a statement on Monday. “The government needs to act so that responsible local retailers can compete on a level playing field and sell less harmful products for Australians trying to change their habits.”

E-cigs deliver nicotine minus harmful chemicals like tar

In the meantime, local health professionals, have long been pointing out the benefits that smokers in Australia could avail from if e-cigs were endorsed for smoking cessation. In fact, last July, Australian doctors, including renowned professor Dr. Colin Mendelsohn, addressed the federal parliamentary committee pointing out that smokers should have access to vaping products that would give them the nicotine hit that they are addicted to, without the other harmful components contained in cigarette smoke. “The reality is that many smokers are unable or unwilling to quit. We can’t just sacrifice them,” said Mendelsohn.

Australian award winning journalist and radio host Ben Fordham, interrogates the Health Minister of New South Wales about the senseless position towards vaping that the local authorities have adopted, on renowned live radio show.

In Australia e-cigarette devices are legal, but the use of nicotine-containing refills is not. In August 2016, several public health activists, amongst which the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA), had submitted proposals to local regulator Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), to remove nicotine concentrations of below 3.6% from the Poisons Standard.

However, in February 2017, the TGA rejected the application and upheld the nicotine ban. “The TGA is essentially saying to the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have already quit smoking by using e-cigarettes: You quit the wrong way. We are not going to let you do this. But you can go and buy a pack of smokes, no problem.” said Dr. Attila Danko from NNA AU, at the time. In order to be able to purchase nicotine-containing e-liquids, Australian smokers who wish to switch need to first obtain prescription from a doctor, and then find a pharmacy that actually sells the liquids. However ironically, buying a packet of deadly cigarettes that are about 95% more harmful than e-cigarettes, is very easily done over the counter.

Australian health authorities ignoring scientific evidence

Live on Sydney’s No.1 rating radio station, 2GB, Ben Fordham opened the session by pointing out that Australia should be adopting the same approach as countries such as the UK, and make it easier for smokers to have access to the safer alternatives. “There is pressure building on lawmakers to stop ignoring the evidence on e-cigarettes. Our approach is backwards. Our health ministers have their heads in the sand,” said Fordham.

Fordham pointed out that in the last few days two cancer action bodies in the UK and the US have updated their policies in relation to e-cigarettes, and are now actively encouraging smokers to switch to the safer alternatives. The radio host continued by pointing out that in contrast, Australian lawmakers are ignoring scientific research, making it difficult for smokers to obtain the devices, and therefore “ robbing smokers of an effective and safer device.”

Beating around the bush After welcoming Health Minister Brad Hazzard on the show, Fordham referred to the fact that Cancer Research UK has stated that e-cigarettes are significantly safer than regular cigarettes and is actively encouraging smokers to switch to the safer alternatives. He then proceeded to ask the Minister for his comments but Hazzard avoided to comment and just said that the Health Ministry is not telling people to not vape, but only to not do so in public.

The radio host assured the minister that he is in agreement with vaping restrictions in public spaces, but pointed out that his question was not being answered. He mentioned the compelling research about the relative safety of e-cigs once again, yet once more the minister failed to give a direct answer. “There are a variety of views in the US and the UK,” said Hazzard “My view has been informed by the advice from a whole range of specialists here in Australia.”

Click play button below to hear a recording of the interview.

In a huge blow for Australia's illegal tobacco trade, an incredible 57 Million illegal cigarettes have been seized on Australia's Gold Coast.

The tobacco black-market in Australia has just been dealt a massive blow with millions of cigarettes seized by authorities. As reported by Ten Daily News a major crime syndicate was smashed by Australian state and federal authorities, with 57 million illegally imported cigarettes stopped from hitting the black market.

A number of arrests have already been made, with police expecting more in the near future --including the people who are distributing the illegal tobacco through newsagents, universities and ‘under the counter’ deals. So far, authorities have uncovered nine shipments ranging in size from 38,000 to more than 20 million cigarettes, with some concealed in legitimate goods being imported from South East Asia.

