The United Kingdom government ordered a public lockdown as a strategy to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. This forced everyone to stay indoors and induced a drastic change in everyone’s life.
Consequently, everyone experienced some sort of lifestyle alterations along with the stress of possibly contracting the virus. Moreover, tons of people have expressed experiencing grief or deprivation during these trying times. As we know, stressful situations and poor mental health can make us dependent on certain habits that act as “quick fixes” or ‘stress busters,” such as smoking or vaping.
However, both smoking and vaping require the ‘hand to mouth action,’ which is possibly one of the primary ways to contract the virus. At the same time, numerous surveys were conducted to track smoking and vaping trends during the lockdown. And most of their conclusions suggested that most people were sticking to their pre-pandemic smoking and vaping routines.
What does this mean for the vapers and the vaping industry, as the pandemic is far from over? Businesses worldwide have been deeply impacted by the adaptations we have had to make during the lockdown. So, how is the vaping industry moulding itself to meet the vapers’ needs at this time?
This blog explores the various aspects in which the vaping trends have altered since the lockdown.
Fake News
Not just vaping or smoking, fake news around many other aspects of the pandemic were spreading like wildfire. However, since the Covid-19 related stress was soaring, it was easy for people to get carried away and not fact-check everything they heard.
At this time, many anti-vaping agencies took the chance to mar the trend of vaping by linking it to an increased risk of contracting the virus. However, Public Health England made honest remarks that there is no proven link between contracting coronavirus and vaping.
Accessibility
Everyone on an individual and collective level has faced the adverse effects of the pandemic. Moreso, some businesses had to shut down operations during the lockdown completely. Some national governments halt operations for ‘public-facing businesses’, which included vape shops.
The vaping industry is currently campaigning for vape stores to be considered an important business due to their obvious connection with tobacco harm decline. Nonetheless, all vape shops are slowly coming back to operation, but some are still choosing to operate on a no-contact basis. Therefore, numerous vape shops are even resorting to delivery services, click and collect services, while some have transitioned to online stores.
It is vital to have vaping amenities available at a time like this, as people trying to quit smoking will have to fall back into the habit to satisfy their nicotine cravings. As mentioned earlier, the surveys conducted to study smoking and vaping trends also found that some people had switched to vaping over smoking cigarettes. Some prominent reasons for the switch were omitting harmful smoke around family members, social pressures, saving money etc.
Therefore, it is crucial for vape stores to continue business as usual, as a responsibility to their customers.
Precautions
Throughout the pandemic, we have all developed the habit of rigorously and repeatedly washing our hands. Thus, it is about time we continue this habit of sanitisation to other aspects of our lives. Especially when we know that the virus can settle and live on metal and plastic, it has become imperative now more than ever to sanitise your vape kit regularly.
It must become second nature that anything like glasses and phones that touch your face should be cleaned. Using an antibacterial wipe, thoroughly clean the body of the vape and the drip tip (mouthpiece). Another step you can take is to sanitise your vape kit by taking it apart and running it under hot water. Make sure to completely dry off the parts before adding the e-liquid.
Most importantly, do not share your vape with others for the apparent risk of cross-contamination.
Etiquette
Although there is no solid evidence to link vaping to an increased risk of contracting the virus, one must still avoid vaping in public.
Everyone is concerned about their health and their family’s well-being and rightfully so. Like we wouldn’t go about openly sneezing or coughing around other people, one should consider blowing a vape cloud as the same. While we all stick to the 6 feet apart social distancing rule, your vapour can make others uncomfortable. It can make any cautious person feel anxious to be walking through the breath particles you exhale.
If you own a vape kit that is designed to produce big clouds, consider temporarily swapping it out. In fact, there are vape devices specifically created to minimise vapour generation. This is a great option when using a vape in public. The cloud blowing is best done from the safety of your home, without raising anyone's concerns regarding their safety.
Frequency
We have been spending time at home now more than ever with homeschooling, working from home, and social distancing. The lockdown has definitely been an adjustment for everyone; such sudden lifestyle changes can develop triggers. Anyone who smokes or vapes knows that any minor trigger can send you running to pick up the vape.
Loads of factors like stress, boredom, alcohol, anxiety, or just because you don’t have to wait for a work break to do so. Therefore, any of the mentioned factors can lead to a spike in your vaping frequency.
If you are trying to avoid this from becoming a habit, leave your vape in a different room while attending to your daily responsibilities. Allow yourself a couple of vape breaks like you would at the office. Taking vape breaks will help curb the craving and keep you from snipping out of control.
Conclusion
Everyone is trying to cope with these hard times to the best of their capabilities. However, if we use vaping as a way to ease stress and anxiety, we must do it without putting others at risk. We must adhere to the social distancing and public safety guidelines stated by the health agencies.
None of us know when the pandemic will come to an end and how long before things go back to the way they were. Besides, now that all the vaping products are available online and can be delivered to your doorstep, why not take advantage of that?