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A new study led by Professor Richard Edwards from the University of Otago, Wellington, a component of the University of Otago Medical School, has found that New Zealand's smokers are increasingly aware of e-cigarettes and are using them more than they ever have before to quit smoking.

E-Cigarettes Are Contributing To Lower Smoking Rates

According to Professor Edwards, the study's findings suggest that "e-cigarettes are contributing to reducing smoking prevalence and to achieving the goal of Aotearoa becoming smokefree by 2025."

The study's findings show that daily use of e-cigarettes was highest among those who had recently quit smoking (23 per cent). Current smokers using e-cigarettes accounted for 8 per cent and those ages 18-24 accounted for 18 per cent while older age groups accounted for 10 per cent. This led Edwards to state that e-cigarette use "needs to be greater among older age groups" if e-cigarettes are to contribute substantially to a reduction in smoking rates.

Misconceptions Related To Vaping Remain Common

One particularly unnerving finding of the study is the 39 per cent of participants that, as Professor Edwards stated, "incorrectly believed that e-cigarettes were as or more harmful than smoking cigarettes," which is a misconception that runs contrary to what the science has shown us. According to Public Health England's latest independent e-cigarette evidence review, vaping is far less harmful than smoking.

Edwards noted that such incorrect beliefs stress the importance of public education as it relates to vaping. He noted that efforts to educate the public like the Ministry of Health's Vaping Facts website, which makes clear that vaping is less harmful than smoking and that it can help smokers quit smoking, "could inform smokers about the relative costs and harmfulness of smoking and e-cigarettes to encourage people who smoke to quit or switch completely to vaping, and encourage people who smoke to visit specialist retailers to get expert advice about the best vaping products for them."

At Vaper Empire, we have many vapes to choose from. Browse our e-cigarette starter kits to find the vape that's right for you.

At Vaper Empire, our Australia-based customer support team is on call and ready to assist smokers and vapers in New Zealand and Australia with their vaping needs. Through our online store, Australia and New Zealand's smokers and vapers can purchase a range of premium vaping products, including e-cigarette starter kits and nicotine e-liquid.

Saving Money Motivates Smokers To Switch

The study's participants most commonly reported saving money to be what motivated them to vape instead of smoke. While vaping is often less expensive than smoking, it is typically much less expensive for New Zealanders and Australians due to the sky-high cost of cigarettes in New Zealand and Australia.  If you're wondering how much money you can save by switching to vaping then use the savings calculator on our homepage to find out!

The study, which was funded by the Health Research Council and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, examined survey data that involved over 1,100 people between the years 2016 and 2017 and over 1,000 people in the year 2018 -- all of whom had either smoked or recently quit smoking. The more recent dataset from 2018 included 400 Māori people.

All of the study's participants were recruited from the nationally-representative New Zealand Health Survey.

Study participants were asked a series of questions, including whether they are aware of e-cigarettes, whether they use e-cigarettes, their reasons for using e-cigs, and their beliefs pertaining to electronic cigarettes and vaping.

Smoke-Free NZ By 2025

For New Zealand to become smoke-free by 2025, Professor Edwards believes that considerably more action is required. According to Edwards, electronic cigarettes are certainly making a useful contribution to reaching this goal, "but much more is needed" and this includes a comprehensive strategy "that makes smoked tobacco products less appealing, addictive, and accessible to complement the impact of alternative products like e-cigarettes in reducing smoking prevalence."

A recently published study conducted by researchers at the University of Queensland shows an apparent slant in how nicotine vaping products (NVPs) are portrayed to Australian pharmacists, focusing on portraying their potential risks rather than their potential benefits. The study's authors wrote in their conclusion that portraying nicotine vaping products in this way "is likely to contribute to misperceptions about the relative harm of NVPs."

The study's authors went on to call for staff at pharmacies to be provided with "unbiased and evidence-based guidance on how to handle customer enquiries regarding NVPs."

