While vaping is an unusual blooming trend in the entire world, the dynamics in Pakistan have been a little different. Hereafter smoking, sheesha made its way to the younger population in particular and gained immense popularity. While it became the new hype in society, many people became highly to the Sheesha. This forced the authorities to put a ban on sheesha smoking in any form and any place.
So here in Pakistan, there are cigarette smokers trying to quit smoking as well as sheesha smokers struggling to get their tobacco fix. Vape devices are the best solution for them both.
Electronic cigarettes to the rescue!
While there are all sorts of health and social issues associated with smoking and even more with sheesha smoking, vaping is considered to be safe primarily because they do not use tobacco. The only harmful ingredient is the nicotine and that too has not been proved to be carcinogenic, but the misconception regarding nicotine still persists.
Apart from nicotine, everything else the e-cigarettes use is food grade. Some manufacturers use distilled water and food color as well to give the liquid or more commonly termed as flavor its own distinctive color. So it is safe to say that nicotine does not cause cancer as it is anticipated. It is a highly addictive stimulant, no doubt, but abilities are not there.
Apart from health, safety measures are another aspect. Although there circulate all sorts of stories regarding vaping pens exploding and burning down the person and everything that is only part of the truth. Accidents do happen but neither that often nor because of the reasons listed. When lower quality batteries or mods are used, accidents are bound to happen. It’s a machine after all running on external power source!
Different Types of Electronic Cigarettes available in Pakistan
Vape accessories and supplies are a huge industry in itself. In Pakistan, the available accessories are relatively less but options are unlimited still.
MTL (Mouth to Lung) Kits:
These kits include as the name suggests, a throat hit that matches that of cigarettes. A stronger throat hit depends on two main factors, nicotine level, and the tank type. A higher nicotine strength (above 6mg) and a tight draw of the tank, combined produce a stronger throat hit that matches that of a traditional cigarette. This type of kit is ideal for people who are trying to quit smoking or sheesha for that matter. These kits range from PKR 1000 to 4000 and are relatively cheap, thus considered ideal for newbies and ex-smokers. Lastly, the option of DIY mods and kits is always there.
A newer version of MTL kits is the pod style ones which are characterized by an improved version of nicotine. This better version of nicotine-the Nicotine Salt-gets absorbed in the body quickly and thus is considered to be more effective. These kits are relatively expensive but the lead time between the first inhale and the absorption of nicotine to produce an apparent effect is quite short and this is what the price is for! These flavors range from 25mg to 50mg. The 25mg flavor works as smooth as a 6mg regular nicotine level does but with a finer throat hit and faster absorption rate. The nicotine salt is the more sophisticated turn towards vaping, in a nutshell! Also, the devices are small in appearance as well as to carry around and produce a modest yet decent vapor!
The DTL Kits:
Direct to lungs or DTL kits like the GeekVape Aegis T200 Kit are designed specifically for cloud chasing as these produce greater clouds even with a lower amount of nicotine. For obvious reasons, these kits are more suited to people addicted to Sheesha or those interested more in cloud-chasing.
These devices are rather powerful and work just fine with a lower nicotine level (3mg standard). These powerful tanks use more liquid to vaporize than an MTL kit but give a strong nicotine hit. These devices turn out to be expensive though because more e-liquid is used up and more frequent refills are required.
Flavors (E-liquids, E-juices, and Juices):
The flavors and e-liquids available to Vapers are beyond limits. The only thing to be considered is to see the nicotine levels and PG-VG ratio. A smoker giving up on smoking should naturally be looking to go for a higher nicotine level and a 50-50 PG-VG ratio.(The higher ratio implies 6mg and above till 24 mg typically)
For those interested in cloud chasing, it is recommended to use maximum VG liquid with standard 3mg nicotine. This combination will give smoother vape and great hit without the risk of nicotine overdose.
While the possibilities and options available to the vapers globally are as open to the people in Pakistan as ever, there are certain legal and social constraints that hinder the way to complete accessibility to the options.
The accessories are still evolving and more readily available than ever before. The local manufacturers, as well as imported products, are at hand. A never-ending list of accessories to up the vape game is available in the local market as well.
However, there are notably more Societal Do’s and Don’ts of Vaping in Pakistan than in any other country. This is due to the fact that Vaping alongside Cigarette Smoking and Sheesha is frowned upon by its society. Hence it acts as a significant barrier to the propagation of the “Vaping” phenomenon within the country.