The steady growth of Australia's cigarette black market has come as a direct result of the 25 per cent increase in tobacco excise in 2010 and the continued annual increases in tobacco excise of 12.5 percent up to and including 2020, raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $40.

Australian cigarettes one of the most expensive in the world.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics rates of smoking are considerably higher in the most disadvantaged areas of Australia. In 2014-15, 21.4 percent of people living in areas of most disadvantage smoked daily, compared with eight percent of people living in areas of the least disadvantage.

According to a report by KPMG in 2015, the government was losing at least $1.35 billion in excise and GST revenue to the growing tobacco black-market. The sizable tax on cigarettes has worked, according to Tobacco in Australia there has been "substantial real increases in the price of tobacco products in Australia have been followed by larger-than-usual declines in apparent and reported tobacco consumption."

It’s thought the funds made from illegal tobacco on to fund organised crime - with police saying it’s possible the millions made could even fund terrorism.

Vaping helps smokers quit – even if they do not want to, new research suggests. Some 17 per cent of e-cigarette users once enjoyed smoking and had no intention of quitting, a study found today.

Lead author Dr Caitlin Notley, from the University of East Anglia, said: ‘They hadn’t intended to quit smoking and had tried vaping on a whim, or because they had been offered it by friends.

‘They went on to like it and only then saw it as a potential substitute for smoking.’

Around 2.9 million people vape in the UK, while 15 percent of adults use e-cigarettes in the US.

Vapers interviewed by researchers for the study, were asked how long they used e-cigarettes, their favourite flavours and why they took up the habit, as well as about their previous attempts to quit smoking.

Dr Notley said: ‘We found that vaping may support long-term smoking abstinence.

‘Not only does it substitute many of the physical, psychological, social and cultural elements of cigarette smoking, but it is pleasurable in its own right, as well as convenient and cheaper than smoking. ‘Our study group also felt better in themselves – they noticed better respiratory function, taste and smell.

‘But the really interesting thing we found was that vaping may also encourage people who don’t even want to stop smoking, to eventually quit.’ Results further suggest that although most vapers ditch cigarettes for good, some still occasionally indulge due to ‘social or emotional reasons’.

Alison Cox, Director of Cancer Prevention at Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, added: ‘The evidence so far shows that e-cigarettes are far safer than tobacco. ‘(some) E-cigarettes do still contain nicotine which is addictive, but it’s not responsible for the major harms of smoking. This is why they have great potential as an aid to help people quit smoking for good. ‘It’s great to see this early indication that e-cigarettes could encourage smokers who weren’t originally thinking of quitting to give up.

‘But more research is needed to understand exactly how e-cigarettes are being used by people who don’t want to stop smoking and how often this results in quitting.’

Source: brinkwire.com

If you are new to vaping or looking for something to replace those coffin nails then here is a summary (a short Q&A) of what you need to know to get you started.

Q: What is a vape?A: An electronic-cigarette, nowadays is referred to as a “personal vaporizer” or a “Vaping Device” – the vape community prefers not to call them all electronic-cigarettes as Vaping has evolved well beyond the original electronic-cigarettes which basically looked just like a traditional tobacco cigarette. Regardless of its shape or size, it is an electronic device that can be used to vaporize an “e-juice” liquid made up of propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine (usually a mixture of both), which is often flavoured and may contain nicotine.

The invention of the electronic cigarette concept dates back to the 1960s, from a rejected American patent. The commercial models we see today have originated from an invention by a Chinese pharmacist Mr. Hon Lik. For some people, Hon Lik turned his back on the independent vaping community a few years ago by selling his patents to a tobacco company. Today there are countless options of vaping device styles and designs, but in essence they all work the same, they have a battery to supply power, a heating coil when powered by the battery heats up the e-liquid and turns it to a very fine mist “vapor” which looks very much like smoke from a cigarette.