The Study

The researchers focused their analysis on Australian pharmacy news sources. They examined the four leading Australian online pharmacy professional news sources and examined articles published between 2007 and August 2019, applying a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to explore how the safety, efficacy and regulation of nicotine vaping products were communicated to Australia's pharmacists.

In total, the researchers identified 103 articles that were relevant to their research and analysed them using the methods described above.

The Study's Findings

The researchers found health effects and safety issues related to nicotine vaping products to be the most prevalent topic mentioned throughout the articles. In 79% of the articles, the topic of health effects and safety issues pertaining to NVPs was mentioned, while only 47% mentioned regulatory issues pertaining to NVPs.

Expert opinions and/or the findings of academic research were cited or referenced more often than governments sources were quoted, appearing in 59% and 41% of the articles respectively.

Of the articles that mentioned health effects and safety issues surrounding NVPs, the majority were framed in a loss rather than gain context, placing more emphasis on potential risks than vaping's benefits.

Vaping In The UK & New Zealand

In the UK, a government-mandated e-cigarette evidence review has continually found e-cigarettes to be much less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Acting upon evidence, the UK government now encourages smokers to switch to vaping.

In New Zealand, the Ministry of Health has created a Vaping Facts website that encourages smokers to use vaping to quit smoking while noting that vaping is less harmful than smoking.

Switching From Smoking To Vaping

At Vaper Empire, we make it easy for Australia's smokers to switch to vaping with our various e-cigarette options and impressive line of nicotine e-liquid flavours — all of which can be purchased directly from our online vape shop.

We ship all of our vaping products directly to customers' doorsteps in as little as 3-5 days with express shipping. Our online store is always open and our customer support team is available to help answer any questions, making it easy to find the right nicotine vaping products to stop smoking and start vaping.

Visit the Vaper Empire store to start shopping!

A new study examining the impact of San Francisco's 2018 ban on non-tobacco flavoured e-cigarettes and flavoured tobacco products has found that cigarette smoking increased in the wake of the ban, marking yet another study to have found that smoking rates increase when access to flavoured vaping products is limited.

The Study

The researchers behind the study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Addictive Behaviors Reports, used crowdsourcing website Amazon Mechanical Turk to survey San Francisco residents between the ages of 18 and 34 who reported prior use of tobacco products. The study's participants were administered a survey in which they were asked about their use of such products before and after the city's ban went into effect.

Smoking Rates Increased After Flavours Were Banned

The researchers found that the use of flavoured tobacco products decreased from 81% to 69% for participants aged 18-24 and from 85% to 76% for participants aged 25-34. The use of flavoured e-cigs decreased from 57% to 45% for participants aged 18-24 and from 56% to 48% for participants aged 25-34. Cigar use also dropped. However, cigarette smoking increased.

As most of the study's participants reported being able to acquire flavoured products despite the citywide ban, it perhaps comes as little to no surprise that the researchers found that 65% of the study's participants did not believe that the ban had been properly enforced. Participants reported being able to acquire flavoured products in multiple ways while the ban was in effect.

The study's authors concluded that while local bans can reduce overall cigar and e-cig use, they may lead to increased cigarette smoking.

Switching To Vaping With Vaper Empire

At Vaper Empire, we provide tobacco smokers with access to premium vaping products through our online store, making it possible for smokers to quit smoking and start vaping. We understand that not all smokers are the same, which is why we offer a range of convenient vaping devices to choose from, as well as a wide variety of e-liquid flavours available in multiple nicotine strengths. For everything you need to quit smoking and start vaping, visit our online store and place your order today.

Have questions? Need answers? Our customer support team is available to answer any questions that you may have. You can reach our customer support team by phone at 1800 VAPERS ( 1800 827 377), by e-mail at [email protected], and through the live chat feature on our website.

