What Can We Do To Keep On Vaping In Rsa?

Hi all.
I believe our common enemy (besides the evil Mr Tobacco and his many underlings) is disinformation and lack of facts regarding vaping.

There simply isn't enough being done locally, not to mention globally to give people the necessary information to make the informed and subsequent life changing decision to put the cigs down. Complacency and peer pressure also deter a host of smokers. I too suffered the old " man, those things are worse than cigarettes " and " you're gonna get water on your lungs" nonsense. Not to mention countless references to my "moffie" cigarette at the time(green smoke). We are after all, creatures of habit.

Most smokers are lost in their habit, like being in a pitch dark room. They will aimlessly wonder around that room bumping their heads and shins forever. They fear change, for whatever reason. They prefer to stay in that dark room cause that's what they know. Some will never leave unless someone or something lights a candle. That's where we come in...

We shouldn't make a video. We must make MANY videos, write blogs/books/pamphlets, print t-shirts, host workshops etc. We have to use all forms of media to help get the facts into people's heads. How about getting a couple of vaping doctors and lawyers on our side to assist with the struggle? Their opinions would carry more weight on the likes of Carte Balance.



The link above has reference to what I'm saying. The vid is only about 5 min long but the best part for me is from 3:20 in. There's no doubt in my mind that vaping is indeed a potentially world changing thing. More people just have to see it as that.

It'll be hard work boys and girls but I know that if this community of like minded brothers and sisters speak with one voice, we will be heard! Our number are growing by the day and soon we will be legion. Hell, I love vaping so much that I'm busy planning to open up a local vape shop so that I can get people to ditch the cigs while I make a living doing something I'm genuinely passionate about. Only we can preserve our vaping future folks. I, for one, will gladly offer my assistance, any way I can. Who's with me?

Vape long and prosper!
Craig0
 
I'm with you @Craig0

Lovely post

We are trying hard on this forum to create a place where people can see just how life changing vaping can be.
 
Hi all.
I believe our common enemy (besides the evil Mr Tobacco and his many underlings) is disinformation and lack of facts regarding vaping.

There simply isn't enough being done locally, not to mention globally to give people the necessary information to make the informed and subsequent life changing decision to put the cigs down. Complacency and peer pressure also deter a host of smokers. I too suffered the old " man, those things are worse than cigarettes " and " you're gonna get water on your lungs" nonsense. Not to mention countless references to my "moffie" cigarette at the time(green smoke). We are after all, creatures of habit.

Most smokers are lost in their habit, like being in a pitch dark room. They will aimlessly wonder around that room bumping their heads and shins forever. They fear change, for whatever reason. They prefer to stay in that dark room cause that's what they know. Some will never leave unless someone or something lights a candle. That's where we come in...

We shouldn't make a video. We must make MANY videos, write blogs/books/pamphlets, print t-shirts, host workshops etc. We have to use all forms of media to help get the facts into people's heads. How about getting a couple of vaping doctors and lawyers on our side to assist with the struggle? Their opinions would carry more weight on the likes of Carte Balance.



The link above has reference to what I'm saying. The vid is only about 5 min long but the best part for me is from 3:20 in. There's no doubt in my mind that vaping is indeed a potentially world changing thing. More people just have to see it as that.

It'll be hard work boys and girls but I know that if this community of like minded brothers and sisters speak with one voice, we will be heard! Our number are growing by the day and soon we will be legion. Hell, I love vaping so much that I'm busy planning to open up a local vape shop so that I can get people to ditch the cigs while I make a living doing something I'm genuinely passionate about. Only we can preserve our vaping future folks. I, for one, will gladly offer my assistance, any way I can. Who's with me?

Vape long and prosper!
Craig0

I shared this video on facebook like last week before i joined this forum! It was for my best friends gf, to show her that what she heard abt vaping was totally incorrect. Somehow people get misconceptions when they aren't actively pursuing knowledge for self enrichment and just trust sources that believe they know better.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
 
I'm planning on opening an interview series on my blog and vlog to tell stories, debunk myths and just explore the avenues we have in SA, to keep this awesome hobby alive. Just PM me if you want to chat ;)
 
I am whiling to help out in the Graphic design side of things in my spare time. (Don't have much spare time) But the offer is there :)

PS: I am not a graphic designer by trade.

34ew29e.png
 
I'm definitely in

Currently finishing my first year studying programming and completely open to using my limited experience to the cause
...as soon as exams are done
Down with stinkies VAPING FOREVER!!!!✊
Viva revolution or whatever

BTW I've only read the first and last page so I didn't see anything but how about forming a massive whatsapp group(currently a group can have 256 members)

If it already exist please ad me
083 495 7955
 
I am whiling to help out in the Graphic design side of things in my spare time. (Don't have much spare time) But the offer is there :)

PS: I am not a graphic designer by trade.