Vaping has been around for many years now, but many people keep asking what is really in a vape. Is there tobacco in there? What about the scary chemical names I hear about? The media are always claiming that vaping is not that safe and yet more and more countries health authorities are endorsing vaping as a significant risk reduction alternative to smoking. British Health recently came out with a statement after findings from a study on vaping that “Electronic Cigarettes are 95% safer than smoking tobacco cigarettes”.

Most e-liquid has four main ingredients: Vegetable glycerin (VG), Propylene glycol (PG), Flavourings and in some cases Nicotine. Except for the nicotine the other ingredients you will find in many of the products that we eat and drink and use everyday. The PG helps bind the flavours together and gives that 'throat hit' you hear people talking about. VG is usually the largest percentage in e-liquid sometimes as much as 90%. It is quite a lot thicker than PG and it is also responsible for producing the thick satisfying clouds from your vaporizer. The flavourings are just that, food flavourings used for decades to add flavour to the foods that we eat everyday, and of course Nicotine (if you so desire).

A lot of people are asking these days how do you ‘smoke’ a vape. “Vapes” – (also called personal vaporizers, electronic cigarettes or e-cigs), are relatively known by now and part of our social culture. Because nothing is burned in the vaping process there is no “smoke” produced, so “how do you smoke a vape” maybe isn’t the right question? But put simply you “vape” an electronic cigarette the same as you would smoke a normal tobacco cigarette except you don’t light it up, (in most cases you simply press a button on the device to activate the heating coil and put the end in your mouth the same as a cigarette and suck (inhale) and “vapor” will travel into your mouth (or lungs if you inhale) and is then expelled by blowing the vapor out of your mouth.

It is the same as in smoking, the smoker usually draws the smoke (in this case vapor) into their mouth and that smoke (vapor) is inhaled from the mouth cavity down into the lungs. You’ll probably also hear people talking about “direct lung” vaping, which on some devices that has a large enough airflow allows the user to inhale the vapor directly from the device into the lung in one motion. This cannot be done with the majority of cig-a-like or pod systems as they have restricted airflows mainly due to the size of the devices and are better suited to the mouth to lung vaper and those initially transitioning from tobacco cigarettes to vaping because it identically mimics the act of “smoking”.

Most medical experts now agree that e-cigarettes are a lot safer than smoking, but a lot of smokers who are thinking about trying them still have some questions. One thing that (strangely) we’re hearing more often is the question, Is it safe to vape without nicotine? Whilst nicotine is an addictive substance (like caffeine) in many cases especially with those wanting to transition from smoking tobacco the nicotine is needed to satisfy the smokers cravings. Nicotine is also responsible for that @throat hit@ term you hear everywhere, which is that slightly burning sensation in the back of the tongue/throat that gives the smoker the satisfaction buzz. The good thing is that unlike cigarettes the vaper can control the amount of nicotine in the e-liquid and subsequently by lowering the percentage over time can ‘wean’ themselves off nicotine dependence completely.

Q: What are the different models of vaping devices available?A: Basically there are 5 different types of devices available. Cig-A-Like,

Cigalike A Cigalike is the oldest type of electronic cigarette model, a cigalike (from the words cig-a-like), and simply means ‘resembling’ a cigarette as it mimics the shape of a traditional cigarette (tobacco cigarette) right down to a glowing red tip when vaped in most models.

It is attractive at first for the smoker because a cigalike usually offers the very same taste, look and feel of a tobacco cigarettes but given its small size it produces very little steam.

We usually find that after using these for a few months users then upgrade to one of the other types of mods available either for increased vapor (steam) production, increased flavour output or both. Mod style vaping devices also allow the user to experiment with the literally thousands of flavours and juices available out in the marketplace these days.

Box Mod A Box Mod follows the same principle as tube Mod but differs in its rectangular or square shape. Very in vogue amongst vapers it tends to be the more predominant style used by the majority of vapers.

