If you’ve so much as glanced at a newspaper in the last ten years, you’ll have noticed that the business pages are full of doom and gloom, lamenting the end of the Great British high street. Well don’t dig out your funeral suit just yet, because if you look outside you’ll see that a new kind of shop is on the rise.
Sure, the sweet shops and butchers are gone, but stores selling e-cigarettes and vape liquid to UK customers have taken over.
Forget the web – vaping stores are where it’s at
While there are a number of great websites where you can stock up on electronic cigarette liquid, spare batteries and coils, it looks like consumers still like to head into a high street vape store for a little expert advice.
According to a market analysis survey from Ernst and Young, 40% of vapers in the UK and abroad buy their refills in a store, compared to just 25% who look online. That’s despite the fact that you can often find a better deal online, by buying from manufacturers directly.
But why are people flocking to high street stores anyway? It might just be because in a health-conscious world, vaping lets you kick two habits at once.
Vaping’s being taken up by health-conscious consumers
The obvious reason people vape is that they’re trying to give up smoking. The NHS, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research UK all recommend electronic cigarettes to those trying to give up tobacco, and the rise in vaping has mirrored the fall in the number of smokers in the UK.
But there’s another benefit of vaping. It’s calorie free.
One in four Britons is currently classed as obese, and that’s not surprising when you realise that the average Brit eats a staggering 93.2 grams of sugar per day! That’s enough to have any dentist break down in tears.
But while Britain’s sweet tooth isn’t going anywhere, e-cigarettes are apparently a popular way to get a hit of sweetness without any sugar. And that’s why the average high street vape shop has a product range that’s more like an old-school sweet shop than a traditional tobacconist.
So how can vaping help you cut down on sugary snacks?
While sugar cravings aren’t as persistent and unpleasant as a nicotine craving, many of us do crave something sweet as we become tired and our energy levels drop. While the easiest way to satisfy that craving is with a piece of chocolate, a handful of gummy sweets, or a tooth-rotting can of fizzy pop, it is possible to trick your body with something that tastes like it’s full of sugar – even if it’s sugar free.
That’s why sugar-free sweets and drinks are so popular, even though some artificial sweeteners can cause some unpleasant side-effects to the digestive system.
Sweet e-liquids work in the same way. You crave sugar, so you have a sweet vape, and your sweet tooth is satisfied in a calorie-free way. Simple.
Our favourite sweet shop e-liquids
Whether you choose to visit a vape shop or head to an online retailer, you’ll find dozens of sweet flavours to beat those cravings. In fact, you might be spoiled for choice. So we’ve decided to help you out by listing our three favourite sweet liquids:
Old School – Rhubarb and Custard
If you want that traditional sweet and sour boiled sweet flavour, then a rhubarb and custard flavoured nicotine free e liquid is the way to go. Not only is this juice sugar free, it also contains no addictive nicotine, making it perfect for those trying to wean themselves off two addictions at once!
Tea Break Treat – Cookies and Cream
It’s no good cutting the sugar out of your tea or coffee if you’re going to stick your hand straight in the biscuit tin. Instead, choosing a cookies and cream flavour high vg e-liquid will give you a sugary hit with no calories.
Fruity – Strawberry Jam
For a summery hit of sweetness, nearly every e-liquid manufacturer has a strawberry or strawberry mousse or strawberries and cream flavour liquid. The best we’ve found is called strawberry jam, and it’s just sweet enough without being overpowering. It almost reminds us of strawberry laces!
