VE Society News

The Australian Health Department's previous proposal to ban nicotine e-liquid imports on 1 July 2020 has been postponed until 1 January 2021, but that does not mean that the fight is over for Australia's many vapers. Here's what you can do to fight the upcoming ban and make sure that your voice is heard:

Contact Your Local MP

To fight the Australian Government's upcoming ban on importing nicotine e-liquid, we strongly recommend you contact your local Member of Parliament to let them know what you think of the Government's decision to ban nicotine imports for vapers. To make it easy for you to contact your local MP, Legalise Vaping Australia, a grassroots advocacy and activist organisation that advocates for the legalisation and regulation of vaping and e-cigs across Australia, has put together a simple online form that you can fill out to quickly send your local MP a message letting them know that you are against the nicotine ban.

The Australian Retail Vaping Industry Association (ARVIA) has also put together an online form that you can find on their website that you can use to send your local MP a strong message urging them to overturn the ban on nicotine imports.

ARVIA also has an online form that you can use to send your local MP a message voicing your support for the legalisation of nicotine vaping in Australia, which you can find here.

Contact Your Senator

Once you have contacted your local MP, the next step is to contact your senators. You can use this form on ARVIA's website to send your senators a strong message of support for the legalisation of nicotine vaping in Australia and to let them know what you think of Greg Hunt's proposed ban on nicotine imports.

If you're not sure who your senator is or who your local MPs are, you can use this online tool on Legalise Vaping Australia's website to quickly determine who they are and contact them.

Sign The Petitions

There are a couple of online petitions that you can sign to show your support for vaping in Australia and to demand action from the Australian Government.

The first is a petition on the change.org website that was started by Australian vaper John Winchester, which calls on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison to legalise vaping in Australia and save lives. This petition has already received over 7,600 signatures and it could use more. You can sign the petition here.

The second petition was created by Coalition MPs Senator Matt Canavan and George Christiansen MP. This petition created by Government MPs with loud voices has already received over 20,000 signatures. You can sign this petition online to show your support and ensure that your voice is heard.

Share Your Story

We strongly encourage you to share your vaping success story by using the hashtag #VapingSavedMe on social media. If you are one of the many Australians who has used vaping to quit smoking, please share your story and make sure that your voice is heard.

Vaping In Australia With Vaper Empire

At Vaper Empire, we serve vapers all across Australia through our online store. We ship all of our vaping products directly to our customers using express shipping, ensuring delivery in as little as 3-5 days. We carry a wide range of vaping products, including nicotine vape juice, e-cigarette starter kits, and more. For everything that you need to vape in Australia, visit our online store.

Have you ever wondered why people swap over from smoking to vaping? While there are many reasons, we're going to showcase some of them for you today, starting with yet another scientific study which has shown the lung cancer risk between the two to be completely incomparable.

Vapour Contains Fewer Harmful Chemicals

The study, which was published in the Journal of Aerosol Science, examined the lung cancer risk for people who are active vapers and anyone who may be affected by their secondhand vapour. It looked closely at the particles in vapour and compared them to the smoke emitted from cigarettes, and found that the amount of harmful substance that was emitted from vapour was substantially lower.  This study of both active and passive vapours has reconfirmed what we have known for quite some time now, that e-cigs are much safer than smoking tobacco.

Just in the US, approximately half a million people die from tobacco-related illnesses like lung cancer, throat cancer and other diseases. Even non-smokers are at risk due to the harmful particles emitted when others smoke within close proximity. A huge 41,000 people (or more) die each year in the United States due to illness related to second-hand smoke.

Studies like this are increasing the amount of health and governing bodies that are recommending vaping as a healthier alternative to smoking. They aren't comparable in terms of their effect on health. Vaping has proven again and again to be a very attractive alternative to smoking.

How Vaping Compares To Smoking

The study cited above is part of a growing body of scientific evidence that makes clear the distinctions between smoking and vaping. From what science has shown us, the consensus appears quite clear at this time: vaping is a much better alternative to smoking.

Vapour Contains No Tar

Public Health England estimates vaping to be significantly less harmful than smoking. At Vaper Empire, smokers will find everything they need to switch from smoking to vaping.

Can you imagine filling your lungs with tar and staining your teeth disgusting shades of yellow and brown? Well, that's exactly what you're doing when you inhale cigarette smoke. Unlike the smoke produced by lit cigarettes, the vapour that is produced through vaping does not contain any tar. That's right, there's no tar in e-cigarette vapour.

As for the staining of teeth, a study conducted by the research and development wing of British American Tobacco suggests that vaping may not stain teeth. At the very least, the study suggests that vaping does not stain teeth anywhere close to as bad as smoking does. So if you're a smoker who appreciates their pearly whites, then perhaps it's time you consider switching from smoking to vaping.

Research Shows Vaping To Be Less Harmful Than Smoking

Smoking and vaping are by no means the same and the latest research from Public Health England (PHE) really does well to make this point clear. According to PHE's expert independent evidence review, e-cigarettes are significantly less harmful to health than tobacco products like traditional cigarettes.

PHE's research estimates e-cigarettes to be around 95% less harmful than smoking, which is obviously more than a subtle difference between the two.