The majority of Box Mods offer the option of using removable batteries so that a freshly charged battery is inserted into the mod allowing the vaper to vape while drained battery/s are being recharged in an external battery charger.

Most Box Mods (although not all) are usually regulated which means they have built-in protection against overheating, battery shorting out etc… this also means that you can control the power that heats up the coil to produce the vapor and keep this voltage constant right through until the battery eventually gets to a level where it automatically shuts the device off..

The ergonomics of Box Mod is constantly taken to its limits by designers and manufacturers, some look like pieces of jewellery, they come in a rainbow of colours and colour matching of the mod and the atomiser or tank that sits on top of the mod which generally holds around 2-5ml of e-juice. More and more Box Mods are coming out with smart touch screens that make them appear like mobile smart phones. It seems the sky is the limit, what’s next we ask… the VapePhone.... sounds crazy ?… well remember when it happens…. you heard it here first.

Squonk Mod A squonk mod is basically like a Box Mod however as well as a removable battery/s it also has a built in tank bottle usually made from silicone. This bottle usually carries around 8-10ml or more of e-liquid (3-4 times the capacity of a tube or box mods tank atomiser).

A cut-out in the mods case allows the user to squeeze the soft silicone bottle inside forcing liquid up a tube and into the atomiser screwed onto the top of the mod where it is vaporized.

People who use these devices are known as “squonkers” who practice the art of “squonking”.

Tube Mod A Tube Mod is an electronic cigarette much larger than the cigalike but still cylindrical in shape, “Mod” being the abbreviation for “modified electronic cigarette”. Highly effective, it incorporates a battery of large capacity (usually removable for charging) to allow all day use.

Most tube Mods use tank style atomizers with adjustable airflow that allow you to adjust the “vapor” and quality to suit your needs, while simple ones are already set to work with a supplied clearomizer (kits ready-to-use). Advantage of tube Mod is that it’s based on an open system, contrary to the cigalikes or pods that we will see below.

Thus, you will be able to change atomizers to vary the pleasure and personalize your electronic cigarette.

The main ‘con’ with Tube mods is that the majority are ‘unregulated’ which means that there is no safety protection against shorting the battery or overheating etc.., so the user should be very familiar with ohms law and battery voltage and current draw limitations to keep their vaping safe. It also means that the vape quality starts to diminish in relation to the voltage of the battery, so as the battery gets weaker so to the vapor production gets less and less proportionately.

e-Go, Pod & AIO Devices Basically, the Pen, AIO & Pod Systems are very similar, they are all ‘pen’ style vaporizers that are a step up from the beginner or starters Cig-A-Like devices.

e-Go was the next step from the Cig-A-Like and many vapers today have used one at some stage of the vaping journey. They are an extremely simple device to use and very similar to the Cig-A-Like having a long battery connected to a small tank (1-2ml) atomiser. They work by simply pressing a button and vaping it.

Pod systems are becoming increasingly the go to for beginners mainly due to their simplicity of use. Many came with removable pods that house the coil and the eliquid, once the e-liquid runs dry you simply pull out the old pod and snap in a new pre-filled one.

With pod systems there is no mess no mucking about changing coils or cotton. Although significantly more effective for its vapor production or nicotine diffusion than the cigalike. a Pod will have a very limited range, requiring the user to recharge the device regularly. It is increasingly common for Pods manufacturers to partner with e-liquid companies to integrate branded products into their cartridges.

AIO (All In One) uses similar principle with cigalike, with a proprietary closed system, meaning that the battery is usually not removable and the ‘tank’ is also non removable and incorporated in the main frame of the design. Most Pen, AIO and POD systems are rechargeable via a USB cable. Thanks to its USB key format it is possible to transport it very easily in a pocket.

Easy Puff Australia for all your vaping needs.

All devices mentioned above are available on our online store at: www.EasyPuff.com.au

The UK’s Pharmacy Minister Steve Brine has said he would consider a proposal to use cigarette packets to promote e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tools.

