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THE RISE OF THE VAPE TabSol looks at the history of vaping and where the ‘culture’ stands today. V aping as a leisure activity has been around for centuries, according to TabSol. The “social imbibing” of vapours dates back to the 16th century when Indian glass manufacturing began, says the tobacco company. The shisha was invented and the practice swiftly spread to Persia (now Iran), Turkey, Egypt and other countries of the Middle East, and eventually to the rest of the world. Vaping is today classified within the broader tobacco category, with the emergence of the term ‘e-cigarette’. “However, not all vapour delivery systems or related products contain nicotine,” TabSol said. “The classification of ‘vape’ is probably more appropriate than ‘e-cigarette’, especially for vape products with zero nicotine. However, most state legislation in Australia defines vape products as e-cigarettes.” There is now a “fast spreading vape culture” throughout the world, says TabSol, with the portfolio including cartomiser-based devices, rechargeable vape pens, disposable vape pens, flavoured vape pens with nicotine, vapes without nicotine, vapes with cannabis oils, and open-pod or closed-pod vape systems. “Australia has classified nicotine as a ‘dangerous poison’ in the National Poisons Standard,” TabSol said. “This means that nicotine-based vape products are illegal to retail. Cigarettes, since they’re made from tobacco leaves, are legal, as the nicotine is naturally produced by the tobacco plant.” TabSol provides a summary of the various legislation covering ‘e-cigarettes’ and ‘e-liquids’ within Australia: TO PAGE D MAY/JUN, 2021 CONVENIENCE WORLD A TOBACCO