Numerous law enforcements, agencies and distributors of e-cigarettes products explicitly state that under no circumstances should fake e-cigarettes be sold, bought or created. This issue is becoming more prevalent by the day, as numbers of fake e-cigarettes are on the rise across developing countries, which creates more uncertainty.
Today, the e-cigarette market is booming, in fact, it’s growing faster than anyone predicted, with sales in 2017 looking to smash through over £8 billion pounds. Due to this demand, the e-cigarette industry has in turn, provided a plethora of diverse and creative products for its customers.
However, despite the positive increase in vaping and the decline of smoking, The Wall Street Journal highlighted the rise of fake e-cigarettes in their February 2015 edition, speaking of Liberty Flights Ltd. This is a well-known British e-cigarette manufacturer sells and produces safe, quality vaping products for its customers, though, imitations of this brand and its products hit the market not just in England, but globally. These fake products are usually made up using cheap, unreliable materials that cost next to nothing to produce. While on the surface they may seem plausible, overtime, they will surely break and may even cause harm to the user.
How to Spot a Fake E Cigarette
There are many ways to spot a fake, and a skilled e-cigarette manufacturer would be able to spot a fake immediately. However, many of us aren’t skilled in constructing e-cigarettes, so here’s a novice’s guidelines to spotting a fake e-cigarette:
Cheap Pricing
One of the most obvious clues in anything you purchase is the price. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is (unless there’s a sale). If you’re buying a new e-cigarette that’s just come on the market from somewhere like eBay at a ‘discounted’ price of £5, then more often than not, you’ll be buying a fake. While they may look the real deal, be sure to take the price into consideration. There are other things you might want to look out for, which we will cover in the below points.
Packaging Concerns
Similar to looking at the quality of the product (regarding cheap pricing) if the packaging does not look up to standards, then you can already begin doubting its authenticity.
Most respectable e-cigarette companies wrap their products in exquisite boxes and/or packaging, so, if you come across an e-cigarette product where the box looks suspicious and the pieces jangle about inside, it’s probably not worth your time.
Brand Check and Serial Number Check
Similar to checking if a fragrance is a fake or not, serial numbers indicate authenticity and origin of the product. The main reason for this is that companies wouldn’t enjoy other people counterfeiting their product! So, if you find that there are no serial numbers on the product you have bought, you might find it’s a fake.
Product Quality
Arguably one of the most obvious giveaways, if a product looks and feels poorly built (lightweight, things rattling about inside, cheap material, etc) it’s probably a fake. A genuine e-cigarette will come equipped with all the necessary parts, packaging and instructions everything should fit smoothly. Another obvious giveaway would be if the product started to malfunction soon after usage. Leaky e-liquids, parts coming lose, or general discomfort when using suggests the product is not legitimate. Use your common sense and ensure that you have not been sold a fake!
I hope these pointers have highlighted some of the most common and obvious tricks to look out for when purchasing an e-cigarette. If you have bought one, then I recommend disposing of it immediately, as you won’t know what has gone into the manufacturing and what safety checks have been missed, meaning the product may even be harmful. If you remember to look out for these obvious giveaways, then you won’t fall victim to buying one of these awful cheap knock-offs!
Final Thoughts
Fakes are everywhere these days, so if you really want to be sure of purchasing the genuine article, then make sure you purchase it from a reputable supplier. I’m not promoting SmokShop.com here, but we vet every product we stock and would never see fakes. So if you want a genuine e cig then check out our range here.
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