Ampol, the company that owns Caltex and Foodary, has made a submission to the Senate inquiry looking into vaping, urging the Australian Government to allow for e-cigarettes and other vaping products with nicotine in them to be sold at convenience stores across the country.

With over 1,900 Caltex and Ampol locations across Australia, e-cigarettes would become widely accessible to Australian smokers who are ready to switch to vaping, which international research has shown to be much less harmful than smoking.

This is Vaper Empire's V-Pack II Series cig-a-like kit, which adult Australians can buy online from the Vaper Empire vape store.

In its submission to the Senate select committee on tobacco harm reduction, Ampol urged the government to allow nicotine vaping products to be sold in local convenience stores in the same fashion as cigarettes.

The company noted in its submission that it would be happy to train its staff to recommend e-cigarettes in place of conventional cigarettes in an attempt to help reduce the smoking rate in Australia.

Australia's Vape Shop

At Vaper Empire, our online vape shop has been serving vapers and smokers in Australia since 2012. We offer a wide range of vaping products, including e-cigarette kits and nicotine e-liquid. All of our e-liquid flavour options are available for purchase with or without nicotine, and we offer multiple nicotine strengths to choose from.

We ship all orders directly to our customers' doorsteps in as little as 3-5 days with express shipping.  Visit our online e-cigarette store to start shopping for nicotine vaping products today!

Senator Hollie Hughes, who heads the Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction, has reportedly made the switch from smoking to vaping.

Hughes, an NSW Liberal senator, used to be a social smoker. That was over three months ago. Since switching to vaping, Hughes has already saved over $2500 by vaping instead of smoking the $58-a-pack cigarettes that she used to smoke.

Also Read: Is Vaping Cheaper Than Smoking?

Hughes is by no means the only Australian to have quit cigarettes by switching to nicotine vaping products like the ones we sell here at Vaper Empire, but what makes her story particularly interesting is the fact that it is the committee that she leads, the Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction, that has opened an inquiry into nicotine vaping products.

Back in mid-June, Mr Hunt introduced a bill to ban the importation of nicotine-containing vaping products and fine Australians who breached the ban more than $200,000.

In response to his proposed ban, 28 National and Liberal MPs signed an open letter urging him to call it off. Senator Hughes was among those who signed the letter.

The MPs who signed the letter conveyed their concern that the proposed move to ban nicotine vape imports was "too rushed" and that it risked sending Australian vapers back to the cigarettes that they had left behind with the help of nicotine vaping products like the e-cigarettes sold here at Vaper Empire.

Mr Hunt then delayed the proposed ban, pushing the start date to 1 January 2021—a delay of six months.

This is when Senator Hughes decided that it was time to launch an investigation into vaping.

The Senate Select Committee on Tobacco Harm Reduction was established on 6 October 2020, launching an inquiry into tobacco reduction strategies with a focus on nicotine vaping products.

While Hughes told The Sydney Morning Herald that she "had zero intention of quitting" cigarettes when she first started vaping, she has since seen the light as she now says that she has "zero want, need, desire for a cigarette" after switching to vaping, adding that the very thought of one now makes her feel ill.

"I have zero want, need, desire for a cigarette at all, in fact the thought of one makes me feel quite ill."

"I do hope that we can work with the health minister to say there are people that just want to consume nicotine in a safer way than cigarettes, and you can buy cigarettes much everywhere," Hughes told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hughes now wants the Australian Government to make nicotine e-cigarettes readily accessible to Australian smokers by regulating them as a consumer product and allowing them to be sold in local stores.

In the meantime, Mr Hunt's proposed ban on nicotine vape imports has been scrapped, which means adult Australians can continue to import nicotine vaping products such as e-cigarettes and e-liquid from our online vape store for personal use. Since 2012, Vaper Empire has been serving adult customers across Australia, providing convenient access to premium vaping products through our online store. We offer fast shipping to customers across Australia and our AU-based customer support team is available to answer any questions and to help guide customers to the right products to fit their needs.

