Vaping News 2022

by Theo Wilson
Vaping Industry News 2022: A Roundup and Review

Vaping Industry News 2022: A Roundup and Review

At myCigara, we’re committed to providing high-quality blog content about vaping. This means a heavy focus on product education alongside commercial blogs, all designed to keep you—our valued readers—in the know when it comes to all the latest e-cigarettes and e-liquids. However, a keen focus on staying up-to-date sometimes comes at the cost of taking a moment to stand still and survey the surrounding landscape of our industry at large.

This blog is meant to provide a brief snapshot of what’s happening in the world of vaping as we head toward the end of 2022. We’ll not only look at the vaping industry more broadly, but also take a moment to reflect on and recap some of the more recent work we’ve done here at myCigara in our capacity as an industry content provider, looking in particular at our less commercially-oriented work.

Data on Vaping

Data on Vaping

For the vaping industry, there have not been any major shifts recently; we’re still seeing many of the same trends, and many of the same questions continue to be asked. E-cigarette use is on the rise in the UK, and—unsurprisingly, for anyone who’s been paying attention—disposable vapes are leading this charge. Whilst more and more smokers across the UK are becoming attuned to the possibilities and potential benefits of vaping, we can still see many of the same concerns and fears as before: Is vaping safe? Are disposable vapes safe?

Whilst it’s easy enough to succumb to moral panic surrounding these sorts of issues, it can be helpful to look at actual—and factual—data when it comes to vaping. As a vaping retailer, we obviously have some faith in the benefits of e-cigarettes and vaping. At the same time, we always try to remain clear-eyed about the pros and cons of vaping, and its proper intended use; as such, our ethos has remained the same throughout: at myCigara, we exist to make the UK smoke-free.

In light of our company motto, it’s worth revisiting one of the bigger vape-adjacent events of 2022 —the UK Government’s renewed pledge to have the UK be smokefree by 2030. We covered this in more depth in our ‘Smokefree 2030’ blog. Around the time we published that blog, ASH similarly looked at public opinion regarding the Government’s smokefree pledge.

Smokefree 2030 and Public Attitudes to Limiting Smoking

Smokefree 2030 and Public Attitudes to Limiting Smoking

ASH —Action on Smoking and Health —is a public health charity, set up by the Royal College of Physicians with the goal of ending harm caused by tobacco. In reviewing public support for the Government’s ‘Smokefree 2030’ pledge, as carried out by YouGov, ASH found the following key conclusions:

● 74% supported the Government’s target to end smoking by 2030.

● 76% support making tobacco manufacturers pay a levy to support this campaign.

● 83% support the idea of specific licensing for retailers to sell tobacco.

● 63% supported the idea of raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 for tobacco.

As seen by ASH and YouGov’s reviewed findings, most adults in the UK are entirely on board with further government intervention to restrict access to smoking and tobacco products. In addition, since 2009, YouGov has surveyed public attitudes on whether people felt the Government were doing too much or too little to limit smoking.

As of 2022:

● 46% felt that the Government was not doing enough —up from 31% in 2009.

● 30% felt that the Government were doing about right —down from 44% in 2009.

● 6% thought the Government was doing too much —down from 21% in 2009.

What we see from this data is that the public are increasingly on board with Government intervention to limit smoking; ‘not doing enough’ has surpassed ‘doing enough’ as the most popular opinion and —crucially —those who see Government as ‘doing too much’ dropped to lower than 10%. The press release from ASH goes so far as to say that Government action now lags behind public opinion. In any case, there’s a clear view from the populace that we should be doing more to limit smoking.

Use of E-cigarettes amongst Young People

Use of E-cigarettes amongst Young People

So, one side of the coin is that people are on board withquitting smoking, but where does that leave vaping. Our view has always been that vaping is nothing more or less than a viable method to help adults quit smoking.

Nonetheless, the recent prevalence of disposable vapes has caused some concern about underage vaping. We’ve written about the risks of underage vaping before, as well as what the laws are regarding teen vaping. As in the preceding section of this blog, it’s again helpful to look at the facts. In July of this year, ASH released their report on the use of e-cigarettes amongst young people in Great Britain. Whilst ASH makes clear that this is an area in which continued surveillance is required, there are some key sections worth highlighting.

Use and awareness of e-cigarettes:

● 83% of 11-17 year olds have never tried, or are unaware of, e-cigarettes.

● 15% of 11-17 year olds had tried vaping.

