Why Use E Cigarettes With No Nicotine?
SmokeStik’s Take On Zero Nicotine Vaping
Something I find very fascinating about talking to customers every day is dealing with Canadian customers. As some of you may already know, nicotine is illegal in
Canada in the e-cig form. They may only purchase Health Canada (the equivalent of the FDA) approved forms of nicotine delivery like the patch or chewing gum. Of course Chantix, with all it’s horrible side effects is readily available as well with a doctor’s prescription. I quickly noticed that SmokeStik has a huge number of Canadian customers and that even without the nicotine they love our product. And they most definitely are using the SmokeStik to completely replace their tobacco cigarettes. Some of them do use a patch along with the SmokeStik eventually stepping down to no nicotine at all and then continuing to use the SmokeStik without nicotine. I asked one of our sales reps up in Canada a few questions about Canadian sales and here are his answers.
Since Canada does not allow nicotine in ecigs are electronic cigarettes popular in Canada ?
Yes they are and it seems to be increasing. People have a better understanding of re-chargeable kits and the value of replacement cartomizers. They are “getting” the habit replacement that e-cigs offer them and enjoying it. Without nicotine. If Canadian customers were to have nicotine available, you would see a popular product become even more popular.
How do Canadians tend to use their ecigs? Do they use them specifically to quit smoking, to fit in socially or both?
Bit of both. Some switch directly to e-cigs without hesitation. While others use it as a replacement for when they are in places they would not be allowed to smoke. Others try it once, without the nicotine, they do do not go back. Overall, seeing the increase in cartomizer sales it tells me, people are wanting it and using it.
What do you find nonsmokers reaction to the ecig to be in Canada?
The reaction is usually quite positive. People think it is a great idea. Demographically, all ages are buying it, because they realize the harmful ingredients in cigarettes are not in our product. The die hards will always be there, but each day, someone is switching. That is a good thing.
Again, since there is no nicotine in Canadian ecigs do you find that your customers enjoy using them? Do they tend to keep using them even after their cigarette withdrawals are over with?
Yes. The flavors help, as well as the colors of the batteries. I find we sell more Jett kits than white or pink. For some reason, they like the Jett. It doesn’t resemble a cigarette. The amount of people that have told me how much they have cut down is surprising. I was in Campbellford, Ont., about 2-3 months ago. A lady came up to me and started talking about our product. She thanked me like mad, hugged me and started to cry. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer. She was so thankful for this product and wishes it were here earlier. She hadn’t had a real cigarette in 3 weeks. She also tells everyone about it. That was a tough day. Worth it, but tough.
Do you find that ecigs are becoming more and more popular in Canada or are they a hard to find specialty product?
More and more popular. New stores are signing up to carry ours weekly. Existing stores are calling for more product more frequently now. A year ago, possibly a specialty product, but not now. The public wants this product. They also want nicotine, but thats another story. The big thing I’m seeing is the increased sales and interest in kits and replacement cartomizers. People don’t want to spend $9-$10 a day on a disposable. They are understanding the value of the kits and cartos. When they want to quit smoking, they are doing it for health and to save money. They aren’t saving money , by purchasing a disposable everyday or every 2nd day. Retailers are figuring this out as well. The sales in stores prove that.
I haven’t met a smoker who didn’t want to quit. They just haven’t had the proper device yet. This one works. The patch, nicorette and other smoking aids, while they help some, they do not help all. This device gives the smoker the hand to mouth habit they are looking for. They feel relaxed ‘smoking’, whether it’s e-cigs or not. Hopefully one day, nicotine is available here in Canada, until then, the growth in popularity of e-cigs will continue to grow. Due to the fact, that is helping people.
I think there is definitely something to be learned for American customers by looking at the success Canadians are having quitting cigarette smoking and replacing it with a non-nicotine electronic cigarette. I believe the bottom line has to do with motivation and expectations. Canadians do not expect a magic bullet. They know that they are going to experience nicotine withdrawals unless they are using some other nicotine replacement product and most of them are not. So they come to the table with a rock solid motivation that they are going to quit smoking and they are not counting on the SmokeStik to take away all their discomfort. What is also fascinating to me is that Canadians very rarely complain about anything. We may get one service call from a Canadian customer for every 100 or more calls from American customers. Again I think this had to do with expectations. Americans are expecting a total and perfect substitute for their tobacco with no discomfort, ever. And if you’re an experience e-cig user you know that is just not realistic. I have a feeling it is probably a lot easier for a non-nicotine e-cig user to put down the e-cig and have no addictions at all if that is their goal. All these are things that need further study and will have a large bearing on how the FDA ultimately rules regarding ecigs. What it means for you personally? It’s really hard to say. But it is food for thought and I know for a fact that your state of mind when you first approach the ecig is much more important to your success than the device itself.
Cheers! And thank you for reading my article. Lorraine/www.smokestik.com
I wanted to personally thank Lorraine for taking the time to write some really informative information. I honestly can say I did not know that electronic cigarettes could not have nicotine in Canada and that’s a real eye opener. Thank you again for such an awesome article.
JKMSeptember 3, 2012 Yet another poresn paranoid. There are many companies that offer Diethylene Glycol FREE eLiquid. Ecig users are aware of Diethylene Glycol and many are buying their eLiquid from Diethylene Glycol FREE companies. Face it, it’s not the supposed dangers or the supposed habit (it’s not a habit it’s an addiction, and if it was something like heroine or script drugs you’d all be rooting for recovery, but since it’s smoking it’s doesn’t deserve the title it should have: ADDICTION), you people don’t care. All you care about is someone is puffing away (whether they are harming you or not) and you just want to complain.