Perhaps the most surprising finding of their study is how many people don't realise just how much less harmful vaping is than smoking. According to their research, nearly half of the population in the United Kingdom does not yet know that e-cigarettes carry only a small fraction of the risk of conventional cigarettes.

Vaping Is Cheaper Than Smoking

With cigarette prices continuing to rise, especially in countries like Australia and New Zealand, which lead the world in cigarette prices, vaping is quickly becoming that much more appealing with its comparatively low costs. In Australia, cigarette prices are higher than anywhere else in the world, which causes many Australian smokers significant financial strain and even leads some smokers to look to the black market for cheaper cigarettes. A better alternative, one that's not only less expensive but also likely to be much less harmful from what research has shown, is vaping.

A pack-a-day smoker can save thousands of dollars each year by simply switching to vaping. As it turns out, vaping supplies are relatively cheap, even if you're buying the best that the market has to offer.

The Best Vape Starter Kits

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

At Vaper Empire, we offer our own brand of premium vaping products, all of which are available to adult customers through our online vape store that is always open. At our online store, you will find everything you need to switch over to vaping, including e-cigarette starter kits, vape juice, replacement parts, and accessories. We have it all and we ship our products express straight to our customers in Australia and New Zealand. So if you're ready to switch to vaping, then we're here to help.

Our expert staff of Australian-based customer service representatives understand the difficulties smokers down under face when trying to switch from smoking to vaping. That's why our staff is always available to answer any questions and help you choose the right vape supplies to fit your needs.

Visit our vape store today to choose the starter kit that's right for you!

We’ve all been there. You’ve seen people vaping and have decided that you want to give it a try for yourself. After all, it all looks so simple: Just replace your cigarette with an electronic alternative, job done. But when you start shopping around for a device and all the necessary accessories, things start to look a lot more complicated. There are more e-cigarettes and vaping devices than you expected, and you can’t decide which type is the best for you as a newbie vaper.

So, naturally, you go online in search for advice and this is where things can get more complicated still as experienced vapers throw around terms like “box mod” and “atomiser” like they’re common everyday terms.

All of a sudden, reverting back to the familiar comfort of cigarettes might seem like the easiest option for you---after all, why should you have to learn about a whole new world of technical gadgets and confusing terminology just to get your nicotine fix? How are you supposed to get to grips with the seemingly complex world of vaping before you can even consider using it to replace an expensive, addictive, and deadly smoking habit?

Information Overload

Depending on who you speak to, you are going to get a boatload of different information. If you ask 10 different people what the best type of e-cig or vaping device is for you, chances are that you’re going to get 10 different answers. And the same can be said when you ask what the best vape brand is, which shop sells the best accessories, and which e-liquid flavour is best.

So, where do you start!? Admittedly, choosing your first e-cigarette is no easy task… but at the same time, nothing worth doing is ever easy. Putting in the time and research to make the correct decision is definitely a worthwhile endeavour.

To make your research that little bit easier, we have put together this quick guide to the different types of e-cigarette and which type is better for each use case or type of user.

This is Vaper Empire's V-Pack II Series, a top of the line cig-a-like kit that's great for former smokers who are making the switch.

Types of E-Cigarette

Although there are a few different types of e-cigarettes/vapes, they typically all work in the same basic way. They use a battery to heat up a metal coil that is wrapped around an absorbent “wick” which is saturated with e-liquid (or “vape juice”) from the e-cigarette’s/vape’s tank. When this liquid-saturated wick heats up, it turns the e-liquid into an inhalable vapour.

However, there are big differences between basic cig-a-like e-cigarettes, vape pens, pods, tank systems, and mods, and it is important to know what these are.

‘Classic’ Cig-a-Like E-Cigarettes

Cig-a-like e-cigarettes are the go-to basic vaping product that looks similar to tobacco cigarettes, hence the name. They typically have small batteries and contain the e-liquid and heating coil in a “cartomiser” element. They are the simplest of all vaping products and are usually operated by taking a drag. Cig-a-likes are often disposable, however, reusable, refillable, and rechargeable options are also available, like Vaper Empire’s V-Pack II.

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

Pod Vapes

Pod vapes are a sort of “in-between” device that are more powerful than cig-a-like e-cigarettes, but not as much as tank systems and vape pens. They represent a happy medium between the two devices that produce a good amount of vapour that satisfies nicotine cravings while also remaining discreet and convenient to carry around.

They are ideal for people who need to vape a lot on the move but don’t want to carry around bulky devices and bottles of e-liquid. Depending on the type of vape pod system, users only need to carry around a couple of small replacement pods to see them through the day, if that.

Tank Systems and Vape Pens

Although cig-a-like e-cigarettes are very popular, tank systems and vape pens are the most widely used devices because they often feature better performance standards and last longer. These devices move away from the cigarette-like appearance, instead taking on the profile of something more along the likes of a marker pen.

They feature tanks to store e-liquids, larger batteries for a longer and more powerful vaping experience, and components that can be replaced when they wear out. Unlike e-cigarettes, tank systems and pens are operated by button-activation and sometimes feature variable voltage and airflow controls like Vaper Empire’s V-Twist Series.

