You should always be careful when using your vape, especially when you’re only starting. These devices should be handled with care and in accordance with its instructions, just like any other rechargeable electronic item. To help you know what to do and what not to do, here are some vaping safety precautions you should follow.
Tips for Safe and Happy Vaping
1. Keep It Clean
If your vape isn’t in your mouth, it’s most likely on top of a table or in your sweaty pockets. So, it only makes sense to always maintain a spotless vape mod. You should clean the mouthpiece and the atomizer tank and the connectors every day, or at least before you use it in the morning.
Aside from health concerns, keeping your vape clean will prevent the accumulation of burnt vape juice. It's also crucial to keep your tank clean to avoid flavour contamination from using different vape juices. Even if you think the tank is empty before switching flavors, there will be some liquid residue that will change the taste of the new flavour.
2. Ask for Permission
If you're vaping in private, most folks won't bat an eye. Whenever you’re out with other people, always ask if they mind you vaping near them.
This is especially crucial if you’re indoors, in an air-conditioned event, or in someone else’s car. Even if your vape smells sweet, some people still don’t appreciate seeing or inhaling the vapor coming out of your mouth. Even if they say they don’t mind, avoid blowing smoke in people's faces and aim the smoke above or downwards.
Second-hand exposure to vaping aerosol is still being researched for its potential health implications. It is challenging to assess the quantity of chemical exposure and, by extension, the dangers associated with second-hand aerosol because of the variety of chemicals in vape aerosol.
It's best to avoid using vaping items in public and to only do so while you're outside. Keep in mind that many provinces and local governments in Canada have banned the use of vaping products in areas where smoking is banned.
3. Know the Smoking Rules
Vaping is currently completely legal for personal use in Canada. With a few exceptions, you can use them wherever you like without worrying about breaking any rules. However, many cities and states have enacted their own vaping legislation.
For example, in Ontario, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act of 2017 makes it illegal to use an electronic cigarette or other vaping devices in any enclosed workplace or public place. If you are caught vaping in a place where it is prohibited, you could face criminal charges and a monetary fine.
Meanwhile, the British Columbia Bill 14, the Tobacco Control Amendment Act, 2015, was proposed by the provincial government in March 2015 with the initial goals of prohibiting e-cigarette use indoors, prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19, and limiting e-cigarette advertising and promotion.
So, to avoid facing fines or other penalties, make sure you know what rules and regulations your current city or municipality has for vaping.
4. Store Your Juice Safely
Despite the fact that vape juice lasts quite a while, it can still expire. Vape juice has a longer shelf life if stored in a cool, dark environment. Its colour and flavour may alter as a result of exposure to sunlight and heat. To prolong its shelf life, some individuals store it in the fridge.
Additionally, keep your vape and vape juices away from children, especially if you’re using pen-type vapes. Pods are an easy choking hazard if you have children below ten years old.
5. Clean or Change the Coils
The flavour of a charred coil is not very pleasant no matter how sweet your vape juice is. Any flavoured juice in your gadget will be overpowered by that foul odor and taste. If you like sweet flavors, be mindful that sugar can easily muck up coils.
You may not have given coil cleaning any thought if your gadget uses pre-built coils like the Innokin Platform Ares II. Recent devices like the Innokin Kroma 217 utilise ACM technology to increase coil longevity, however eventually vaping performance will diminish even with this innovation.
The residue that forms when e-liquid is heated is responsible for the burnt taste and decreased vapor flow. While cleaning the coil won't bring it back to peak performance, it could help you get a few more days out of it.
6. When Travelling, Always Take Your Vape with Your Carry-on Luggage
Never check your vape with the rest of your luggage. If you want to avoid any leakage into the gadget's circuitry that could cause an issue in flight, you should keep your pod disconnected from the device.
According to the Travel Security Association (TSA), Electronic cigarettes must be carried on as personal items. When transporting gadgets with a heating element, passengers must take reasonable precautions to ensure that the heating element does not accidentally turn on. Find out from your airline if there are any restrictions on the number of electronic items you can bring on board with you.
7. Follow Proper Disposal
Never dispose of vape juice by flushing it down the toilet. There is a specific method for safely discarding vape juice when it has expired or for any other reason.
Seal the vape juice in a plastic bag with some absorbent substance like cat litter before throwing it out. This traps the nicotine liquid and stops it from getting into the water system.
In Calgary, waste electronic cigarettes, vape pens, cartridges, and vape juice containers should be placed in the black cart. Vape pens and electronic cigarettes should have their batteries removed before being thrown away.
For the rechargeable batteries, recycle them for free in any of the following stores:
- Apple Store
- Best Buy
- Home Depot
- Ikea
- ListenUP! Canada
- London Drugs
- Lowes
- MEC
- Princess Auto
- RONA
- Staples
- The Source
- UBreakifix
Cover both positive and negative terminals of each lithium battery with tape for added protection. You may keep your lithium batteries organised by placing them in separate Ziploc bags once you've taped them together. Taping the batteries will prevent them from coming into contact with each other and starting a fire.
Things You Should Avoid When Vaping
1. Don’t Charge Your Vape Overnight
Mishandling the battery is probably the leading cause of vaping-related injuries. Overcharging is one of the most common ways that users abuse their batteries. Explosions, fires, or the quick degradation of your batteries could result from this.
You shouldn't rely on the overcharge protection that many products claim to have built-in. This safeguard is still vulnerable to overcharging. Only charge your vape when you’re awake so you can check on it every now and then.
2. Don’t Let Children and Pets Near Your Supplies
Some vape juice has nicotine content, and ingesting this much nicotine is quite dangerous. Children and pets may be tempted by the delicious scent of vape juice, but ingesting them can be fatal. So always keep them away from your kids or your pets and store your vape juice and other supplies securely.
3. Don’t Leave It In the Sun
Just like any electronic device, your vape should never be left in direct sunlight. Don't leave it on the dashboard of your car in direct sunlight, on top of the cooker, or anywhere else that will get too hot. Some parts of your vape shouldn’t be exposed to that much heat. Otherwise, this could break your vape, degrade its parts, and even make your vape juice taste bad.
4. Don’t Use Phone Chargers
Never use any other charging equipment, no matter how fancy or fast charging it is. If you only have the cord, plug it into a USB port.
Fast chargers like those used for cell phones are not designed for use with vape batteries and can cause permanent damage. Only use the charger that came with your vape battery, and make sure it's a standard USB charger and not a fast charger.
5. Don’t Take Vape Juice By Mouth
As tasty as it smells, It’s not recommended or safe to consume vape juice orally. E-liquid and vape juice may have harmful compounds that should not be ingested. Side effects of nicotine poisoning and vape juice in the mouth include headaches, skin rash or irritation, nausea, and heart palpitations.
Rinse your mouth out with water and see a doctor if the symptoms persist if you drank a lot of vape juice.