The proposal in question was put forward by MP Stephen Metcalfe at a House of Commons Science and Technology Committee hearing on e-cigarettes, reports Diane Caruana. “It’s an interesting point, let me think about it,” Brine told MPs. “In a time of tight resource it’s a very direct message.”

In response to this, director of healthy behaviours at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) Tim Baxter, explained that the current regulatory framework, makes it illegal to have any promotional material on cigarette packs, however he added that he does agree that this is something the government should look into.

The speakers also discussed the inconsistencies found amongst smoking cessation services across the country. Brine said that although it is up to individual councils to decide how the £16bn allocated to public health should be spent, he thinks that if more robust research about the relative benefits of e-cigarettes were made available, suggesting the devices as smoking cessation tools would become the obvious choice.

The UK leads the way in harm reduction

Such discussions are an example of how progressive the UK is in comparison to countries such as the US and Australia, who despite the scientific data available, insist on maintaining an unreasonably harsh stance towards the products. The UK remains a leader in the use of e-cigarette use for harm reduction and has the numbers to show for it. Cancer Research UK are actually taking out ads showing the financial benefits of vaping over smoking stating, "Smoking cigarettes costs around twice as much as as using e-cigarettes".

In the UK there are now more than half a million fewer smokers than in 2015, which also equates to the country now boasting the second-lowest smoking rate in Europe after Sweden.

“It’s now hard to believe that back in 1974 almost half of adults smoked. But now an end really is in sight and we have a real opportunity to virtually eliminate all the harm, misery and death caused by smoking,” stated CEO of Public Health England, Duncan Selbie last Summer.

Governments around the world have been making it harder and harder for people to fork out their hard-earned cash on cigarettes. It's not hard to understand why, considering they cause a raft of health issues like cancer, heart disease and other diseases.

But Australia is definitely leading the charge at forcing smokers to pay more, with a packet of 20 Marlboro cigarettes costing around AU$26.00, with New Zealand close in second place at AU$23.00, that's around AU$9.00 more expensive than in the UK and close to AU$18.00 more than in the US. But it appears the tide is turning in America, as New York City mayor Bill de Blasio recently jacked up the price of standard cigarettes from around AU$12.00 to AU$17.00.

If you love your smokes and want to find the cheapest place on the planet to pick up a pack, then look no further than Kazakhstan, you can buy a 20 pack of Marlboro there for just AU$1.40. Other cheapest locations include Vietnam at AU$1.45, Ukraine AU$1.50, the Philippines AU$1.65 and Pakistan AU$1.70 for a 20 pack.

On the flipside, Australia's latest federal budget showed that smokes were only going to get more expensive thanks to a 12.5 percent tobacco excise hike. So if you're planning on puffing away in the land Down Under - you might want to bring some more cash. In fact, Australia comes third in the world rankings of the most expensive nations to buy alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, with Japan and New Zealand taking the top two spots.

That's not to say that nothing is being done in the UK to curb smoking. Wales is planning to ban smoking in areas like hospital grounds and playgrounds by summer next year. It's all part of a plan to de-normalise the habit and to protect non-smokers from harmful second-hand smoke. A lot of hospitals already have no-smoking rules on their grounds, but it's hard to enforce them. Now, the Welsh Government have talked about issuing fines to anyone who breaks the new rules. It makes sense really - imagine you've been discharged from hospital, still feeling quite weak, and then you have to stroll through a cloud of someone else's cigarette smoke as you make your way to the car.

A study late last year suggested that England could be smoke-free by 2040. The study, which was carried out by Frontier Economics Research also suggested that if an extra 219,000 people were able to quit every year, then the goal of less than five percent of the population smoking could be achieved in just over a decade - by the year 2029. Much of the downturn in cigarette smoking has been attributed to many smokers replacing tobacco products with electronic cigarettes.

