VAPE BLOG

With the e cigarette industry to turn over a healthy £2 Billion per year Governments are falling over themselves in a rush to get a handle on this lucrative industry. The FDA for example is about to invest £270,000,000 in research into the risk and the impact of e cigarettes. They plan to scour FaceBook to determine how e cig users are manipulating devices to get more nicotine content, they are also setting up a virtual shop aimed at 13 – 17 year olds to measure how product advertising could influence young people to start vaping.

Concerns Over Attracting Young People
The main concerns are that all the various e liquid flavours such as bubble gum, candy floss and marshmallow for example may attract young people to start vaping and therefore become addicted to nicotine. In total the FDA is now funding 48 projects to determine risks, harm and influence of e cigarettes on the non-smoking public and youngsters.

In response to this new push by the FDA Bryan Haynes from a Virginia based company Troutman Sanders, which currently represents e-cigarette manufacturers stated that “There shouldn’t be regulations akin to those for cigarettes without evidence of similar health impact, especially since the preliminary evidence is positive for the industry” when it comes to comparing the contents of e-cigarette vapor to tobacco smoke.

Current Scientific Studies
Current scientific studies being undertaken to determine what happens to e cigarette vapour when its heated, i.e. does it produce carcinogenic chemicals, could lead the FDA to apply restrictions to the voltage capacity of e cigarettes. If its found that funky  e liquid flavours attract adolescents and non tobacco smokers to start vaping then the FDA will apply restrictions to the type of flavours allowed. The UK market will be affected by any FDA regulations with a like-for-like regulation happening however it is expected to be at least 2018 before any scientific findings result in any hard fast regulations. 

The Vape Shop On Regulation
The Vape Shop, while in favour of any studies and regulation that may prevent adolescents and non smokers from becoming nicotine vapers, does have some concerns over too-heavy restrictions as most e cigarette vendors including The Vape Shop already have strict online and off-line rules regarding the sale of e cigarettes and e liquid to minors.

Managing Director at The Vape Shop Carmen Giles stated that “We are fully in favour of all regulations that protect minors and non smokers, however we will be disappointed if such regulation affects the choice of existing vaping adults. The Vape Shop would like similar regulation as the Alcohol industry currently has in regards to minors. The alcohol industry offers a wide range of concoctions, flavours and coloured marketing products to adults while also having strict regulation about the sale of alcohol products to minors”.

Since the first e cigarette MOD, (Modified E Cigarette Device), appeared on the market this niche part of the e cigarette industry has continued to grow from strength to strength quietly in the background of the more standard and popular e cigarette models. However in 2014 we can now see that the MOD e cigarette market is a major in itself.

E Cig MODS’s Have Evolved
The first MOD’s available on the market targeted extra vape performance with new features such as variable voltage and variable wattage functionality, extra power through offering larger battery capacity and the like. These features at the time were new innovations that the standard EGO style e cigarettes did not have. Today we see that most e cig batteries offer a some form of VV and VW feature like the EGO Twist or Vision Spinner, the Innokin VV, MVP and VTR to name a few. As these new features became part of the mainstream e cig market the MOD market continued to grow and morph itself into personalised vaporisers through not only function but also style.

The cost of a decent MOD vary massively depending on what you are looking for. For example if you’re simply in the market for a more powerful battery mod then something like the iTaste SVD which will cost around £49.00’s and allow you to use a 2600mAH 18650 battery with the features of variable wattage and variable voltage. Or if you are in the market for a super stylised MOD that can take both small and large batteries as well as cater for high capacity clearomizer then The Hammer Mod is a perfect choice with ventilation holes and bottom lock feature.

MOD’s Can Vary In Price
The top of the range MOD’s are usually are individually hand made mod’s like the TouchWood or The Darwin, these and other similar stylised personal vaporisers (VP’s) offer unique individual design with robust functionality. Most of these hand made MOD’s are expensive costing anywhere from £150.00 up to £250.00’s. However they are worth the price if you are into your e cig devices, and with the money saving aspect of using an e cig opposed to the cost of tobacco cigarettes, this expense should be a drop in the ocean and a well spent investment.

In saying all this the standard electronic cigarette such as the CE4 Twist, EVOD and others are a very adequate alternative to the real tobacco cigarette and will provide a decent vape. MOD’s are really for people who are looking for a more individual or powerful vape.

​In 2016 the MHRA has stated it will pass a law that will make all electronic cigarette devices and e liquid a medicine making it illegal for unlicensed vendors to sell e cigarettes. How this will affect the market and current vapers is unknown with lots of questions about where a vaper might need to go to acquire a new e cigarette etc. Currently the World Health Organisation (WHO) is formulating a letter to be sent to all governments with recommendations about regulation and control of electronic cigarettes.

2,000,000 UK E Cigarette Users

Too harsh a regulation / control, if made, could kill millions literally! As nearly 2,000,000 vapers (e cig users) in the UK, (and this number is growing fast), have now switched over to this safer alternative with many of these ex-tobacco smokers claim to feel healthier with more energy and enjoying all the other benefits such as lack of odours and lack of expense associated with tobacco cigarettes. 

There are now many organisations, scientists and doctors supporting the sale of and non-regulation of e cigarettes. In a recent letter signed by more than 50 researchers and public health specialists urging the World Health Organisation (WHO) to “resist the urge to control and suppress electronic cigarettes”. The WHO said it was still deciding what recommendations to make to governments.

There are many facts that the WHO may keep in mind before making the regulation, if electronic cigarettes get banned or suppressed, the current vapers (users of e cigarettes) might switch back to tobacco-cigarettes putting their life in serious jeopardy. 

Reduced E Cig Device Supply & More Chemicals in E Liquid

Already in the UK under the new legislation proposed by the MHRA it is thought that vapers would only be able to get an electronic cigarette with e liquid from a pharmacist and the type of e cigarette device would be severely limited, the e liquid flavours used in the e cig would be reduced and made to include MORE chemicals than it currently does which common sense tells us that more chemicals equals more risk.