● Children under 16 are far less likely than 18 year olds to try e-cigarettes. 10% of 11-15 year olds tried vaping, while 40% of 18 year olds report having tried vaping.

● Outside of experimental use (i.e. “just trying”), use of e-cigarettes remains low amongst 11-17 year olds: only 1.7% report monthly use.

Attitudes towards vaping:

● For non-smokers, 65% gave their reason for vaping as “just to give it a try.”

● For smokers, 17% said they “enjoy the experience.”

● 10% reported vaping because they “are trying to quit smoking”

● 10% reported vaping because they “are addicted to vapes”

● 40% believed the misperception that e-cigarettes are as harmful as tobacco.

● By contrast, only 42% of 11-17 year olds believed vaping was less harmful than smoking.

Conclusion on Youth E-Cigarette Use

Conclusion on Youth E-Cigarette Use

Overall, the ASH report does find that use of e-cigarettes has increased. However, use among never-smokers remains low and mostly experimental. The likelihood of trying e-cigarettes increases with age and smoking status. This is reassuring data, despite occasional reporting to the contrary; one interpretation may be that e-cigarettes have simply replaced traditional cigarettes as something that 16-18 years old “just give a try.”

Nonetheless, as always, we want to remind our readers that e-cigarettes are simply a smoking cessation tool. Adults looking to quit smoking may find them a helpful tool, but we never recommend that non-smokers or non-nicotine users try vaping, regardless of their age. In addition, myCigara operates according to strict age verification and ‘Challenge 25’ policies both online and in all our retail stores.

Now that we’ve covered the more external side of the vaping industry, let’s take a look at some of the content we’ve recently released.

Vaping News and Content Roundup

Vaping News and Content Roundup

As part of our ethos to helping people quit smoking, here at myCigara we try to provide customers and readers with high-quality blog content about all things vaping. Sometimes this means more commercial content to help you find the best vape products to help you quit smoking. Other times, we look at more general changes to the industry, and new developments. In that spirit, we thought it would be worth providing a roundup of some recent highlights from our content team.

● Vaping Alternatives: As sketched above, we’re seeing a broader social acceptance of limiting smoking. In that vein, we’re seeing a rise in products that serve not only as alternatives to traditional smoking, but also as alternatives for smokers who don’t enjoy e-cigarettes. To learn more about this area, check out our introduction blogs for the Heat not Burn brand IQOS as well as Nordic Spirit nicotine pouches.

● Developments in Vaping: For those customers who continue to enjoy vaping, and are intrigued to learn more about where it’s at, and where it’s headed, take a peek at our explainer on synthetic nicotine, or look ahead to the potential future of water-based vaping and ultrasonic vaping. Plus, alongside the increasing popularity of vapes, it’s worth brushing up on the latest rules for vaping and travelling.

● Vaping and technical know-how: As we’re seeing disposable vapes become an increasingly popular option to help people quit smoking, some users are wondering what other options vaping has to offer. Our comparison blog, disposables vs pod vapes, may help you take the next step to upgrade your vape setup.

If you’ve already mastered MTL vaping and want to level up even further, have a read of our guide on how to switch from MTL to DTL. For technical knowledge that’s useful regardless of your vaping style, we’ve got an in-depth primer on dry hits.

Of course, this is merely a sample of our full range of vaping blogs and vaping guides. We encourage you to check back regularly, and sign up for our mailing list, to ensure you stay up to date with all the latest news, guides, and product reviews.

Quit Smoking through Vaping with myCigara

As mentioned above, at myCigara we exist to make the UK smoke-free. That said, we know how difficult it can be to quit smoking, and we know how disheartening it can be to feel like you failed at this famously difficult task. That’s why we wanted to highlight two final blogs on precisely this topic.

What if we told you that it’s totally normal to never fully give up cigarettes, or to switch between vaping and smoking in different situations? That’s the premise of our guide to the concept of accidental quitting.

In a similar vein, it can be hard to make the transition from smoking to vaping, and even harder to stick with it. That’s why we’ve written a handy primer, what to expect when switching from smoking to vaping, to help you make it through the worst of it, toward a life hopefully free from smoking.

We always strive to put our customers first. So, beyond the guidance and information outlined in our blogs, you can get in touch with us directly if you have any burning questions. If you prefer a face-to-face chat about any and all things vaping-related, head over to your nearest myCigara vape shop, where our expert store staff are ready to assist you.