Nearly 3 million Britons are vaping electronic cigarette products, as UK sales of vaping products surged by 50% last year to reach £1bn (AU$1.75bn), and are on course to exceed £2bn (AU$3.5bn) by 2020. Latest evidence suggests that e-cigarettes are far safer than smoking because they don’t contain tobacco. 2017 saw the publication of the first longer term study of vaping and vaping being endorsed by British Health as a safer alternative to smoking. Another study suggested a cancer risk from vaping of about 1% of that from smoking tobacco cigarettes.

It is estimated that around 250,000 Australian smokers have now switched to electronic cigarettes. New Zealand Health have also endorsed vaping as an alternative to smoking and like the British Government are passing laws making vaping legal in NZ, Australia are still yet to join other developed countries in legalising the sale of e-liquids and e-cigarette cartridges that contain nicotine leaving Aussie vapers to shop online with overseas electronic cigarette suppliers to get their nicotine fix via e-cigs rather than with tobacco products.

Maintenance is key when it comes to producing a fresh clean tasting vape. A burnt vape tastes yuck.... but it can be avoided by these 10 easy steps.

1. Your Coil Is Simply Too Old!

When was the last time you changed your coil? An old coil will be burnt and unable to produce good vapor, more so in pre-made coil heads.

2. It’s Prime Time!

Make sure you always prime your wicks and cotton with e-liquid before you start vaping. Its good to leave device sit for 5 minutes before use to allow the e-juice to soak the coil thoroughly before firing up the coil.

3. Are You Vaping Too Hot!

Vaping at over 100+ watts on a fresh coil is probably not a good idea. Ramp up gradually to the highest wattage by starting at a lower wattage to allow the coil and wick to “bed in”.

4. Taking Control! Certain coil types perform best on different modes. For example if you are using nickel wire it may perform best if used in Temperature Control (TC) mode. It takes a bit to master but if TC mode is set correctly you will say goodbye to ever burning your wicks again.

5. Avoid Sweet Syrupy E-Liquids!

Many commercial e-liquids are sweeter than others, and leave a caramelised thick “tar” on the coil surface and the wick looking like brown/black “gunk”. Eventually this will burn and add a bad taste to your vape. You can prevent this by using un-sweetened or less sweetened e-juice, the clearer the juice usually the less the coil will gunk up with this tarry residue but this isn’t the case with all e-liquids. Best tip with rebuildable decks is to clean the coil and change the wicking cotton every day.

6. Slow Things Down! Chain vapers who vape repeatedly may get more frequent dry or burnt hits. To avoid this give your coil enough time to cool down before hitting the button again.

7. Hotspots Are Hell On Coils!

For those of you who build your own rebuildable coils a burnt taste can be caused by coil hotspots. Always fire up a new coil to check for hotspots. A coil should glow from the inside out and once fired up should look consistent across the coil surface with no bright or dark areas. Pinching or strumming the coil while pulsing is a good way to eliminate hotspots.

8. Correct Wicking Is Critical! Using too much (or too thick) cotton in a coil can cause a burnt taste. Be sure not to use to thick a wick in your coils, you should be able to pull the cotton thru the coil firmly but easily. If a wick is too tight in the coil it can cause “choking” especially if chain vaping a few puffs as the wick will take longer for the liquid to draw up thru a tightly packed coil.

9. Clean Coils Constantly! A clean coil will always provide the best vaping experience. Get into the habit of once a day cleaning the coil and replacing with fresh organic cotton. Cotton too is different, ask your local Vape shop what is their best quality and best drawing cotton, its best to pay a fraction more for cotton and give your device its best chance of delivering the best vape.

10. Weather & Temperature Do Make A Difference

Never leave your device in direct sunlight, especially on the dash of your car. As well as an explosive risk a hot device will cause the viscosity (pouring thickness) of the e-liquid to become thin and watery and potentially cause leaks and flooding of your device, similarly if the device is too cold it can thicken up the e-liquid making it difficult for the cotton to wick up the e-liquid resulting in a dry wick and burnt taste. Try to keep your device and e-juice out of extreme cold and hot temperatures.