Visit our online store today to start shopping for vaping supplies and see why customers across Australia love our products!

A new five-year study led by tobacco harm advocate and award-winning Professor Riccardo Polosa of the University of Catania's Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine has found that switching from smoking to vaping may have long-term benefits for smokers suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic inflammatory lung disease that obstructs airflow in the lungs and is estimated to affect between 10 to 15 per cent of smokers.

"The most important finding of the study is that COPD patients can abstain from smoking cigarettes indefinitely if suitable substitution is available," Dr Polosa told Filter. "E-cigarettes can be a massive remedy for COPD and this is important for physicians, patients and their caregivers. The study confirms that 'harm reversal' is achievable and that it can be maintained for years. We are telling the world that substantial health gains are within reach when substituting deadly tobacco cigarettes for vaping products."

What Is COPD?

COPD is an umbrella term for a group of progressive lung conditions that block airflow, of which chronic bronchitis and emphysema are the most common. Symptoms of COPD include difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing, and mucus production. Smoking tobacco is the leading cause of COPD.

Does Vaping Make COPD Worse?

The study is essentially a continuation of a prior study in which the study's authors examined the impact that switching to vaping had on smokers with COPD after three years. Two years later, the study's authors have returned to release the results of this latest study, their five-year follow-up. First, let's take a look at the results of the initial 3-year follow-up that this latest study expands upon.

Vaping's Benefits After 3-Years

The original study followed 48 COPD patients over the course of three years and broke them down into two groups, smokers with COPD who had switched to vaping and a control group made up of smokers who continued to smoke. By the time the three-year follow-up was conducted, only 44 of the patients remained in the study.

The three-year follow-up found that smokers who had switched to e-cigarettes reported improvements in their respiratory symptoms while those that continued to smoke reported no change.

Vaping's Benefits After 5-Years

Two years later in the five-year follow-up, researchers found that the study participants who had switched to vaping continued to experience improvements in their health. These participants reported a roughly 50 per cent reduction in flare-ups as well as improvement to cardiorespiratory health, ability to exercise, and quality of life.

While the initial three-year follow-up included 44 participants, only 39 participants remained at the time the five-year follow-up was conducted. Four of the participants that were not included in the latest dataset were rejected by the study after they relapsed back to cigarettes.

Implications For Older Smokers With COPD

The study's participants had an average age of about 65 years old.

According to Dr Annie Kleykamp, a tobacco harm reduction expert and research associate professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, the study's findings give "support to the idea that older smokers switching to e-cigarettes can improve their health and potentially slow the effects of COPD."

Ready To Make The Switch?

If you're a smoker who is ready to make the switch over to vaping, you will find everything that you need to make the switch right here at Vaper Empire. Our online vape store carries everything you need to vape instead of smoke. We stock a wide range of premium e-cigarette kits, vape juices, and accessories. Our TPD compliant vape juice is made to EU standards inside of state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities and we offer all of our vape juice flavours in a variety of different nicotine strengths.

Have questions? Need answers? Contact our customer support team in Australia by phone at 1800 VAPERS (1800 827 377), by e-mail at [email protected], or through live chat by clicking the live chat icon in the corner of the screen.

Aotearoa Vapers Community Advocacy (AVCA), which was formed by vapers across New Zealand in 2016 with the mission of promoting vaping as a tool to help smokers quit, is calling on non-vaping Kiwis to remember who vaping is helping quit smoking: their friends, family, and colleagues.

"We now encourage non-vaping Kiwis to remember vaping is stopping their colleagues, friends, and family from smoking," Nancy Loucas, co-director of AVCA, said in a statement.

AVCA's call for non-vapers to refrain from shunning those who vape comes on the heels of New Zealand's ban on workplace vaping, which began on 11 November. As a result of the recently passed Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act, the existing prohibition on smoking inside workplaces in New Zealand has been extended to include vaping.

