Since March last year, most Filipinos have been compelled to welcome radical changes and practice new habits that may have remained foreign had the pandemic not happened. For starters, there was the rapid transition to work from home setups, a thorough integration of healthy hygiene habits, and the constant wearing of face masks and face shields.
There were also personal, lifestyle choices like learning to cook, choosing to eat healthier, and switching from cigarettes to vapes, all of which were done in order to enable improved health and wellbeing.
This trend of cigarette smokers switching to vapes actually comes at a timely manner, especially since smoking-related diseases were recently reported to be the leading cause of death in the country. But with vaping comes more than just purchasing a device and vape pods. For the uninitiated, there are etiquettes vapers must practice to foster a safer environment and vape culture for themselves and those around them:
1. Read the room
Despite the increased popularity of vape devices, not everyone appreciates vapor exhaled towards them by others. Besides looking around to see if the area you want to vape in is a vape-free zone, the smartest move would be to ask the people around you if they would mind. If this proves to be too tricky, then simply “read the room”. Do people look bothered about you vaping near them? Are there any children around? Because if there are children, that leads to:
2. Don’t vape around kids
While there isn’t enough evidence to deduce that secondhand vaping can be a health risk to non-smokers, vaping around kids can still create the same psychological effects any vice consumption in their presence will. It might become something they aspire to do especially if you are influential to them.
3. Don’t vape if you don’t smoke
Speaking of aspirations, vapes serve as a bridge between helping cigarette smokers quit and transition to vaping. So if you don’t even smoke, don’t start vaping.
4. Inform and educate
Part of becoming a vaper also includes advocating its proper use and benefits. That being said, it is still important to keep in mind that advocating isn’t tantamount to being in your face with facts about vaping. As a country that records one of the highest cigarette consumption in Asia, it’s important to take an educational approach when informing others about vaping and how it helps smokers quit. Many people are confused about vaping and if you can share more about how it has helped you quit smoking, you might very well be able to convince more of your smoker friends to make the switch.
5. Sharpen your vape knowledge
As an advocate, you’ll definitely need to be in-the-know on the latest vape developments and news. Keep yourself updated on the latest vaping regulations and how it can affect you and your community, and find out how you can let your voice be heard by visiting the Philippine E-cigarette Industry Association’s pages at https://www.facebook.com/
