With COVID-19 still raging throughout the country and most of the world, many people have been struggling financially and unable to cope, let alone celebrate any holidays with their families. Launched on Christmas Eve 2020, the Vaporesso initiative involved distributing relief supplies to local communities in collaboration with 17 vape shops around France, with the intention of helping people who have been negatively affected by the pandemic.
“At Vaporesso, we take being a positive corporate citizen very seriously. Doing what we can to give back to the community is part of our global mission to make the world a better place,” said Vaporesso Global Marketing Director, Niki Zhang.
Throughout the pandemic France has had a comprehensive policy on tobacco. The Ministry of Health had issued a legal decree explicitly allowing tobacco and e-cigarette shops to remain open, adding them to a detailed list of essential businesses allowed to operate.
The UK faces the 3rd lockdown
Meanwhile, across the English Channel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has recently announced the third lockdown in England, which started earlier this month and will last until around mid-February. Once again, this sadly includes vape shops
The UK fully endorses the use of vapes as smoking cessation and/or harm reduction tools, and it is a well known fact that the pressures brought about by the pandemic are leading to a lot of smoking relapses. To this effect, public health experts have been pointing out that closing vape shops at this time is particularly nonsensical. Only last October, the government-funded campaign – Stoptober, was urging smokers to quit cigarettes by switching to vaping.
“Only last month the Government-backed Stoptober campaign was encouraging smokers to quit, including through taking up vaping. Those who took up the challenge during the month now do not have access to the same level of support and products from their local vape stores. We will be making these points strongly to the government on behalf of the industry and asking them to reconsider their stance on vape stores and reclassify them as essential in future,” argued John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA last November, ahead of the 2nd lockdown.
