In the rest of the world, especially in the US and Europe, cigarattes and tobacco are so outrageously taxed that it makes economic sense (apart from health reasons) to quit the habit. I think the Americans pay something like R35-R45 per pack average and the Brits pay something like 7 pounds next year (up from 5 pounds and 50p) Spain sells them for around 7 euro (60-70 rands give or take) all crazy prices even if my math is a little off, so vaping there does make a helluva lot more sense than it does here where a pack of 20 sells for average R22-25 in forecourts.
So if you are/were a pack a day smoker at 20 cigs @ R22 per day then that's R154 per week or R616 per month. (I've chosen the lower average figure of a common filtered brand)
Okay lets look at the costs of vaping. Really look at them. This is assuming you only vape and no longer supplement your habit with cigarettes.
Starter kits are basically 1 atty and 2 batteries and a charger. If you are lucky you might get 4-5 pre filled carts with it.
Okay costs will range between R450 online and R990 (bricks and mortar twisp stick) Lets say R550 for a decent starter kit then. Maybe more.
Then you need juice. The average 20 per day smoker will use 20-30ml of e-liquid per week at R60-R70 per 10ml
so nicotine juice costs R140 per week minimum or R560 per month minimum for the average vaper who uses 20ml per week.
The vaper who uses 30ml per week can spend R210 minimum per week and thats R840 per month on e-juice alone. If you order from online suppliers, and you cannot drive and collect your juice you will have courier fees to add to your total so lets say average R90 for a months supply. (That's being conservative as starting vapers might order two or more times per month.)
If you are incredibly lucky, your all important atomiser that comes with your starter kit will last a month or more. My record is 3 months. Average for me is about a month but some attys have died in a week. After a month they weaken anyway or they start to taste awful. Price of a new atty, between R145 and R265.
Now if you are a dedicated vaper you will have spares. You will have spare attys and spare batteries. Might as well get another starter kit. *ring. ring* Ok thats another R500 right there.
Everyone has different experiences with batteries. I've been lucky they are going strong after 3 months. You never know, but lets keep that cost out for now as we try and get some kind of monthly total.
Cigarettes will average R616 per month. excluding petrol costs to go fetch them while your new, full time e-cig habit will cost you an average of R787.50 (at a minimum). Take a starter kit at average R550 and divide by 4 then add the juice and courier fees.
Of course if you buy all your supplies from Njoy, Puffaway and Twisp you will see that figure exceed R1000 per month easily...but if you buy online you will pay around R787 at a minimum, you might get away with R600 if you are really really lucky and a very very light smoker.
Of course I haven't added the costs of all the accessories yet. See once you start with a basic model, you are like a blind person stumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch. You want to improve your experience. It's kind of mandatory really because if you haven't vaped with heavy duty volts on a USB passthrough it's like you've wasted your entire time and you might as well have thrown all your money in the bin.
So the ante goes up, and the wallet gets lighter when you fork over anything from R900 upwards for a screwdriver type device and remember when you are in that exclusive league of Vapers you will become a juice ....., or rather, your device will become a wet vacuum cleaner and your nic juice will evaporate before your eyes. Out comes your wallet. Again.
All said and done, no amount of money, and let me tell you boys and girls, it is a load of money you will be spending on this experience, but no amount can ever compensate for the frustrations and time you WILL suffer. Your attys will die or won't work properly at some point while you screw and unscrew, prod, probe, suck, blow, (sounds like a b grade porn movie) you will end up basically scratching your head. You will be jumping like a loon from battery charger to charger and you will get an honest to god adrenaline flush the moment you see a green light. Red lights will become the bane of your existence. You will run out of plug sockets and Your kitchen will be full of wire entrails and your house will be full of half discarded e-juice bottles that would make an alcoholic look frugal in comparison. You won't socialise in the world outside anymore because you'll be using the forums to try and diagnose some stupid problem that the Chinese have just about ruined your life with and meanwhile you'll be buying extra stuff for a rainy day from other suppliers and your bank manager will soon be phoning you to tell you that your credit card is over the limit
So, while it may not be quite as bad as this, it is certainly no spritz on the sidewalk. vaping actually costs more than smoking tobacco cigarettes in this country and if time is money to you, you will be bankrupt quickly.
But all this is a piss in the pond in the greater scheme of things. Getting off tobacco cigarettes is perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones. And if the cost of vaping is what it takes, then so be it. Just remember for all the times you may have tried to switch before you probably ended up spending MORE on alternatives like gum, patches, sprays, hypnosis and pharmaceuticals. Vaping works but it comes at a cost. Hell everything in life comes at a cost. There's no such thing as a free lunch but there is such a thing as a free nic juice sample now and then.
