The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the temporary shuttering of non-essential brick-and-mortar businesses in cities throughout the world, and the shutdowns and stay-at-home orders have turned what used to be completely ordinary tasks into immense logistical challenges.
For those who vape, one of the primary logistical challenges of the COVID-19 shutdown is the fact that many cities and states have decided that vape shops do not provide essential services and therefore most remain closed until normal life resumes. That has been a terrible blow to vape shops and vapers alike, and it’s left some people wondering if they should just go back to smoking until normalcy resumes. Supermarkets and gas stations, after all, are essential services and are still open. Cigarettes are still readily available. Would it really be so bad to go back to smoking for just a month or two?
Vape Shop Closures Cause Unhealthy Temptation for Former Smokers
When you really think about it, there’s probably a part of you that’s a bit intrigued by the idea of smoking cigarettes again, even if it’s just for a little while. Would you enjoy tobacco as much as you used to? It might be interesting to find out. The allure is almost too strong to resist. You’ve already quit smoking once, after all. What it really be so difficult to do it again in a few months?
Well, you’d better resist that temptation. A recent report compiled by doctors Roberto Sussman (National University of Mexico) and Carmen Escrig (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) confirms what you probably already expected: If you’re a full-time vaper who no longer uses tobacco, returning to smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic would be a very, very bad idea. You are far better off ordering e-liquid online from a company like V2 Cigs UK and using nicotine supplementation while you wait for your vape juice to arrive.
Why Smoking During COVID-19 Is Such a Bad Idea
You may have read news reports correlating vaping with an increased risk of contracting COVID-19 or of developing complications if you do contract the virus. According to the report cited above, though, there is no concrete evidence that vaping causes either of those to happen. It is healthiest not to use nicotine at all, of course, so if you decide that it would be best for your health to stop vaping, you should do that – but not if you’re planning to trade vaping for smoking. Smoking leads to inflammation, respiratory disease and poor cardiovascular health – all things that will definitely lead to poor outcomes in the event of COVID-19 infection.
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The other factor to consider is that quitting smoking a second time may not be as easy as it was the first time. If it’s been a long time since you last smoked, you might remember the process of quitting as being simpler than it really was. Also, when you quit for the first time, you had the advantage of something new and novel – your first e-cigarette – that made the transition easier for you. Vaping isn’t novel anymore. What are you going to do to keep yourself engaged and happy when you quit for the second time?
Another thing to keep in mind is that, as a full-time vaper, you have reduced your nicotine intake gradually over time and now consume less nicotine than you did as a smoker. Returning to smoking – even if you only intend to do so temporarily – will almost certainly increase your dependence on nicotine.
How to Have a Great Experience When Buying Vape Gear Online
If you’re used to buying your e-liquid in local vape shops, the idea of switching immediately to buying vape gear online might seem a little intimidating to you. Here are a few tips to help ensure that you’ll have a great experience.
- Experiment liberally with new flavors. Because so many brick-and-mortar vape shops are closed right now, online shops are flooded with orders and are having trouble keeping up. You might have difficulty finding your favorite e-liquid, but this is a perfect opportunity to try something new. You’re stuck at home trying to figure out what to do with your time, so bring a little extra enjoyment into your life with some new flavor experiences.
- Sign up for as many mailing lists as possible to ensure that you’ll find out about coupon codes and sales. With all of the increased web traffic that’s happening right now, some online vape shops are using this time as an opportunity to clear out older stock and make room for newer products. You may have a chance to save a lot of money.
- Buy more e-liquid than you think you need – and order more e-liquid well before your current supply runs out. The shipping carriers are completely overwhelmed right now, and many packages are being delayed unexpectedly. To be on the safe side, you should allow a couple of extra days for order fulfillment and a couple of extra days for delivery.
- Don’t forget to buy some extra pods or coils. People’s e-liquid preferences vary enough that it’s rare for a given flavor from a given brand to be out of stock everywhere. Every person who vapes, however, needs pods or coils. Virtually all vaping hardware comes from China, and people have commented on Reddit and other discussion groups that the most popular pods and coils have been difficult to find recently. You should buy a few more pods or coils than you think you need until things return to normal.
- Spend a bit of time browsing before you buy. Vape shops may vary greatly in their inventory right now. The most successful websites are likely having trouble keeping the most popular products in stock and may keep their prices somewhat high as a result. Some lesser-known websites, on the other hand, might be offering steep discounts because they need to drum up some extra business. Some products may be hard to find at the moment because of supply chain challenges. You might need to look a while before you’ll find a vape shop that has the right combination of product availability and attractive pricing.
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