World Vape News
A roundup of vape related news from around the globe.
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by Dave Cross
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Dang Chauysod is a great grandmother with problems – although smoking is no longer one. She swapped tobacco for a safer habit, but the possession and use of an ecig is illegal in Thailand these days.
General Santi Sakuntanak and Rear Admiral Wattanachai Klongpradit coordinated the swoop of the old lady’s home, resulting in her arrest and being carted off to a jail in Phuket Town by the joint task force. Oh, possession of 40 kilograms of kratom (like an opiate with stimulant-like effects) and 46 bottles of cough syrup also had something to do with it - illegal possession of Category 5 drug with an intent to sell & possession of medications with intent to sell without permission.
Yorkshire Police had their sights set on a wrong-un too. The guilty party was driving his white Hyundai car southbound on the M1, when he was spotted with his hands full.
A cup of coffee in one, a vape in the other, and no hands on the steering wheel. The officers took time out to tweet: “Vehicle stopped M1 (S) after driver drove past fully marked police vehicle, coffee in one hand, e-cigarette in the other and no hands on steering wheel, whilst talking on hands free - driver reported accordingly."
It’s a mystery how he was going to manage to turn the pages of the book the police threw at him.
Mississippi cops don’t bother with real criminals anymore. Like their Thai counterparts, they are targeting illegal vaping because this is obviously a genuine problem that needs clamping down on.
“While society as a whole has been making great progress with the decline in use of tobacco, the Oxford Police Department wants to make citizens aware of the increased use of vaping among youth and young adults and the risks associated with it,” writes the local paper.
Who better than your local officer and a misinformed journalist to lecture you on “the health risks associated with these devices”?
Fortunately, we are a more enlightened lot in the UK. Smokers Paradise would never be able to get away with their banner japes in the States. Owner Adam Bangy indulged in some light-hearted banter by erecting a 40-foot celebration of his favourite Liverpool FC football star over his vape store.
“The idea came into my head a couple of days ago and I just thought it would be really funny. I’m a massive Liverpool fan and he’s adored in the city so I just thought it would cheer people up.”
“[Mo Salah] seems like a great sport so I reckon he would find it funny and appreciate how big his fan base is. But I really hope it just brings a laugh to people in the community - even Everton fans!”
What is genuinely funny is that vaping is banned in almost every football ground in the United Kingdom except, now, Rangers FC. It would be wonderful to hear that the owners were won over by the compelling arguments of harm reduction and negligible risk to third parties.
But no, it’s another example of money talking.
Vaporized, a Glasgow-based ecig retailer, has struck a sponsorship deal and so vaping is now acceptable at the Ibrox Stadium. Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson said “We are delighted to welcome Vaporized to our portfolio of partners and sponsors.”
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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