Basically, there are 3 types of electronic cigarettes, a Cigalike, Pen Style Mods, and Box Mods.

All have a few things in common like a battery for power, and a cartridge or atomiser which contains a heating coil and the flavoured e-liquid and work by heating up the e-liquid that forms a steam like vapor which the user inhales and exhales mimicking the smoke from a tobacco cigarette.

One thing all these devices have in common is that unlike tobacco cigarettes they use steam to make vapor, there is no combustion of materials to make the smoke when tobacco is burned in tobacco cigarettes which contains proven carcinogens, and they are only a fraction of the cost of smoking conventional tobacco cigarettes.

What Is a Cigalike?

A Cigalike (short for cigarette-like) or analogue cigarette is an electronic cigarette made to look and feel as much as possible to a real tobacco cigarette. They are small, light and mimic all the design features of real cigarettes, down to the filter pattern and the ash-like LED tip that lights up a red glow when activated.

In the early days of the electronic cigarette, virtually all devices on the market were cigalikes. Manufacturers believed the familiar look and feel would make it easier for smokers to switch to electronic cigarettes, and statistics proved they were right. Nowadays, a lot of vapers use more efficient e-cig models like the AIO (all in one) eGo or various other “mods”, but cig-alikes are still the most popular among casual vapers looking for something small and easy to use.

The two-piece technology EasyPuff uses is a hybrid version that uses a disposable atomizers and cartridge. When empty this is simply unscrewed from the battery and replaced with a fresh cartridge. In terms of functionality, cigalikes are no different than larger e-cigarette models. However, most of them are made up of a cartomizer and a battery, while other, more advanced models have replaced the cartomizer with clearomizers and tanks.

Cig-alikes may look almost identical to real cigarettes, but they do have their shortcomings. In order to make them small and light, manufacturers can only fit them with low capacity batteries than need to be recharged more often than the larger eGo, for example. The cartomizers also store a lot less e-liquid than new-generation cartridges, and need to be replaced more frequently, especially when used by heavy smokers.

Cig-alikes use a disposable cartridge (tip) which contains the heating coil and the e-liquid and are usually regarded as the entry level to vaping. After a while, most users move on to larger, more advanced models. Easy Puff cig-alike cartridges come in a variety of 13 different flavours including: Coffee, Grape, Menthol, Sweet Cherry, Vanilla, Watermelon, and 6 tobacco flavours.

You may want to consider a Cig-alike style device if you are looking for:

A device that mimics exactly the look, feel and action of smoking a tobacco cigaretteA device that is easy to maintain with no liquids to fill or coils to changeA device that is much cheaper than smoking cigarettesSimply screw a cartridge and battery together and start vaping

What Is A Pen Style Mod ?

A pen style vape mod is exactly what it sounds like - these types of vapes are shaped to resemble a pen. These mod types are cylindrical in shape, a familiar shape to those who smoked in the past. Vape pen mods are quite simple in construction, consisting of a battery with a firing button, an atomizer and a mouthpiece.

They cost anywhere between $50 to $100 or more, depending on the brand. They can be recharged, and unlike the Cigalike they have a refillable tank instead of a throw away cartridge so every time the e-liquid runs out it can be refilled making them more cost effective. Because of this Pen-style mods can enjoy a never-ending number of e-liquids and flavours, which provide more choices than users can get with Cig-alikes.

Because of its simplicity, pen style mods are the most common types of vape. With a single battery, these devices are typically lower in wattage, but easy to carry and handle. There are many different styles of Pen Mods from the beginner eGo Pen to the more elaborate AIO (All In One) which has a built-in non removable battery.

You may want to consider a pen style device if you are looking for:

A device that most resembles a smoking experience.A simple and low wattage device.An affordable and discreet option.Very few settings or options, basically "fill and go".

What Is A Box Mod ?