Tank systems and vape pens are the ideal product for people who have just quit smoking and want an e-cigarette/vape that is able to deliver a significant amount of vapour which each drag. While cig-a-like e-cigarettes are great and serve a purpose, vape pens are better suited to some vapers, particularly those that need vapor production more powerful than what cig-a-likes can provide.

The Vibe Series is one of Vaper Empire's most popular vapes thanks to its high capacity tank, powerful 2000 mAh battery, and easy to use design. An excellent vape for beginner vapers and experts alike.

Vape Box Mods

These are the largest and most powerful vaping systems and come in a huge range of shapes and sizes. They are mostly box-shaped (hence the name) but can also take on a more sleek profile. Along with larger and longer-lasting batteries, box mods offer extra features and can support more demanding tasks and use.

Box mods tend to be used by serious vapers who like to “cloud chase”---produce thick vapour clouds---for entertainment purposes and those who simply need the best vapour production that a vape can offer. Out of all the vaping products, box mods bear the least resemblance to cigarettes. While mods are often seen as the most complicated types of vapes, we at Vaper Empire offer a comparable device we call the Vibe Series, which offers the power of a mod without the complexities that can make them difficult to use.

Want to Find Out More?

If you want to find out more about the range of different vaping devices and products available, you should visit the Vaper Empire online store.

At Vaper Empire, we design and manufacture our own comprehensive range of e-cigarettes, pods, pens, and mods that cover the full spectrum, from very simple to advanced. Whether you are looking for something simple, small and discreet or require a device that packs a punch, there is a product line for every type of user. And because we are widely recognised as Australia’s number one vaping brand for premium products, you can use our products safe in the knowledge that they have been manufactured to the highest standards and have undergone rigorous quality control checks. On top of all this, you can rest assured that each and every single one of our vapes is easy to use.

In June 2019, University of California San Francisco researchers published a controversial paper in the American Heart Association’s scientific journal that claimed that e-cigarettes and vaping could lead to a heart attack. In this paper, the authors stated that vaping and smoking posed a similar heart attack risk and that doing both together was a very dangerous option that increased this risk.

Fierce Backlash Leads to U-Turn

Naturally, this study was the subject of fierce backlash from the vaping community and earlier this year, after months of pressure from both the vaping and scientific communities, the study was retracted. However, due to the American Heart Association’s stature as an authoritative source and the study’s coverage by major news organisations including CNN and Yahoo!, the damage had already been done.

In a statement explaining the study’s retraction, the Journal of the American Heart Association’s editors expressed their concern that the study may have been based on misleading data. "The editors are concerned that the study conclusion is unreliable," they wrote.

This potentially misleading data stems from the fact that many of the vapers that the research team analysed as part of the study were both either current or former smokers. Current and former smokers inherently have an increased risk of heart attacks, so it is hardly fair to use these people in a study on vaping and then conclude that it is vaping that leads to this higher risk, not the smoking of combustible cigarettes. Following the revelation that misleading data may have been used, several scholars at public-health schools worldwide wrote to the Journal of the American Heart Association and demanded a full and thorough investigation.

Among those who signed the letter was David Sweanor, an adjunct professor of law at the University of Ottawa who has studied the global tobacco industry for decades. He said: "There are serious problems with the peer-review process and the reluctance of journals to retract invalid work. This has helped feed the reduction in trust in academia, and science in general."

According to the journal’s editors, it was a failure of the study’s authors to revise their findings prior to a prescribed deadline which led to the publishing of the data. On Twitter, Stanton Glantz, one of the study’s lead authors, stood by his paper and took a dig at the journal’s editors, accusing them of relenting to “pressure from e-cig interests.”

Although the retraction of the study represents a win for vaping advocates, it is a bittersweet victory. The paper’s conclusions have fed the fire of fierce anti-vaping propaganda, something which critics have described as a “moral panic” over e-cigarettes.

E-Cigarette Misinformation

Its publication also could not have been timed any worse, coming at a time when rising concerns regarding the use of e-cigarettes among teenagers are already skewing public perception and spreading misinformation. Unfortunately, particularly in the United States, there is a great deal of “fake news” spreading which pegs e-cigarettes and vaping as an unhealthy and dangerous activity. This is, for the most part, completely false and has the dangerous effect of putting current smokers off and stopping them from taking up vaping, which the UK Government is encouraging smokers to do after Public Health England's e-cigarette evidence review found that e-cigs are likely much less harmful than cigarettes.

What is the Current Health Situation?

What we do know at the moment is that in the short-term, using e-cigarettes and vapes carries fewer health risks than smoking cigarettes. The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) have both provided statistics that peg smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths responsible for all kinds of illnesses such as cancers and diseases.

In addition, Public Health England (PHE) says that e-cigarettes are likely at least 95% less harmful than smoking combustible cigarettes.

Why E-Cigarettes Are Better

Cigarettes are very addictive and the smoke that they produce contains tar along with thousands of chemicals, many of which are known to cause serious disease and death. E-cigarettes, while their name is similar, produce an aerosol known as vapour that contains no tar and is, according to a growing body of scientific evidence, likely to be much less harmful than tobacco smoke.

