According to VapingDaily, the prominence of vapers globally has risen exponentially since 2013. Just five years ago, online vaping sales in China, for example, totalled $14 million. But in 2014, they reached $81 million. And then vaping industry stats for 2016 show a huge increase to $266 million.

There are some strict regulations in place in certain areas of the world, so we have to rely on sales stats to know about the uprise in amounts of vapers, and smaller, independent studies.

According to VapingDaily: " data gathered from all 27-member states of the European Union by researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Athens, use of e-cigarettes by EU citizens increased from 7.2% in 2012 to 11.6% in 2014". 

They also stated that: "According to the Ipsos/Reuters survey of 5,769 adults in the United States, 10% of them admitted to being a vaper or to daily e-cigarette use." The stats can be found here, and interestingly also state that about 15% of people under 40 vape.

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of stats on how many Australians are currently vaping, but according to DoctorPortal, there is a way to estimate. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare conducted a study related to e-cig use in 2016. If we use this data and apply it to the 2016 census data, we come out with an estimation of people who are currently vaping in Australia.

According to their maths, it shows that there may be up to 239,000 people currently vaping in Australia! But, that includes "a large number of people who use e-cigarettes less frequently than once a month. If these are excluded, then the number comes down to fewer than 178,000" (Doctor Portal).

Of these 178,000-239,000 people, there is going to be a huge variance in frequency of use, nicotine consumption and more. But it is great to see more and more people in Australia and worldwide adopting vaping and considering a safer alternative.

Shop vaping starter kits here. 

Stuck on what to pick next? There are a few things you need to think about to decide on the next flavour that you're going to order!

Most importantly, which type of flavour are you after? There are a few main types of e-liquids categories to choose from.

These are: Mint, Sweet, Tobacco and Fruit.

If you're keen on a minty flavour, we recommend trying Spearmint or Spring in Siberia, or any of our menthol flavours, which will be a nice refreshing hit for you.

If you're after a sweet e-liquid, then these dessert-like flavours will suit you perfectly: Vanilla, Butterscotch, Coffee, Cola, Cappuccino, Rhubarb & Custard, Velvet Elvis, Twice On Sundae, or Salvador's Siesta. We love our sweet flavours and recommend trying to mix a couple of these flavours together. Vanilla and Coffee/Cappucino make a great mix, as well as Butterscotch and Vanilla.

After a classic tobacco treat? Then you will love Ragtime Raconteur, Virginia Gold, Reserve Blend, Old Port Royal, Tobacco RY4, or the classic Tobacco e-liquid.

And finally, if you want a fruity flavour, there are so many options, from Strawberry, Coconut, Blueberry, Apple, Mango and more, to the fusions of Freudian Slipper, Castaway, Red Lemonade, Berry Chill or The Amazonian. The basic fruit flavours are amazing mixed too, so be sure to try Mango with Coconut or Blueberry and Apple.

Next, select your e-liquid's nicotine strength. We have a few different options, 0mg, 6mg, 12mg, 18mg and 24mg. If you're unsure, we would be happy to help you discuss the right strength for you.

Click here to find your next e-liquid here. 

Want reasons to become a VE society member? One of the main reasons people choose to sign up as a VE society member is to receive our coveted offers and discounts. Obviously! But here are a summary of all of the reasons why you might want to be a VE society member. 

1. Amazing customer service.Vaper Empire is not just another company. We value our customer experience above all else so every single interaction between us and our customers is extremely important to us.
2. Premium products.Our products are known for being premium. We don't put out anything we aren't 100% happy with.  Our e-liquid flavours are meticulously created by our mixologists and our devices are at the top of the line. We don't do mediocre. Our products have been trialled and rigorously tested to ensure that quality is never compromised.
3.  Discounts and special offers.We send you special offers, but we don't overdo it. We aren't looking to overload you with information or emails, and only email you if we genuinely think it's something you would want in your inbox.
4. Monthly VE society news and blogs.Once a month, we send out all of the great content that we think you'd like to read, like vaping news, guides on e-liquids and vaping products, special offers, discounts and more. As mentioned earlier, we don't overdo it and cap it at once per month!

There are many more, but there are some of the great reasons to sign up for VE society. Sign up here. 

Imagine what you could do with an extra $6,000 in your pocket? That's roughly how much you would save from making the switch.

You can see how much money you'd save by switching here, or how much you are already saving based on your previous smoking habits.

All calculations are estimates only and based on research provided by Associate Professor Colin Mendelsohn, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, but it's great to see the impact that switching to vaping could make for every smoker in Australia.

In 2016, The National Drug Strategy Household Survey report found the smoking rate among adults was 12.8%. This doesn't factor in smokers under the age of 18.  Quit.org notes that a report on Australian Secondary School Students’ Use of Tobacco in 2014 showed the overall rate of current smoking among Australian students aged 12 to 17 years was 5.1%.

According to this website,  someone that only smokes 5 cigarettes per day has the potential to save $3,000 per year, let alone someone who smokes a pack a day. The average smoker would save $6,000 per year.

Of course, these figures don't factor in your new vaping habit, but, a bottle of 10ml Vaper Empire E-Liquid will last about 5-7 days for a 10 per day smoker. So the cost each day ends up being about $2.14 or $782 per year. Factor in one starter kit per year, and that's saving of about $5,100 per year. Think of all of the holidays that kind of cash could buy you!

Click here to shop for the best premium e-liquids, vaping products and accessories. 

