In a number of nations, COVID-19 was able to shut down everything except “essential businesses.” Unfortunately, what counts as an essential business differs from country to state and country.
Two nations, Italy and France, have declared that vape stores are essential business. In the beginning, only cigarette stores were considered important and not vape shops.
Vapers have pointed out the absurdity and the absence of a reason to shut down stores selling vapes if tobacco stores remain open. If shops for vapes were shut while cigarette shops were available, then there would be lots of pressure for smokers to re-inhale. The increase in smokers could reduce respiratory health and place greater strain on hospitals, which are already struggling with the coronavirus. After some debate, the vape shops were deemed essential and were allowed to remain open.
In the UK, there was a time when vape stores were categorized as not essential nor non-essential. Although many shops were willingly shut down and went online to improve public health, some users were still adamant that vape shops should become critical businesses. They made the same arguments that smokers in France and Italy did not want to put more stress on the health system. However, the UK took a different approach and ordered all shops selling vape to shut down.
In the US, the definition of essential business differs from state to state. However, none of the states has classified vape shops as crucial business. Despite liquor and cannabis stores being permitted to stay open vap, e-shops aren’t considered to be essential. In states where vape shops are necessarily important, some business owners are trying to keep their doors operational by using methods like curbside pick-up instead of allowing their customers to turn to smoking cigarettes. This is also in line with an issue that some states are not allowing the delivery of products from vape shops online, and therefore, buying e-liquid on the Internet is not an option for people who use vapes.
In general, vape shops aren’t considered an essential business. Online shopping is the most reliable and safest method of purchasing vape equipment, even though there are shipping issues and delays caused by the pandemic.