A common way people attempt to quit smoking is to take up nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) such as nicotine patches and gums. These deliver nicotine to the body in what is believed to be a much safer way, however, they can be ineffective for some smokers.

E-cigarettes, on the other hand, are very effective NRTs and lead to much higher rates of smoking cessation. This is not only because e-cigarettes mimic the look and feel of smoking but because the user is in complete control of how much nicotine their bodies are getting. With nicotine patches and gums, this is not the case.

According to the findings of a new study carried out in the UK, e-cigarettes are nearly twice as effective as patches and gums when it comes to helping smokers quit cigarettes.

Ready to Try E-Cigarettes?

If you’re trying to quit smoking and are interested in giving e-cigarettes a try, there is no better place for you to get started than our own online store here at Vaper Empire, Australia’s premier retailer of premium vaping products. Our online store is full of our own high-quality bespoke products, including vape starter kits, e-juice, accessories, and replacement parts.

Dr Ranti Fayokun, a representative from the World Health Organization (WHO) and a scientist in the National Capacity-Tobacco Control Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, has admitted that e-cigarettes are less harmful than cigarettes. Fayokun's acknowledgement came in response to a question from a Filipino congressman during a congressional hearing on vaping regulation in the Philippines last December.

A Surprising Statement

At the time, Fayokun’s comment came as a surprise because of the WHO’s cautious stance on e-cigarettes. To date, the WHO has not made an official statement regarding their stance on switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes despite mounting scientific evidence that e-cigs are less harmful than regular cigarettes.

One of the most prominent examples of scientific evidence comes from Public Health England (PHE) which, in a study, concluded that e-cigarettes are as much as 95 per cent less harmful than cigarettes. PHE has since encouraged smokers who could not quit smoking through more “traditional” means like nicotine patches and gums to switch to the likely less harmful electronic alternative.

Another prominent example comes from the National Academies from Science, Engineering and Medicine which in 2018 released a report in which it acknowledged “completely switching from cigarettes to e-cigarettes will reduce exposure to numerous toxicants and carcinogens found in cigarettes”.

Speaking in the context of regulation, another WHO official commented that a ban on electronic cigarettes would create a sort-of black market that would be dangerous to public health. “If you ban them, there will simply be a black market. When the United States banned alcohol in the 1900s, that did not work out,” said Dr Andrew da Roza, an addiction psychotherapist and lawyer. “We need to regulate them, not ban them,” he added.

Why E-Cigarettes?

Cigarettes are extraordinarily addictive; a point that virtually all smokers can attest to. They have a very powerful impact on the brain. “If you are feeling depressed, smoking will lift your depression. If you are feeling anxious, smoking will calm you down. If you are feeling sleepy, smoking will pick you up,” da Roza said.

A huge part of cigarettes that makes them addictive is nicotine, a substance to which our bodies are genetically geared to be tolerant. Once nicotine enters your body, it is very easy to get “hooked” on it and this is how people become addicted to smoking and find it difficult to stop despite all the harm they cause.

One common way people attempt to quit is through the use of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) which deliver nicotine to the body in what is believed to be a safer way. A classic example is the nicotine patch and while they can work for some people, they are not as effective as e-cigarettes in helping people quit smoking. “NRTs vs. e-cigarettes show that e-cigarettes are twice as effective as NRTs,” admits da Roza. This is because e-cigarettes mimic the feeling and sensations of smoking in the mouth. They are also a good substitute because there is a social element attached to e-cigarettes, which is something that other NRTs do not have this. Wrapping up, da Roza added e-cigarettes “should be more accessible to smokers than cigarettes at a price point equal to or less than cigarettes.”

Always Consult a Doctor

We always recommend that you consult with your own doctor or physician before you make a major lifestyle change, including taking up the use of e-cigarettes. This is because your own physician is best placed to provide you with tailored health advice that accounts for your own health situation.

Although we are very supportive of vaping and believe that it is an unbeatable cessation tool, we are not public health experts---we simply pass on the latest information to our readers so that they can make their own informed decisions.

Ready to Try E-Cigarettes?

If you have already decided that you would like to give e-cigarettes a shot, there is no better place for you to get started than our own online store here at Vaper Empire. Although e-cigarettes and vaping can appear complex to the uninitiated, everything is kept very simple and easy to use… even our more advanced vapes have been designed with unparalleled simplicity.

Our online store is packed full of our own bespoke products that are designed to make vaping easy for you while providing a distinct vaping experience. We offer everything from cig-a-like e-cigs and powerful all-day vaping devices to unique artisanal e-liquids and premium vape pods. No matter what your preference is, you'll find what you're looking for here at Vaper Empire!

Why not try out one of our vape starter kits for the most seamless introduction possible to e-cigarettes?

E-cigarette and vape batteries are not like your standard double- and triple-A batteries that you find in a remote control: they are generally far more powerful. And because they are more powerful, they need to be handled carefully to prolong their lifespan. One way to do this is to ensure that you are looking after them and keeping them properly charged, among a few other things.

Looking After Your Vape’s Batteries

Not only does looking after your vape’s batteries improve safety (after all, batteries are sensitive chemical systems) but it improves the overall vaping experience, too. Here are a few ways you can look after your vape’s batteries to keep them charged and lasting longer.