In New Zealand, smoking-related illnesses are responsible for 5,000 deaths a year. Research has shown vaping to be much less harmful than smoking. The Ministry of Health of New Zealand's Vaping Facts website clearly states that vaping is less harmful than smoking and it can help smokers quit smoking.

Vaping In New Zealand With Vaper Empire

At Vaper Empire, we serve customers all across New Zealand. Our premium vaping supplies are available for convenient purchase through our online vape shop. We carry vape juice in varying nicotine concentrations and many flavours as well as vape kits and vaping accessories. We ship all of our products directly to our customers with express shipping to ensure timely delivery.

Visit our online store to start shopping now!

A new study led by postdoctoral researcher Karolien Adriaens of the KU Leuven research university in Belgium has found that about one in five smokers in the Belgian region of Flanders managed to completely quit smoking just six months after buying their very first electronic cigarette, adding to the scientific evidence that supports vaping as a means to smoking cessation.

The study's participants were asked to fill out questionnaires that assessed their smoking and vaping behaviour at three different stages following the initial purchase of their first e-cig. These three stages were intake, three months in, and six months after they purchased their first e-cigarette. All of the participants had their smoking status biochemically verified using eCO measurements.

Study participants used e-liquid with an average nicotine concentration of 7mg/ml. Among those who participated in the study, 18% completely quit smoking after six months and 25% at least halved the number of cigarettes that they smoked each day.

Successful Quitters Consumed More E-Liquid

The researchers also found a correlation between the amount of e-liquid used and the rate of successfully quitting smoking. For participants who had completely quit smoking after six months, the researchers noted that their findings showed that they consumed more e-juice than participants who did not manage to completely quit smoking at the six-month marker.

Vaping With Vaper Empire

Here at Vaper Empire, we make it our business to provide smokers and vapers with only the best vaping products, all of which are conveniently accessible through our online vape shop. For the best e-liquid, vape kits, parts and accessories, shop online at the Vaper Empire vape store.

Here's an overview of our vape kits:

Viggo

The VIGGO Series pod vape is the latest e-cigarette from Vaper Empire. Easy to use, ultra-portable, and long-lasting. The perfect vape.

Our new pod vape system, the Viggo Series, is easy to use and offers one-click vape pods with a leak-free design. Each pod is prefilled with our own premium vape liquid and contains 1.8ml of juice. That's enough e-juice to last the average vaper well over a day and the battery that powers the Viggo is powerful enough to last more than a day without a recharge. Variable voltage takes this compact and power-packed pod system to the next level, giving users the control they desire over their e-cigarette.

ViggoPods come in many vape juice flavours, including:

• Berry Crush
• Watermelon Mints
• Flat White COffee
• Caramel Tobacco
• Orange Crush
• Creamy Custard
• Whole Leaf Tobacco
• Tobacco
• Menthol
• Apple
• Blueberry

V-Pack II

When all you really want is an e-cig that looks and feels like a cigarette to make that transition from smoker to vaper as easy as can be, it's our V-Pack II Series that you're looking for. The V-Pack II has that cig-a-like design that you're looking for and its refill cartridges are available in lots of different flavours and lots of different nicotine strengths. Add a portable charging case to the picture and you can see why so many of our customers lover their V-Packs!

Vibe

Powerful vapes don't have to be difficult to use and the Vibe Series is proof. With a 2000 mAh battery that offers long-lasting sessions and impressive vapour production, the Vibe is designed for serious vapers that demand the most of their e-cigarettes. Its refillable tank has a 4.5 ml capacity, making it perfect for vapers who don't want to spend all of their time filling and refilling their tanks. With just one button used to operate the entire device, vaping has never been easier.

V-Twist

Vape pens are all the rage these days due to their convenience and power, but most lack the ability to customise their airflow and voltage — two features that our V-Twist Series vape pen does offer. With the V-Twist, all it takes is a twist to change the voltage and make quick adjustments to the airflow, allowing users to perfect the vapour that it produces to fit their needs.