34ew29e.png
I am a graphic designer by trade and would be delighted to help in my spare time from mid novemberish (as thats when i wave goodbye to varsity foreverrrrr!:rofl::-D
 
One thing we could do is for the vaping industry to put together a position paper and approach the dti. The paper would position the vaping industry as:
1) A job creator particularly in the SMME sector - which just happens to be the dti's priority sector
2) A sector with innovation potential
3) A sector with manufacturing and export potential
4) A public health benefit

In short, we could be proactive and work towards regulation driving the industry forward rather than holding it back. Although, of course, that takes a lot of work and isn't nearly as easy as lamenting "the world is conspiring against us!"
 
I write reports. A lot. :p

I'd like to see the national association doing some research on the vaping market in SA. There were no (or very, very few) black faces at VapeCon. We need to understand why. Has anybody been into Soweto or Khayelitsha, got a focus group of thirty smokers together, given them a vape and asked them what they think of it? Would they consider quitting smoking to do it? Is the taste OK for them? How much would they be prepared to spend on it? How can the product be changed to be more appealing to them?

These are the people who will be the drain on public health funds when they get ill from smoking. These are the vast majority of the "billion lives" that we brag we can save. How are we going to put a compelling case to the NDOH or the dti if we know so little about our potential market?

SA is the gateway to Africa. Tens of millions of Africans could be saved by vaping. If we can go to the dti with ideas on how this market can be served, how vaping can become a job-creating and innovative sector in the SA economy, we will get the dti's attention. Going to them with "you're being mean to us" isn't going to cut it. If we want to be seen as a value-adding sector in SA industry, we need to do our homework and come with ideas. We need to convince dti and NDOH how they benefit from vaping, not why we need it. Whining about govt will get us nowhere. Govt has far too many people whining about them and far too few people coming with constructive and alternative ways forward. Waiting passively until govt pulls an FDA on us isn't going to achieve anything.
 
Biggest issue in poorer areas is that most people live stinky to stinky... some don't even buy a full pack at a time ...since a lot of them might get an odd 100 here or there... convincing them to spend 400 once of on a device won't be easy... cigs are also simple light and suck where vapes do take a lot of maintenance...
 
Then the industry needs innovation to make affordable models available.

But it's not just the poorer rural classes. There is a burgeoning black middle class (and higher) in SA society. Are they switching from smoking to vaping? It doesn't look like it to me. If that is the case, then why not? What are the barriers? How can we remove them? What is vaping uptake like among the middle class and higher in other African countries? What can SA do to turn this into an export opportunity? What can govt do to turn this into a public health opportunity?

The vaping industry can proactively be part of this development. Or it can sit back and wait for govt to regulate on its terms rather than our terms. It's our choice.
 
Haha I can see you wright a lot of reports

I definetly agree, as far as my knowledge goes the lower income areas tend to have a lot more smokers which is why I mistakenly assumed that's what you mean... I guess that's where disposables come in but they're not widely available... and still at least 40.

Middle class on the other hand is a different story...
Maybe if the South African vaping community got more active on platforms like YouTube or vines... particularly vape trick in vines

Make vape the in thing and we have a good start
 
Now we are talking. There are many opportunities which vaping will open. We don't need to sit back passively and wait for either China or big tobacco to take it all. More importantly, we don't need to sit and wait for govt to decide how it wants to regulate. There is nothing stopping us from approaching govt (the dti specifically), putting the business case for supporting vaping as an innovation/manufacturing/export/job creation sector, and taking away govt's incentive to try and regulate it out of existence.
 
What if we approached SA companies like twisp which the goal of making cheaper methods for vaping

Imagine picking up a disposable at the garage for a quick 20
That could catch on easily
 
Well, it would be something for the industry to do. But if I was a player in the industry, I would be talking seriously to the dti now. They want innovation, export, job creation, and will support sectors who can provide these. Govts generally view vaping as a threat, very few (UK for eg) see it as an opportunity. It shouldn't be too difficult to make ours see the massive potential that vaping can have in SA and then in Africa too. With us leading the way in Africa.

I know a guy who works at one of the national regulators. He hasn't even heard of vaping. We can wait for them to take their lead from the US and EU. Or we can proactively engage and try to shift them towards the UK view. But sitting back, doing nothing and hoping that they aren't too harsh in their regulation is a bit defeatist. These guys aren't going to go and look up A Billion Lives on their own. The message has to be taken to them.
 
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