Vaping has now become legal in New Zealand. The Australian government is still lagging behind in this area, while in Britain, the US and now New Zealand, all back vaping. 

Earlier this year, a federal inquiry was made into vaping. The inquiry chairman, Trent Zimmerman, said e-cigarettes could save thousands of lives if long-term smokers turn to them as an alternative to tobacco.

According to University of NSW professor Colin Mendelsohn, “New Zealand is recognising that ... vaping devices which heat a nicotine solution without smoke or combustion are substantially safer than products which burn tobacco, like cigarettes.”

“Most of the harm from combustible tobacco is caused by the 7000 chemicals produced by the burning process. It is unethical and unscientific to ban a much safer product that could help many thousands of smokers to quit a deadly addiction. It would be a mistake to delay these products for another 20 to 30 years. Too many lives are at stake."

From the inception of vaping a number of years ago, many vapers enjoyed the fact that you could brazenly vape almost anywhere you wished to. Many accepted it if they realised that vapour wasn't "smoke". Additionally, as vaping was so new, there were no laws to prohibit it, so vapers were able to do what they liked, to a certain degree.

Since vaping has become more prevalent and many more establishments have created laws and rules around vaping, many vapers/e-cigarette users have chosen to practice "steal vaping" while in public to avoid attention. Stealth vaping is vaping in public or prohibited spaces but concealing it so that others don't realise that the vaper is using their device.

Of course, this is not a good idea for a multitude of reasons. Vaping when you shouldn't could result in a fine or you being removed from a particular location for breaking the rules or law. Plus, organisations and businesses are free to implement "no vaping" rules or policies, and by entering their property, you should ensure that you're respecting their reasons for doing so.

Regardless of their motives for banning vaping, whether it be for other patrons, the smell or another reason, it's not too hard to walk out the front and vape there instead, just like you would if you were a smoker.

Of course, "stealth vaping" is totally acceptable if you are simply vaping discreetly at home or at any other acceptable location,  just not in an aeroplane bathroom.

With the weather getting cooler, here are some delicious e-liquid flavours that we love to vape in winter. 10 of our favourite winter e-liquid flavours as chosen by the editor. Of course, these flavours are superb all year round, but these are perfect for dreary days. 

BUTTERSCOTCH

This sweet, buttery flavour will leave you wanting more! Swap hot butterscotch pudding for it's equally tasty e-liquid.  This flavour also works well mixed with tobacco. According to customer Denise: "I love the all day vaping of the smooth and sweet flavour of this. I also mix it with vanilla for a spectacular heavily taste".

Click here to see all of our e-liquids.

Have you ever wondered what's actually in our range of Classic and Artisan E-Liquids? If you wanted to know the components of some of your favourite E-Liquid flavours, then here we will explain the ingredients for you in detail, including where else they are in use and why we use them:

E-Liquid is a liquid heated up in an E-Cigarette or Vaping device that converts into an aerosol, allowing the user to inhale it.

Vaper Empire E-liquid's are made from just a few main ingredients. These being Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerin, Flavouring and nicotine. Of course, some e-liquids don't contain any nicotine at all.

The flavourings we use are all food-safe and created by our team of professional mixologists.

Propylene Glycol is a common ingredient found in food and cosmetics, as well as asthma inhalers. It is also commonly used as a preservative. It is thin and has no flavour at all and is a very common ingredient in E-Liquid due to this, as this means that the flavour doesn't change by adding it to the mix. The thin nature of this ingredient means that it doesn't produce as much of a cloud.

On the contrary, Vegetable Glycerin has a slightly sweet taste to it, so it doesn't work with every flavour, but it does produce more of a cloud when vaped. Vegetable Glycerin is commonly found in medication and food.

In order to create the perfect flavour mix, our mixologists add the perfectly developed flavours to the base of the liquid, the Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin mixture. Finally, if nicotine is required, that is added to the E-Liquid.

Nicotine is a common ingredient, as people tend to use this as a tool to move from cigarettes to vaping, but our liquids are available with no nicotine added.

You can check the ingredients of any of our E-Liquid flavours under the "Product Specifications" on each individual product page.  For example, you will see something like this under the tab:  E-Liquid Contents: - Propylene Glycol/Vegetable Glycerin 50 / 50 - Flavouring – Nicotine. 

Due to the overwhelming response to our "most delicious flavour" competition, we decided that there should be more than one winner! Our lucky runners-up will receive coupons for being part of this competition.

There were so many incredible flavour suggestions, we were overwhelmed by having to choose just one- they all sounded so delicious!

We decided to choose our favourite flavour submissions that we could actually make (watch this space!) and had our Facebook community vote for the best flavour ideas. And the results were as follows:

1.8% voted for Hazelnut Latte - Mith Lukham
8.9% voted for Turkish Delight - Jo Wilson
12.5% voted for Cheesecake - Ben Webster
14.3% voted for Fruitloops - Bobby Potter
26.8% voted for Salted Caramel - AJ Sherwood/Kevin Guijarro McCann

And finally..... 35.7% voted for GREEN APPLE MINT! Kristian Kier is our lucky winner of 8 x Vaper Empire E-liquid Flavours!

Congratulations also to the runners up who receive coupon code for their efforts.

We shall reach out via Private Message to all the finalists to arrange your prizes soon.

If you'd like to take part in competitions, be sure to like our Facebook page to stay in the loop on all things Vaper Empire.