Don’t Leave Batteries Unattended

There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, leaving a battery unattended while charging for a prolonged period of time can, in rare circumstances, prove to be a fire hazard. Now, this is incredibly rare, but it is important to remember that batteries are electronic devices, and any electronic device can malfunction and fail. Although the chances are slim, it is something worth mentioning.

Secondly, leaving a battery on charge when you don’t need to (i.e. when it has already charged) can stress and damage the battery cells. This will degrade the battery and over time, it will die quicker between charges. Subsequently, you only want to charge your vape batteries when they need to be charged and should remove them from their charger once they've been fully charged.

Avoid High Temperatures

Although most good quality batteries can tolerate temperature extremes at either end of the scale, you don’t want to test their limits and push your luck!

High temperatures strain your batteries and make them degrade faster, so make sure that you avoid using them in extreme direct sunlight and that when you are not using them, they are stored in a cool, dark place… and never in your car where temperatures might exceed their safety range.

Don’t Let Batteries Get Too Empty

You recharge batteries when they’re empty, right? Well… not exactly.

If possible, avoid letting your batteries get completely empty before you recharge them. The further that you let lithium-ion batteries discharge, the more capacity they lose. Most batteries of decent quality will come with some form of battery level indication, and we recommend keeping an eye on this so that you can charge them when they are almost empty but not quite. Doing this will help prolong their lives.

Use Married Batteries

If you are using a device that requires more than one battery, always make sure that you are using the same batteries… never use two different ones. In other words, keep them married in pairs and always together---this is a safety practice that makes sure the cells get the same number of charge cycles, helping delay capacity and performance problems.

We also always recommend using a battery developed by the manufacturer of the device you are using for the very best performance.

Replace Your Old Batteries

No matter how well you look after your vape’s batteries, they will grow tired with age. A battery that may have lasted for days with heavy use when you first bought it will eventually struggle to get through half a day of the same type of use. Lithium-ion batteries, the type used by e-cigs, vapes, and most electronics, degrade over time and there is nothing you can do about this. Although looking after them will get more time out of them, you are simply delaying the inevitable.

So, when you start noticing that your battery is not lasting for as long as it once did and it is becoming an inconvenience, perhaps it is time to start looking for a replacement? We recommend battery replacements roughly every six months to one year depending on how frequently and intensely you use your device.

Use The Right Battery

Just like there are many different types of vaping devices, there are many different types of batteries. This is because different vapes have different power requirements depending on their features and power requirements. For example, basic e-cigs and pens will require much less power and thus much smaller and simpler batteries than large tanks for sub-ohm vaping.

When you are choosing batteries for your device, ensure that it has the appropriate specs. Don’t just pick a random battery and hope for the best; this is a great way to waste your money!

If you find that your battery isn’t lasting as long as you’d like or that your device isn’t giving you what you think it should, you could always choose a bigger and better battery with more power. Obviously, bigger batteries have a higher capacity last for longer, and more power means that it will be able to produce more vapour. A good example is the 2000 mAh rechargeable battery seen in our very own Vaper Empire Vibe Series. Of course, the onus is on you to make sure that the battery is OK to use with your device---you can’t just go ahead and plonk a powerful battery in a standard vape pen.

Use The Right Device

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

If you think your vape experience is sub-par, perhaps you’re not using the right device?

Are you constantly on the move and running out of power? If so, you may benefit from a device that comes with a portable charging case like our V-Pack II system. Although the device itself is discreet and relatively simple, it is highly comparable to a cigarette and delivers just as much nicotine, plus there's the added bonus of being able to carry an extra battery stem and always being able to recharge your batteries using the case, which acts as a portable charging station.

Which brings us to our next point. You also have the option to carry extra batteries with you for your favourite type of device, whether it's a cig-a-like like our V-Pack II or a vape pen like our Vantage Series.

We recommend taking a look at our new pod system, the Viggo Series, which offers a powerful battery that's long-lasting and fast charging.

Buying Spare Batteries

Buying spare batteries can be a bit hit and miss. That is because batteries are much easier to manufacture than the rest of the components generally found in e-cigarettes and vapes. Naturally, some will be better than others. We always recommend buying from a vendor that also manufactures their own e-cigarettes and vapes because this is an indicator of better quality.

At Vaper Empire, we do just that. We design and manufacture our own range of high-quality vaping products. Widely recognised as an industry leader in Australia, none of our products, including accessories like batteries, compromise on quality. We offer only the best vaping supplies to our customers.

If you would like to find out more, check out the Vaper Empire online store.

Despite a flurry of bad press that has hit the wires recently, particularly towards the middle and back-end of last year, a research report published in the journal Addiction suggests that e-cigarettes help around 50,000 smokers in the UK quit each year.

This is fantastic news for an industry that has seen a rise in scepticism amid negative press coverage and misleading links between e-cigarettes and lung damage in the United States that are now known to have been caused by the inclusion of vitamin E acetate in black market vaping products, a substance banned in the UK.

An Increasing Success Rate

The study, which was led by University College London (UCL) researchers and supported by Cancer Research UK, drew data from the Smoking Toolkit Study, a series of cross-sectional household surveys that date back 14 years to 2006. According to the report, around 1,200 past-year smokers per quarter---50,498 in total---were involved in the study which included data on smokers aged 16+ in England between 2006 and 2017 who had smoked in the last 12 months.

