Poor PR For British Vaping
If electronic cigarettes are to gain a greater level of public support then these things should not be happening
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by Dave Cross
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The traditional vape industry has always maintained a self-imposed ban on sales to those under the age of 18. Last year this became illegal and Trading Standards were tasked with checking vape shops were compliant with the new legislation. Despite facing fines of up to £2,500, nine out of fifteen shops in Plymouth recently failed a Trading Standard test when they sent children in to purchase vape paraphernalia.
The offending store owners were spared being left out of pocket. Councillor Philippa Davey explained: “We want to work with retailers in the first instance to raise their awareness of their legal obligations. We will not be taking any formal action on this occasion but do intend to carry out further tests in the future.”
As if to compound matters, yet another battery vented. This time it was caught on video at the Bury Roller Rink. It “went off like a rocket” according to the Manchester Evening News – just one of a number of UK media outlets who ran with the salacious story.
“These things shouldn’t be able to just go off like that. I’ve been onto trading standards as well as the remains of the battery is now with them,” said Mick Bennett as he explained how he was seeking legal advice from local solicitors about lodging an action against Efest. While recent stories demonstrated a general level of ignorance with some vapers as to the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, given that Bennett is an electrician is it reasonable to have expected him to know better? Surely an electrician would be aware of the danger of a battery shorting in his pocket if kept with metal items?
It was a story covered in Australia as part of their ongoing crusade against vaping, linked to an event in Florida and giving “experts” yet another opportunity to “call to reign in ‘catastrophic’ e-cigarettes.” The director for one Quit program said: “They are just another two examples of a product that doesn’t have any level of scrutiny in terms of consumer safety. Although the number of incidents that happen are quite low compared to the number of people who use them, results can be catastrophic in nature.”
Such actions obliterate any possible good news coverage and cloud public perception. For example, how many national papers picked up on this story from Worcester? None, despite it being a tale familiar to all current vapers. Which leaves the question: Do we have a duty to educate stores and other users?
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.
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