Vaping, the new trend for smokers

As shisha fanatics are still grappling with idea of a forced detox after the Ministry of Health banned their favourite leisure feature, some budding entrepreneurs have decided to cash in on the opportunity.

Now more than ever, electronic cigarettes also known as vapes are being popularised into the Kenyan market with netizens sharing their vaping videos on social media.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, a Kenyan vape retailer said that E-cigarettes have always been available locally but the banning of shisha opened a new opportunity. Retailers imported more vapes for a hungry smoking market as a preferable alternative.

“The vapes are now on a higher demand because with it you can smoke anything you want, from soft drinks, beverages, tobacco, liquid shisha and even liquid marijuana, it is a safer option compared to smoking shisha from a pot,” said the retailer.

The vapes go for a local price of Ksh.5,000 and they come with a beverage and tobacco liquid.

Vapes go by different urban names and references depending on the zone of adaptation including e-cigs, e-hookahs, mods, vape pens, vapes, tank systems, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).

E-cigars are typically made of  nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerine and flavourings. The vape works by heating the liquid in the pen, which produce and aerosol that usually contains nicotine which is then inhaled by the smoker.

According to the Centre of Diseases and Control, “most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is addictive and toxic to developing fetuses. Nicotine exposure can also harm adolescent brain development, which continues into the early to mid-20s. E-cigarette aerosol can contain chemicals that are harmful to the lungs. And youth e-cigarette use is associated with the use of other tobacco products, including cigarettes.”

However, there have been claims that scientists have found out that e-cigarettes are 95% safer than tobbacco and they help addicts quit by creating a mirror illusion of them smoking.

So far, the following countries have heavily restricted e-cigarettes in their territories include; Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Columbia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Panama, Singapore, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uraguay and Venezula.