The UCL research team found that as the use of e-cigarettes as a nicotine therapy and smoking cessation tool began to increase in 2011, so did the success rate of people successfully quitting smoking. And when the increase in the use of e-cigarettes hit its peak and flattened off around 2015, so did the increase in this success. The researchers then made statistical adjustments to factor for seasonality, population levels, underlying trends, and the affordability of tobacco to arrive at their estimation, that in 2017 around 50,700 to 69,930 smokers had stopped with the help of e-cigarettes. These people, the researchers say, would have carried on smoking if it were not for using e-cigarettes.

“This study builds on population surveys and clinical trials that find e-cigarettes can help smokers to stop. England seems to have found a sensible balance between regulation and promotion of e-cigarettes,” said lead author Dr Emma Beard, Senior Research Associate at UCL.

“Marketing is tightly controlled so we are seeing very little use of e-cigarettes by never-smokers of any age while millions of smokers are using them to try to stop smoking or to cut down the amount they smoke.”

However, the researchers acknowledged that the full picture is not yet known when it comes to e-cigarettes and the health effects, if any, are yet to be discovered.

Is Vaping Safe?

The most recent research backed by Public Health England (PHE) shows that using e-cigarettes and vaping is much better for you than smoking, with their research claiming that it is likely 95% safer, if not more. Therefore, if you already smoke cigarettes then switching completely to e-cigarettes will more than likely improve your health significantly.

However, we can say that about a lot of things. If you swapped smoking out for something else such as skydiving, you would still come out ahead. Skydiving daily for 70 years will give you a 23% chance of meeting an early demise whilst lifelong smokers have a 50% chance of dying before the age of 70.

E-cigarette vapour does not include thousands of chemicals like cigarette smoke. E-cig vapour also contains no tar, whereas tobacco smoke does. And although e-cigarettes do contain nicotine when used with nicotine e-liquid, nicotine itself is not known by medical science to cause cancer.

Should I Replace Cigarettes With An E-Cigarette?

We think that the evidence we have so far is pretty conclusive and that there are plenty of benefits to replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes.

When you replace your regular cigarette with an e-cigarette, you are able to satisfy your nicotine cravings to the same extent as smoking a regular cigarette but without having to smoke one. Essentially, you get the same feeling and the same relief but without all of the nasty chemicals, tar, smell, and expense.

If you are somebody who has already tried smoking cessation products like nicotine patches and gum before but to no avail, you may be naturally sceptical. However, nicotine patches and gum products make it difficult to control how much nicotine your body gets and when. So, if you have a particularly heavy craving, gums and patches may not satisfy it the way you need them to, which can lead to a relapse in smoking. In contrast, e-cigarettes can be picked up and used whenever you have a nicotine craving, allowing you control your cravings and stand a fighting chance of staying off cigarettes for good, which is part of the reason why they are so effective!

Ready to Try E-Cigarettes?

If you are looking to quit smoking and have decided to give e-cigarettes a go, there is no better brand you can go with in Australia than our own---Vaper Empire.

We are widely recognised as an industry leader thanks to an innovative range of vaping products that include various types of e-cigarettes and e-liquid in various strengths and flavours. Why not try out one of our famous e-cigarette starter kits that include everything you need to hit the ground running?

Visit the Vaper Empire online store to start shopping now.

According to a report carried out by researchers in London that was recently published in the journal Addiction, people using e-cigarettes to quit smoking are around 95% more likely to find success than those who are trying to quit without any form of smoking cessation aids. The research, which was funded by Cancer Research UK, analysed the success rates of several common smoking cessation methods and products, including nicotine replacement therapy: patches, gum, and tablets.

The research, which was conducted by a team at University College London (UCL), also adjusted for a range of factors that could influence the likelihood of a smoker quitting successfully. These adjustments included age, social status, the severity of cigarette addiction, previous attempts to quit, and whether quitting was a slowly phased-in effort or something embarked upon abruptly.

What the Research Shows

The study involved around 19,000 people from all over England who had already tried to quit smoking in the 12 months preceding it, collected over a 12-year period from 2006 to 2018. Findings of the research team indicate that e-cigarettes can dramatically increase the odds of someone quitting smoking successfully to as high as 95% more likely. Those who were prescribed tablets were around 82% more likely to successfully quit smoking than those who tried to quit without any cessation aids or products.

“Our study adds to growing evidence that use of e-cigarettes can help smokers to quit,” said Sarah Jackson, a professor at University College London who co-led the study. This is great news for the World Health Organisation (WHO) which has previously released data that shows that smoking and other tobacco use kills more than 7 million people per year globally.

As for those who were prescribed nicotine replacement therapy by a medical professional, they were 34% more likely to quit successfully while those simply buying nicotine replacement therapies from a shop were no more likely to succeed in quitting than those who tried to quit with no help at all.

