21 Day Lockdown - Vaping Vendor Plans

[Chickenstrip]

So the country is on lockdown for 21 days.

Businesses will be closed and vape stores unable to operate from BnM locations.
Will this mean that we won't be allowed to travel at all? Care for the pharmacy and grocery store?

If there are any vendors reading this... Will you guys be able to ship items or will we be unable to get supplies for the next 3 weeks? If you are a vendor, please let us know if you'll still be shipping.

 

[Resistance]

So the country is on lockdown for 21 days.

Businesses will be closed and vape stores unable to operate from BnM locations.
Will this mean that we won't be allowed to travel at all? Care for the pharmacy and grocery store?

If there are any vendors reading this... Will you guys be able to ship items or will we be unable to get supplies for the next 3 weeks? If you are a vendor, please let us know if you'll still be shipping.

Vape king, Twisp and I'm not sure but think vape cartel ships this month

 

[DougP]

Just posted by Vape Cartel Cape Town

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[Chickenstrip]

Just posted by Vape Cartel Cape Town

Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk

Oh no! I guess we best stock up then. I had a feeling couriers would be out of order.

 

[Chickenstrip]

Vape king, Twisp and I'm not sure but think vape cartel ships this month

I'm not sure that will be possible.

 

[Resistance]

I'm not sure that will be possible.

I'm realising that now.
We'll see who else responds to this thread.

 

[M.Adhir]

Yeah I don't foresee vape stores making the cut as essential in the biggie picture
Courier will also be an issue
Pretty much stock up for a month and hope for the best i guess

 

[Grand Guru]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
In light of the announcement by the president this evening, please note that The Good Guys will temporarily cease trading with effect midnight Thursday 26 March 2020 until Thursday 16 April 2020. Normal operation should resume on 17 April 2020. The last opportunity for orders to be shipped to major centers will be at 14:00 on Wednesday 25 March 2020. Orders for collection in Port Elizabeth will still be processed until Thursday evening 26 March 2020. Please get your orders in within those deadlines.

The next Update Newsletter will be send once lockdown is over.

Stay safe & Vape On!!!!



Renaldo
TGG

PS Until lockdown on 26 March 2020 your TGGNEWS discount code will entitle you to a 10% discount on all your orders.

Jump over to The Good Guys website

 

[Grand Guru]

I received similar emails from Sir Vape, black flavour and Dwontown Vapoury.

 

[Silver]

Thread moved to “Who has Stock” so supporting vendors can freely post their plans for the 21 day lockdown

 

[Vaperite South Africa]

As of now, vape stores will not be trading or shipping, but an initiative is underway to lobby the government to include vape products as essential services / products. For now, you had better stock up for 3 weeks.

Here is the letter we submitted to ask for inclusion as an essential service industry:


To whom it may concern:

Vaperite, as a responsible adult-only national multi-store retailer of vape products and manufacturer of e-liquid, hereby requests that the South African government consider vape products essential health related products and allow vape shops to remain open during the 21 day Covid-19 lockdown commencing at midnight on Thursday, 26 March. Alternatively, to allow for the continued manufacturing of e-liquid and for the distribution of these products to end-users through online or phone-in orders with safe door-to-door social distancing delivery options.

As has been emphasized by many clinicians, former smokers and researchers, vaping is a critical tool for many in managing their nicotine addiction. Flavoured nicotine e-liquids are the key for many reformed smokers, 90% of which use low nicotine options that are only available in adult-only access vape shops.

We are asking the South African government to follow Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on the advice of Dr. Riccardo Polosa, a world-renowned scientist and researcher on vaping and harm reduction, to ensure vapers have access to the products they require to stay off of combustible tobacco. Vaping has been shown to be the most successful harm reduction tool in the fight against combustible tobacco. While the world is facing extreme public health risks associated with public gatherings, Italy, one of the regions hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, is treating vape shops as an essential service by allowing them to continue to operate while other retailers are being shut down. They made this decision in an effort to ensure that those that have switched to vaping don’t return to smoking combustible tobacco. They are particularly concerned with ensuring vapers with pre-existing lung illness do not return to smoking.

Dr. Polosa indicated that vapers switching back to smoking would cause a rise in acute exacerbation of lung illnesses amongst many individuals who had seen extremely beneficial health impacts from quitting smoking through the use of vape products. The closure of adult-only access specialty vape shops would be very detrimental, both to the reformed smokers that frequent these establishments and to an already stretched health care system, at a time when our citizens and public health system need our support the most. This in addition to the gateway effect for those who will return to smoking, exposing others to second-hand smoke along with a host of other unintended consequences, highlight the importance of keeping lifesaving nicotine vape products in the hands of South Africans.

Research suggests that only 3-10% of smokers can successfully quit smoking cold turkey. Most smokers and vapers are both physically addicted to nicotine and psychologically addicted to the act of smoking or vaping. As a result, when they give up such habits, their bodies experience withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, and depression, which can last up to three months. The added anxiety and mental stress during an already difficult time, will inevitably push vapers back to easily accessible combustible tobacco products.

We are asking for the South African government to consider adult-only access vape shops as an essential service. There are a few hundred thousand vapers in South Africa who rely on vape shops to ensure that they don’t return to smoking or turn to black-market homemade e-liquids to satisfy their nicotine cravings.

Also, vape hardware, especially coils and pods, which are essential life-limited components (maximum life of 7 to 10 days) of electronic vaping devices, have been in very short supply due to the effect the Covid-19 has had on Chinese factories. Most vape shops in South Africa have run out of many of the more popular coils and pods. We are still waiting for stock of many of these items from orders placed before the Chinese New Year holiday. These factories are only now slowly starting to catch up on production. This means that if we are not able to supply our customers with these pods and coils then their devices will be unusable and they will have no choice but to revert to smoking cigarettes. This will be a travesty and will negatively affect the health of thousands of South African citizens. As I write this letter, we have a shipment of coils and pods which have been delayed in transit and will only arrive as the lockdown comes into effect, or possibly a few days later.

By working with industry, our government and public health officials we can ensure we don’t send hundreds of thousands of vapers in South Africa back to smoking or expose them to high nicotine levels, feeding increased addiction. Specialty vape shop owners will continue to implement and comply with all prescribed precautions as recommended by health authorities.

 

[Silver]

Hope you don’t mind @Chickenstrip , I have edited the title of this thread by adding Vaping Vendor Plans to it

Hopefully vendors can respond here with their plans so it’s all in one place.
(In addition to their own sub forums)

And hopefully this can help us all to find out where we can get our Vapes during lockdown

 

[Chickenstrip]

All peachy. I did the usual 3 month stock up today so I have little interest in who is open. But it will be beneficial to those who aren't able to stockpile for whateverwhichreason.

 

[Timwis]

Is your postal service and couriers not working? we are on lockdown with only supermarkets and pharmacies open but buying and then receiving what is ordered online is as normal.

 

[Ahmed Kara]

Hey there guys, Apparently courier guy will still be operating so we are stocked and loaded. We will be sending out parcels by dealing online. All our stock is going home and we will continue to operate from home. Stay safe! Be safe! Lets hope this virus gets eradicated as soon as possible!

 

[Ahmed Kara]

 

[Timwis]

So it can be done online then the case for the vape shops being exempt is dead in the water because people can still get e-liquid and supplies! Feel sorry for the vape shops that don't have an online presence but no more than clothes, electrical or any other shops that are shut!

 

[Jengz]

View attachment 192860

Are you sure? Because i dont see Vape stores under the section 'companies that won't be affected'? Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[Ahmed Kara]

Apparently we will not be able to send goods now from what I hear. They say essential items only. Will await more information regarding this