Here at Super Vape Store we are lucky enough to have a team that originates from all across the globe. Not only do we have insights from both side of the fence here in Australia but we also get an inside look at what the industry is like in other parts of the world.
One of our team members David that works in our Caboolture store shared his story to offer a bit of a showcase into how the industry differs around the world:
My Name Is David, and this is my story:
I've been vaping for about 5 years now. I started vaping in college When I lived in Florida, USA. In my time, I've noticed a lot of interesting differences in regards to vaping in different countries.
When I started vaping, it was still a relatively new thing that was just starting to get noticed in the market. I was nervous when I started and had no idea what to go for as my first mod. I ended up getting a Kangertech mini kit because that’s what the guy at the shop had suggested to me and I figured he must know a lot more than I did; which was true, he did. Unfortunately, he still failed to teach me about changing coils, but we’ll leave that topic for another day. In America, when I started, vaping was looked at as a new and improved way to stop smoking cigarettes and enjoy what you are vaping. It wasn't too popular and every now and then I would find another vaper, which of course meant that we were immediately friends with each other. I would walk into the vape shops, have a seat at the juice bar and start by testing some flavours in a shop full of vape. It was amazing.
Since then, I've gotten to experience more parts of the world and have really gotten to see how different places view vaping as a whole. When I travelled to Canada, it was very similar to America and every now and then you would find another vaper but most of the people who had seen me almost looked like they were in awe about what I was doing.
The place where I felt the most out of place when vaping was actually in the rural areas I had visited in America, those were the places where everyone was a bit more “country” and looked at vaping as a city-folk type of thing. They were the ones who would give odd looks and act like I had something out of a sci-fi movie, but they simply weren’t familiar with vape instead of smoke. They gave me nicknames like “Geronimo the Indian” because they said I was blowing smoke signals.
Then I moved to Australia, this was when things got more interesting because just the plane trip alone had some funky rules in regards to my vape that I tried carefully to abide by. I wasn't allowed to bring my vapes batteries because they were lithium (for a guide on traveling with a vape, click here). I wasn't allowed to bring my juice because it had nicotine in it. And the biggest thing was that if I had wanted to bring it over, I would need a doctors prescription for Nicotine… That was an odd thing to me because I have always been able to vape nicotine containing e-liquids freely and didn’t have a prescription.
Once I got here, I found Super Vape Store, they were awesome! But I noticed that they apparently had to conform to a lot of regulations. All that being said, we make it work and still get to vape in Australia.
Between the different places, I’ve been to and the different rules, regulations, and views of vaping I have seen, I have realized one BIG thing. As a community, vapers need to teach our neighbours about vape, show the smokers that there can be an end to their addiction and make our voices heard around the world so that everyone, no matter where you are in the world, can have a smoke-free, vaping life!
-David
Super Vape Store Caboolture