Just a week ago I speculated that vape shops might not close in the UK.
It was not to be.
Last night vape shops, along with all other non-essential shops, were ordered closed by the government.
That’s despite lobbying from both vape trade associations (IBVTA / UKVIA), who called for vape shops to remain open to help people stay away from smoking.
What will the impact be on smoking rates?
There are concerns that some vapers will revert to smoking.
On a positive note, many vapers have now stocked up in a major way. We’ve seen huge orders both in shops and online, with our team on Monday packing nearly a third of the orders they usually pack in a month - in a single day.
Some orders are large enough to supply a vaper for months.
We’ve also seen more high street shoppers switch to online shopping.
Websites continue to operate - but I suspect, for a while, next day delivery may become a thing of the past.
First, postal services are under huge pressure. I suspect that online retailers across the country are experiencing record sales, and as shops shut down volumes could surge even further. At the same time, the post office is short of workers as staff self-isolate or go off sick.
Secondly, there is a limit to how many orders can be packed in a day, and how quickly packing capacity and customer services can be expanded.
While more people can be recruited, or may move from shops, bringing people in has to be done carefully at the moment in order to limit interaction.
Still, vapers will continue to be able to access suppliers online, even if they do need to allow a bit more time for deliveries to arrive.
The big concern is for vapers who are not technologically savvy, and who make their purchases in cash.
For those of us who live behind a computer or a phone it’s hard to imagine, but there are still many people who won’t or can’t use an e-commerce website, and who make every purchase in cash.
These are the people who depend on vape shops. Many have been vaping for years, still use the same vape model they first bought, and are reluctant to buy any other device.
What they will still be able to access, via the supermarkets and other essential shops, is cigarettes.
Will - and should - vape shops be reopened?
Of course, the government might change its mind.
But it’s not easy to shut a chain of stores, furlough workers, collect stock from multiple stores, and then change course again.
And with shoppers likely to stay at home in droves, it might not be feasible for vape shops already battered by negative news from the US to stay open on an empty high street.
Finally, one thing that has been on my mind a lot recently is the duty of care vape companies have towards their staff. The need to serve customers will need to be carefully balanced against putting vape staff in the firing line of the virus.
Vape enemies swoop
Sadly, enemies of vaping have been quick to take advantage of the vape crisis.
As always, it’s started in the USA. The US Surgeon General, who weeks ago was busy downplaying the effect of Coronavirus,
has speculated that vaping might lead to increased rates of Coronavirus.
Stanton Glantz, the engineer who was responsible for telling millions of people that vaping caused heart attacks, only to be forced to retract the study behind it, has been doing the same.
The theory seems to be:
- The US has lots of cases amongst young people.
- The US has lots of vapers.
- Therefore, vaping leads to coronavirus.
This is a classic correlation/causation error. This occurs when you assume that if a happens, then b happens, then b must have happened because of a.
To show the flawed logic, we can choose any other factor that is unique to the US. For example, we could speculate that:
- The US has lots of cases amongst young people.
- The US has lots of guns.
- Therefore, guns lead to coronavirus amongst people.
One problem - scientists have found zero data to suggest that vaping has any impact on Coronavirus.
Usually we have a number of public health experts who jump to vaping’s defence. But, not surprisingly, these people are too busy saving the world to deal with irresponsible media stories, as a tweet from researcher Professor Linda Bauld shows:
On a side note, there is also speculation that the anti-viral and antibacterial properties in propylene glycol (the main ingredient in e-liquid) can prevent Coronavirus.
While that would be great, there’s still no evidence, and until we have some evidence, we can’t claim vaping makes us safer.
Finally
If you’re a vape customer and you can shop online, don’t panic.
As with food, there’s plenty of vape supplies if people are sensible and don’t stockpile.
So please keep calm, be patient and don’t forget to wash your hands!