Vantage

When all you want is a simple vape pen that you can tuck away in your pocket and pull out when it's time for a quick puff, the Vaper Empire Vantage Series is the vaporizer pen for you. It's small, it's easy to use, and it's refillable. What more could you ask for?

Vaping in New Zealand is now prohibited in areas where smoking in the country was already banned. This includes indoor areas of workplaces and licensed premises, the latter of which includes bars, cafes, sports clubs, casinos, and restaurants.

The new regulation prohibiting vapers from using their e-cigs in spaces previously designated as smoke-free zones comes as a result of a recent amendment to the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990, which is now known as the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990.

As of 11 November 2020, the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Act 2020 is on the books and the new legislation designates smoke-free areas as vape-free areas.

Vape-Free Areas In New Zealand

While there are places you can't vape in New Zealand, there are many places where vaping is permitted!

Areas where you can't vape in NZ now include:

1. Buildings and grounds of schools and early childhood centres
2. Indoor areas of licensed premises and workplaces

This includes the following areas:

• Bars
• Restaurants
• Cafes
• Sports Clubs
• Casinos
• Offices
• Factories
• Warehouses
• Work Canteens
• Smoko Rooms

Where To Buy Vape Supplies NZ

For those that want to vape in NZ, Vaper Empire offers the convenience of shopping from home. Through our online vape store, vapers in New Zealand can purchase a wide range of vaping products, including new vape starter kits, vape juice, replacement parts for vaping devices, and product accessories. We sell vape tanks, e-cig refills, vape pens, and everything else that vapers desire. Best of all, we deliver all of our premium vaping products directly to our customers' doorsteps in New Zealand using express delivery to ensure that all orders are quickly dispatched to our customers.

To start vaping with Vaper Empire and discover distinction, visit our online e-cig store and start shopping today.

Hollie Hughes, committee chair for the Senate select committee on tobacco harm reduction, has made her thoughts on the matter of vaping as it pertains to tobacco harm reduction quite clear as she was recently quoted as having said that she believes vaping is "an incredibly powerful cessation tool" that is "part of [the] discussion of further reducing smoking rates in Australia" and that she does not think non-smokers are going to start vaping.

"I would like to see recommendations around very serious regulation," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Hughes as having said. "I don't think anyone is going to be a non-smoker and take it up. I think it's an incredibly powerful cessation tool and part of [the] discussion of further reducing smoking rates in Australia."

The committee that Hughes chairs have opened an inquiry into nicotine vaping products. According to Hughes, over 8000 submissions have been sent to the committee and they have been overwhelmingly supportive of vaping while outright rejecting the proposed prescription model.

Hughes is by no means alone in her views on vaping as they relate to smoking cessation. In fact, one of the submissions that her committee received was from none other than Michael Johnsen MP.

Johnsen, Member for the Upper Hunter in the NSW Parliament and a Member of The Nationals, sent his own submission to the Senate Inquiry in which he made clear his support for vaping as a smoking cessation method that he has personally used to successfully quit smoking after 40 years.

In his submission, he called for nicotine vaping products to be made "as widely available as tobacco products – and without a prescription." Johnsen also cited what he referred to as "overwhelming evidence" that vaping is not only "far safer" than smoking cigarettes but also "a proven method" for quitting smoking.

Switch To Vape With Vaper Empire

Vaper Empire, founded in 2012, provides smokers and vapers in Australia with convenient online access to a wide range of premium vaping products that are available with and without nicotine. At our online store, customers will find an array of e-juice flavours, all of which are TPD compliant and made in state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities. We also offer vape starter kits that include everything smokers need to make the switch.

All of our customers' orders are shipped express with DHL Express, ensuring fast delivery in as little as 3-5 days. To start vaping with Vaper Empire's premium vaping products, visit our online store today and place your order!