Stoptober Safety Win
Switching from smoking to vaping is not just safer for your body, according to the Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service
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by Dave Cross
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Northamptonshire is rapidly becoming a shining light in the vanguard of promoting vaping to smokers. The Northamptonshire Stop Smoking Service recently announced: “Vaping is a great way to stop smoking, and since February of last year we have given out more than 1,500 e-cigarettes to our service users at absolutely no cost.”
As part of its aim to convince smokers to make the switch, it added: “E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, which means that they are a much safer alternative.”
The message on how much safer vaping is to the nicotine user’s body is clear, but the Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service have highlighted an additional benefit: “Vaping also reduces the risk of fires caused by smoking materials, although always make sure you use the correct charging cable for any rechargeable devices and don't vape under smoke detectors as this may set off the alarm!”
If you are considering switching, or know someone who is, it also pays to heed the advice being given out by the government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and Office for Product Safety and Standards. They have issued advice on how to take charge of battery safety when using e-cigarettes.
The Departments state:
- Only use the charger that was supplied with the vape for charging. Don’t charge your vape overnight and regularly check your device when it is charging. Unplug your vape when it is fully charged.
- Charge your vape on a clean, flat surface and away from anything that can easily catch fire. Ensure you can clearly see your vape when it is charging.
- Ensure that you read and follow the safety instructions, markings or warnings on or supplied with the vape. Contact the manufacturer if you have any further questions or if your vape wasn’t supplied with instructions.
- Consider using vape devices with safety features and don’t remove or disable safety features.
- Only use genuine and recommended batteries for your vaping device. Don’t let your battery encounter metal items. Store removable and spare batteries in a plastic case to prevent accidental contact. Keep batteries out of the reach of children.
- Regularly inspect your vape batteries and replace your battery immediately if it is damaged, leaking or not functioning properly. Dispose of batteries at recycle or disposal points.
- Protect your vape from extreme temperatures by not leaving it in direct sunlight or in your car on a freezing cold night.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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