A box mod is simply that, a "box" shaped device which houses the battery, with a tank or atomiser that screws on top most are regulated meaning it comes with electronic control chip that allows the user to adjust voltage and has safety features built in like reverse battery and overheat protection etc...

Most box mods also have removable batteries that can be charged externally while a fresh battery is inserted allowing the user to vape continuously without waiting for the device to recharge.

They come in many different shapes and sizes some have up to three batteries which in most cases will last more than a day or allow the user to add a big tank and coil resulting in huge vapour clouds.

You may want to consider a Box Mod style device if you are looking for:

A device that has all the bells and whistlesA device that has built-in safety featuresA device you can use with different tanks and atomisersA device that will allow you to expand your vaping experience

EasyPuff™ should be your first choice for E-Liquid and vaping gear in Australia. As mentioned we deliver directly door to door anywhere in Australia and usually within 3-4 days from order.

Please visit our online store at : www.EasyPuff.com.au

Happy Vaping 😊

Swiss vendors will finally be able to sell e-liquid with nicotine to the country’s 60,000 vapers, reports Jim McDonald.

A federal court decision in Switzerland has overturned a years-long ban on vaping products. The law that was overturned prohibited the sale of e-cigarettes or e-liquid containing nicotine, although vapers were allowed to import products for their own use.

The Swiss Federal Administrative Court (FAC) sided with Swiss vape company InSmoke, which challenged the ban. According to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation’s Swissinfo site, the government was already in the process of ending the ban, but the court decision ends the nicotine prohibition immediately.

“The FAC’s decision on Tuesday authorizes with immediate effect the import and sale of [bottles] of liquid with nicotine for e-cigarettes,” Judith Deflorin of the Swiss federal food safety authority FSVO told Swiss broadcaster SRF, according to Swissinfo.

Switzerland is not a member of the European Union (EU), so is not bound by the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) that restricts bottle and tank size, and nicotine content in the U.K., France, Germany, and the other 25 EU member states. Swissinfo reports that about 0.7 percent of the Swiss population vapes. That’s about 60,000 of the country’s 8.4 million people.

Swiss vapers are represented by one of the oldest vaping organizations in Europe — Helvetic Vape, which was founded in 2013. The consumer group has actively worked toward loosening the government’s restrictions. Helvetic Vape recently issued a position statement outlining demands by Swiss vapers.

The International Network of Nicotine Consumer Organisations (INNCO) — an umbrella group of advocacy groups from around the world — is also based in Switzerland.

Source: vaping360.com

The adult U.S. smoking rate dropped below 15 percent for the first time for the first three quarters of 2017 reports Jim McDonald. The news came in a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Among adults age 18 or over, the smoking rate was just 14.1 percent for the months January to September — a 10.8 percent drop over the previous full year. The smoking rate was 15.8 percent in 2016.

The estimates are based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, which has used data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau to analyze population trends for 50 years. The data was analyzed and the estimates compiled by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The adult smoking rate in 2009 was 20.6 percent. Since that year the rate has stayed below 20 percent. The 2017 number represents a 31.6 percent decline in eight years. E-cigarette use has grown rapidly during that period, although the CDC has never acknowledged that vaping has played a part in the decline of smoking.

Source: vaping360.com

The crossbench has put the Turnbull government on notice, stating no bills for which Health Minister Greg Hunt is responsible will pass through the Senate until he reverses the ban on nicotine e-cigarettes.

A recently released report by the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport recommended the continuing ban on the sale of nicotine vaping products in Australia until more research is done.

The Chair of the committee, Trent Zimmerman, produced an accompanying dissenting report, as did another two of Minister Hunt’s Liberal colleagues – Tim Wilson and Andrew Laming – each recommending the devices be made legally available for sale, under regulation similar to that covering regular tobacco products.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm has warned Mr Hunt that unless he drops his “unscientific and callous” opposition to e-cigarettes, a critical number of crossbenchers in the Senate will block all future health bills.