Peter Hajek, director of the tobacco dependence research unit at Britain’s Queen Mary University of London, said the study yielded two key findings about e-cigarettes: “They help smokers quit at least as much as stop-smoking medications, and they are used by many more smokers. This means they generate many more quitters and do this at no cost to the NHS,” he said

An Effective Way to Quit for Good

E-cigarettes and vapes contain no tobacco and produce no smoke. According to Public Health England's latest e-cigarette evidence review, vaping is likely at least 95% less harmful than smoking.

When a cigarette’s tobacco is burned, it produces thousands of chemicals, toxins, and by-products, many of which are cancer-causing, which are inhaled along with cigarette smoke. This increases someone’s chances of catastrophic illnesses such as several types of cancer and lung disease. On average, a smoker will live for 10 years less than a non-smoker, research has shown.

In contrast, e-cigarettes contain a nicotine-containing liquid that the user inhales as a vapour. Because no combustion takes place and because no tobacco is present, the chemical composition of the vapour greatly differs from that of cigarette smoke. The inclusion of nicotine, along with the control that the user has over how much nicotine they “use”, means that e-cigarettes are an effective way to satisfy nicotine cravings and quit smoking.

Notably, e-cigarette liquid is available with and without nicotine. It's also available in various nicotine strengths. This provides vapers with choice, a choice that's not present in conventional cigarettes.

How Do E-Cigarettes Work?

Despite popular belief, e-cigarettes are generally very simple devices. They are composed of a few simple components which, in conjunction with vape liquid, create an inhalable vapour that can carry nicotine into the body.

Although there are many different e-cigarette brands, products, and devices, many of these work in largely the same way. In an e-cigarette or vape, you will find a battery, an absorbent material such as cotton (often called a “wick”), a heating element (often called a “vape coil”), a tank, cartridge, or pod where the vape’s liquid (“e-liquid” or “vape juice”) is held, and a mouthpiece.

When the device is activated---either through the draw- or button-activation---the battery heats up the heating element that is wrapped around the absorbent material which is kept topped up with vaping liquid by the tank or cartridge. When this material is heated, the liquid in it is also heated and this turns into aerosol known as vapour that can be inhaled like cigarette smoke.

Despite the relative simplicity of e-cigarettes and vapes, it is still very important that you choose to purchase from a reputable brand that manufacturers quality products.

Looking for a Quality Brand?

With countless vaping brands, companies, retailers, and manufacturers for vapers to choose from, sussing out those that are reputable is easier said than done. Fortunately, you've found us, Vaper Empire, and we have a long-standing reputation to uphold.

Since 2012, we have been manufacturing and selling our own range of e-cigarettes, starter kits, accessories, and e-liquids that are designed and developed in house. At our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, all our creations are brought to life under strict quality control measures using the highest quality materials and proven processes. Today, Vaper Empire is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading vaping brands and for good reason- we take the quality of products seriously and aim to provide the best possible support and guidance to all of our customers, which is why our Australia-based customer support team is always available to answer any questions and resolve any concerns.

Visit the Vaper Empire online store to start shopping right away.

A renowned and respected dental expert has come out in support of vaping, urging smokers who are unable to quit to switch to vaping products or, where vaping products are unavailable, heated tobacco products (HTP). Fernando Fernandez, president of the Philippine College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (PCOMS) is urging smokers to do this “as a harm reduction measure,” as he reportedly believes that they mitigate the risk of oral cancer.

Encouraging Smokers to Use Vaping Products

“We warn our patients who are smokers that smoking is the leading cause of oral cancer and strongly advise them to quit smoking. For those who cannot or do not want to quit smoking by themselves or with currently approved methods, we convince them to switch to non-combustible alternatives,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez, who was once the president of the Philippine Dental Association, also said that encouraging patients to switch to the “safer” alternatives is a much better and more efficient strategy “than watching our patients who smoke, die of oral cancer.” He went on to speak about information from several studies, including that of Public Health England in the UK that found vaping to likely be at least “95% less harmful” than smoking. He also cited the UK Parliament Science and Technology group which has indicated that vaping presents an “opportunity to significantly accelerate already declining smoking rates.”

One of PCOMS’ largest goals is to promote awareness of oral cancer among Filipino dentists. “The dentist is the first line of defence against oral cancer. He or she will almost always be the first healthcare professional to notice potentially cancerous lesions in the patient’s mouth and other early symptoms of oral cancer,” Fernandez added.

Vaping’s Oral Health Benefits

Fernandez’s comments do not represent the first time that vaping’s oral health benefits have been discussed. In 2017, an Italian study looked at the oral condition of real-world vapers who had just switched to e-cigarettes from smoking. The clinical observation study took place at the Unit of Periodontology at the Calabrodental Clinic in Crotone and published in December of the same year.

The clinical observation study involved 110 participants and indicated that the shift from smoking to e-cigarettes and vaping devices “greatly improved” their oral health. Oral examinations took place at the start of the study then twice more every 60 days.

At the beginning of the study, 61% of participants in Group 1 (who had smoked for less than 10 years) and 65% of participants in Group 2 (who had smoked for longer than 10 years) experienced bleeding gums. At the end of the study, 92% in Group 1 and 98% in Group 2 no longer had any signs of this dental problem.