So if you are/were a pack a day smoker at 20 cigs @ R22 per day then that's R154 per week or R616 per month. (I've chosen the lower average figure of a common filtered brand)
Okay lets look at the costs of vaping. Really look at them. This is assuming you only vape and no longer supplement your habit with cigarettes.
Starter kits are basically 1 atty and 2 batteries and a charger. If you are lucky you might get 4-5 pre filled carts with it.
Okay costs will range between R450 online and R990 (bricks and mortar twisp stick) Lets say R550 for a decent starter kit then. Maybe more.
Then you need juice. The average 20 per day smoker will use 20-30ml of e-liquid per week at R60-R70 per 10ml
so nicotine juice costs R140 per week minimum or R560 per month minimum for the average vaper who uses 20ml per week.
The vaper who uses 30ml per week can spend R210 minimum per week and thats R840 per month on e-juice alone. If you order from online suppliers, and you cannot drive and collect your juice you will have courier fees to add to your total so lets say average R90 for a months supply. (That's being conservative as starting vapers might order two or more times per month.)
If you are incredibly lucky, your all important atomiser that comes with your starter kit will last a month or more. My record is 3 months. Average for me is about a month but some attys have died in a week. After a month they weaken anyway or they start to taste awful. Price of a new atty, between R145 and R265.
Now if you are a dedicated vaper you will have spares. You will have spare attys and spare batteries. Might as well get another starter kit. *ring. ring* Ok thats another R500 right there.
Everyone has different experiences with batteries. I've been lucky they are going strong after 3 months. You never know, but lets keep that cost out for now as we try and get some kind of monthly total.
Cigarettes will average R616 per month. excluding petrol costs to go fetch them while your new, full time e-cig habit will cost you an average of R787.50 (at a minimum). Take a starter kit at average R550 and divide by 4 then add the juice and courier fees.
Of course if you buy all your supplies from Njoy, Puffaway and Twisp you will see that figure exceed R1000 per month easily...but if you buy online you will pay around R787 at a minimum, you might get away with R600 if you are really really lucky and a very very light smoker.
Of course I haven't added the costs of all the accessories yet. See once you start with a basic model, you are like a blind person stumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch. You want to improve your experience. It's kind of mandatory really because if you haven't vaped with heavy duty volts on a USB passthrough it's like you've wasted your entire time and you might as well have thrown all your money in the bin.
So the ante goes up, and the wallet gets lighter when you fork over anything from R900 upwards for a screwdriver type device and remember when you are in that exclusive league of Vapers you will become a juice ....., or rather, your device will become a wet vacuum cleaner and your nic juice will evaporate before your eyes. Out comes your wallet. Again.
All said and done, no amount of money, and let me tell you boys and girls, it is a load of money you will be spending on this experience, but no amount can ever compensate for the frustrations and time you WILL suffer. Your attys will die or won't work properly at some point while you screw and unscrew, prod, probe, suck, blow, (sounds like a b grade porn movie) you will end up basically scratching your head. You will be jumping like a loon from battery charger to charger and you will get an honest to god adrenaline flush the moment you see a green light. Red lights will become the bane of your existence. You will run out of plug sockets and Your kitchen will be full of wire entrails and your house will be full of half discarded e-juice bottles that would make an alcoholic look frugal in comparison. You won't socialise in the world outside anymore because you'll be using the forums to try and diagnose some stupid problem that the Chinese have just about ruined your life with and meanwhile you'll be buying extra stuff for a rainy day from other suppliers and your bank manager will soon be phoning you to tell you that your credit card is over the limit
So, while it may not be quite as bad as this, it is certainly no spritz on the sidewalk. vaping actually costs more than smoking tobacco cigarettes in this country and if time is money to you, you will be bankrupt quickly.
But all this is a piss in the pond in the greater scheme of things. Getting off tobacco cigarettes is perhaps the greatest gift you can give yourself and your loved ones. And if the cost of vaping is what it takes, then so be it. Just remember for all the times you may have tried to switch before you probably ended up spending MORE on alternatives like gum, patches, sprays, hypnosis and pharmaceuticals. Vaping works but it comes at a cost. Hell everything in life comes at a cost. There's no such thing as a free lunch but there is such a thing as a free nic juice sample now and then.
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