Vaping on Holiday

Not surprisingly, with the combination of the weather and it being a seemingly never ending month, the busiest time of year to book a holiday abroad is January. That means that, hopefully for you guys, the majority of you reading this already have a holiday booked, or you’re looking to book one in the very near future. But now it’s March and you’re out of the miserable January feeling, back into the real world and you’re asking the important questions. How do you take your vape abroad? Can you fly with it in your carry-on luggage? Will you get stopped at security? Is there anywhere to vape in the airport? All extremely valid questions that we get asked a lot on our Facebook Group, so we’ve compiled all the necessary information you’re going to need here.

E Liquid 

Your e liquid works the same as any other liquids you might be taking on the aeroplane with you, such as shampoo or sun cream. You can store it in your hand luggage if you’d like, but remember that each bottle of e liquid can’t exceed the 100ml limit, and that you only have a total of 1ltr of liquid, including any toiletries or other liquids you’re storing in your hand luggage. 

TIP: Whilst researching for this blog post, I couldn’t find anywhere on the internet that states your liquids have to be labelled, but it’s worth noting that when flying to Germany last year, security stopped me to test a stray unlabelled bottle of Fruit Chews that was among multiple bottles of labelled e liquid, which ended up delaying me by 30-40 minutes...not ideal.

If you’re an avid vaper, or are going away for a decent period of time, your best bet is to just put your larger bottles of e liquid, like our 250ml Shortfills, in your checked in luggage as there isn’t any restrictions. It goes without saying, but we recommend you to just double check that these larger bottles are secure and aren’t likely to leak whilst you’re flying - the last thing anyone wants is a suitcase full of wet belongings, and more importantly, no e liquid left!

Devices and Batteries

You can take your vape device and up to 2 spare batteries onto the aeroplane with you in your carry on luggage, but you can’t store them in your checked luggage due to potential risks of fire. You also need to make sure that your spare batteries are packed separately, in a battery case ideally.

Another tip: It’s not required, but it’s always a good idea to empty the e liquid out of your tank before you fly, as pressure changes can cause pretty horrendous leaks, and there’s nothing worse than VG-heavy e liquid lining your pockets and/or hand luggage.

Vaping in Airports

It might not be obvious to everyone, so I’ll just remind you that you can’t vape on aeroplanes or inside most airports. I’m never on time to anything, so I tend to spend the minimum amount of time possible in the airport before my flight, and that’s still frustratingly too long to go without vaping, on top of the flight time AND going through security at the other side. Luckily, quite a few major airports in the UK have designated airside smoking/vaping areas for when you’ve battled security and are impatiently waiting to board your flight. If you think you might need this facility, you might want to make sure your outbound flight is from one of the following:

• Birmingham Airport 
• Bristol Airport
• East Midlands Airport 
• Leeds Bradford Airport (there is a charge of £1)
• Liverpool John Lennon Airport
• Manchester Airport
• Newcastle Airport
• Southampton Airport
• Aberdeen Airport (also requires a £1 access charge)
• Cardiff Airport
• Doncaster Airport

The majority of the other major airports in the UK do have designated smoking/vaping areas before you go through security though, you’ll just need to hold in your cravings for a bit longer unfortunately.

And another tip: Check the airports website before you get there to ensure you know exactly where the vaping areas are. I used 3 of the above airports last year and spent most of my time looking for these areas, and missed my opportunity to buy snacks for the flight completely, and no one wants to eat aeroplane food.

And last, but by no means least (in fact, this one is probably the most important)…

Where Is Vaping Banned?

While a lot of countries frown upon vaping, there are actually some places you might be thinking about taking your next holiday at, that consider vaping punishable that we know about as of February 2020. Whether that be by fines, or even prison time, it’s definitely worth knowing before you hop on the plane, vape in hand. Still, always check online before you go, as these things change all the time, and the vaping laws specifically are changing worldwide at the minute quite quickly.

Below, I’ve compiled a short list of some popular getaway destinations and their laws for you to have a browse of. 

• Argentina - legal to use but the use of them in public spaces/public transport is banned.
• Brazil - legal to use but the use of them in public spaces/public transport is banned.
• Brunei - legal to use in areas that permit smoking tobacco but the sale and importation of e-cigarettes and the use of them in non permitted areas is banned (can be fined up to £500 if you are caught)
• Cambodia - the use, sale and importation of e-cigarettes is illegal (your device may be confiscated if caught).
• Egypt - legal to use but the sale and importation is banned.
• Qatar - sales, distribution, advertising, use and possession is banned and you can face disciplinary action (it’s unclear what this might entail) if caught.
• Panama - legal to use but the sale, advertising, promotion, distrubution, importation of e-cigarettes and the use of them in public spaces/transport is banned.
• Turkey - legal to use but banned in public spaces/transport.
• India - legal to use in some states, but in others the import, sale, possession, use and distribution of e-cigarettes, accessories and liquids are banned. Make sure to check the states’ laws you’ll be visiting in particular.
• Jordan - the sale, advertising, manufacturing, importation and use of e-cigarettes is illegal.
• Philippines - legal to use but banned in public places.
• Singapore - the importation, distribution, sale, purchase is illegal and if caught, you could face a fine of up to around £5500 and up to 6 months in prison (for first time offenders). Possession and use is also banned, with penalties of up to around £1100.
• Thailand - the sale, supply and use of e-cigarettes is illegal and if caught, you could be arrested, have to pay a large fine and face up to 10 years imprisonment.
• Turkmenistan - the sale, advertising, distribution, manufacturing, importation and use of e-cigarettes is illegal.
• UAE - legal to use but the use of e-cigarettes in unauthorised areas is banned and if caught, you could face up to £400 in fines.
• Vietnam - legal to use only in designated smoking areas.

All that being said, hope you enjoy your getaways everyone - and I hope this has given you a bit of an insight into what’s to come regarding vaping on holiday!