Another problem associated with smoking is the presence of plaque. At the start of the study, 85% from Group 1 had a ‘plaque index score’ of one out of three, with only 15 of them having zero plaque. In Group 2, three-quarters of participants had a plaque index score of two and none of them had zero. At the end of the study, 92% from Group 1 and 87% from Group 2 had a plaque index score of zero.

In a report published on their study, the researchers concluded that e-cigarettes can be “considered as a valuable alternative to tobacco cigarettes, but with a positive impact on periodontal and general health status.”

Quit Smoking With Nicotine E-Cigarettes

At Vaper Empire, we stock a comprehensive range of premium vaping products that we have developed in-house—from our market-leading cig-a-like e-cigs to our premium nicotine e-liquid—that satisfy the needs of every type of vaper.

Visit the Vaper Empire store to access the full range of Vaper Empire vaping products and accessories with express shipping to all of mainland Australia.

In June 2019, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to ban e-cigarettes until their health effects become clearer.

From late January, famous vaping shops and cafes like Gone With the Smoke and Vapor Den became a distant whiff of bubblegum-flavoured vapour; they were forced to close. While vaping has been banned in SF, the sale of tobacco cigarettes will continue. “San Francisco has never been afraid to lead. That will always be the case when the health of our children is on the line,” said San Francisco’s city attorney Dennis Herrera in a statement shortly after the ban was passed.

This ban and the subsequent closing of vaping establishments follows earlier action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the national regulator, which issued proposed guidelines giving companies until 2021 to have their e-cigarette products evaluated officially.

Although there were other places in the world where e-cigarettes were outlawed prior to San Francisco, the fact that such action was taken in the United States—the “land of the free”—marked a significant event in the world of vaping.

Teenage Vapers

Behind the ban on e-cigarettes in San Francisco is something that has been touted as an “epidemic”—teenage vaping. More than one in four American teens have admitted to trying vaping, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Furthermore, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 12% of 16- and 17-year-old Americans were medically addicted to nicotine, causing the study's authors to begin to raise the alarm and make announcements regarding the effect that nicotine has on a developing adolescent’s brain. Recently, the FDA described the use of e-cigarettes among teens as “a crisis among America’s youth”.

This is not the only bad press that vaping, and the wider vape community, has faced. In fact, since its inception in the mid-2000s and its popularisation throughout the 2010s, vaping has had an uphill struggle and has had to fight off more than its fair share of negative coverage and smear campaigns.

Most of the bad press surrounding vaping comes from one key area: the impact on our health. With a lack of long-term data on vaping's health implications due to the relatively short period of time that vaping has been around, inconsistencies in how governments approach vaping have risen around the world. For example, officials in the US are beginning to crack down on vaping while at the same time, the UK is promoting e-cigarettes as a viable alternative to smoking and as a way to quit.

The Damaging Impact of Bad Press

Where the truth lies and whether or not vaping is “safe” and/or “healthier” is a major argument that is worthy of consideration, but this is a topic for another time as what we are examining in this article today is the impact that all this bad press is having, and the impression it is leaving on smokers and former smokers.

A new report from Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, indicates that recent data shows that a majority of smokers over the age of 50 are deciding to return to smoking cigarettes after having switched to e-cigarettes and vapes. Although some of this can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic—the pandemic has made it more difficult, especially for the older generations, to buy vaping supplies—we cannot ignore the potentially obvious underlying cause: bad press and regulatory crackdowns.

According to Billy Gifford, the CEO of Altria, who spoke in a virtual meeting with investors, older consumers of vaping products are primarily purchasing discounted cigarettes after the “sustained vilification” of vaping products and the FDA’s push towards strictly regulating them. One of the more recent moves by the U.S. FDA has been the requirement for vape product vendors to apply for product approval under the premarket tobacco regulations.

“Over the last several months, we’ve observed an increase in the number of age 50 and older smokers in the cigarette category,” Gifford said during his virtual meeting. “We believe these smokers had previously switched to e-vapour products, but recently returned to cigarettes due to negative publicity and regulatory and legislative developments in the e-vapour category.”

Shaking Up the Vaping Industry

The FDA’s enforcement actions against e-cigarette manufacturers and vaping product vendors have shaken up the U.S. vaping industry. However, it is not only U.S. firms that have and will suffer. The impact of actions by U.S. regulators and official bodies are often felt worldwide.

Despite the actions of the FDA and others, however, vaping is still considered a safer alternative to cigarettes by public health organizations across the world. In the UK, Public Health England was the world’s first health body to endorse regulated e-cigarettes when it said that the scientific evidence that they've reviewed in their government-mandated e-cigarette evidence review suggests that they are 95% safer than cigarettes. In fact, the FDA itself, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has also said that vaping products are “theoretically” safer than cigarettes.

The fact that people seem to be making the switch from e-cigarettes back to smoking may be indicative of serious misinformation and misperceptions about the huge risk gap between smoking and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) like e-cigarettes. Only time will tell whether other countries like Australia will go along similar lines to the US or will instead take what appears to be a more science-based approach like the UK. As for the issue of misinformation, Greek cardiologist Konstantinos Farsalinos, discussing Altria’s findings, said, “Drastic measures are needed so that smokers will receive reasonable, unbiased, and evidence-based messages [to] make informed decisions”.