We at VIP have long promoted the use of electronic cigarettes as an effective method to help smokers give up traditional tobacco products. This being the case, we were naturally delighted to receive the following message from one of our customers.
“I just wanted to let you know, that my wife uses your products. In June 2012, we were shopping in Wexford and my wife did not feel well, she was very short of breath and a bit dizzy. We went to the hospital and she was kept in. When she had a few tests done, including a stress test, she was told to stop smoking straight away, she had tried to give up many times before but couldn’t, but when the doctors told her this she was determined to give up once and for all, but knew it would be hard to do. She was in hospital for a week and when she came out we decided to take a trip to see our friends in Doncaster in the UK.
“Anyway, when we were walking through the shopping centre in Doncaster we saw a stand selling VIP electronic cigarettes and we purchased a starter pack. She was on these for a while and then she cut down to a lower level and then to an even lower level again. She finally used an empty e-cig to help her give up altogether and then in February this year, had her last one.e both feel that without switching to e-cigs she would not have being able to give up smoking.”
There you have it, a real life example of a person who has successfully used electronic cigarettes to transition away from traditional smoking.
We discussed previously how the UK authority, Public Health England, acknowledged that “e-cigarettes are the most popular quitting tool in the country”. The term “popular quitting tool” is a very important piece of terminology. If a traditional smoker is looking to give up, it’s unrealistic that they should have to conform to one method endorsed by a health body that may not suit them. Nor is going ‘Cold Turkey’ a method of quitting that everyone can handle, especially smokers who have maintained a habit for a number of years.
This is why transitioning away from cigarettes to vaping is a quitting method that shouldn’t be shunned or over-restricted by regulators or health bodies. We saw in the testimonial above that it was possible for the smoker in question, to reduce her habit in a controlled and comfortable way that suited her situation, before she was eventually available to quit.
As this person had a long smoking history, which involved several failed attempts to quit, it was also important that she had the option to start with a stronger strength filter with a higher amount of nicotine. She then purchased lower strength filters overtime, allowing her to wean off her habit more gradually.
This ability to choose a variety of nicotine strengths when purchasing vaping paraphernalia is one of the most important aspects of using electronic cigarettes a quitting aid. This is why we were outspoken about conditions of proposed regulations of vaping in Ireland that sought to limit the strength of nicotine liquids to 20mg/ml.
Approximately 25-30% of consumers use liquids stronger than this. This could impact the chances of a smoker success of quitting and even create a black market for higher doses.
We’ve now seen first-hand how the switch to vaping helped a traditional smoker quit. We look forward to bringing you future testimonials about how VIP has helped others achieve a smooth an effective transition.
