Vapes on a plane

Many ex-smokers will remember those bohemian days when you could smoke on an aeroplane.

It was a time when you would place an evil curse on the check-in agent if they didn’t allocate you a smoking seat. There were never enough of those special seats at the rear of the aircraft to satisfy demand. The unfortunate addicts who were confined to the front seats would spend the entire journey wistfully staring at the privileged few behind them.

Smoking was eventually banned on all commercial flights. The ban left many travellers dreading those hours in the air. Lengthy flights became purgatory and it was a major challenge to endure those interminable queues at Immigration. You knew that salvation lay just beyond the exit doors of the airport but were stuck on the wrong side of the glass!

Sadly, vaping has also been banned on all flights. Vapour will allegedly trip the smoke detectors in the toilets, leaving any transgressor with a red face and a nasty fine.

You need to temper your cravings when you fly but how do you do it?

How to minimise your cravings

There are many aspects of flying which are calculated to ruin your enjoyment of international travel. None more so than not being able to vape. As your nicotine cravings begin to kick in, your mood is guaranteed to darken.

Flying will separate you from your electronic cigarette for far too long when you factor in check-in times and delays getting through immigration. You could also experience further issues that keep you confined to the airport for even longer including delays to your flight and lost luggage. The hours add up, ensuring that even a 45-minute hop over to France could leave you unable to vape for half a day.

Here are a few strategies you could employ to prevent you from chewing your own fingers off or committing a murder:

Avoid Alcohol

There’s something about a tipple that encourages you to vape. In addition to getting you drunk and dehydrated, drinking alcohol seems to prep your throat for a nicotine hit. Almost certainly a legacy of smoking, drinking will exacerbate your desire to vape, so don’t do it!

Sweets and snacks

It’s important to keep your hands and mouth occupied during the flight. Keeping them busy won’t impact your nicotine cravings as such, but will provide a distraction and address your finger’s need to be holding something. You will be consuming a few unwanted calories by snacking but needs must. Choose sweets which are tricky to unwrap, and which take ages to suck or chew as this will keep you distracted for longer. Being confined to one of those metal tubes in the sky is one of the few occasions on which awkward packaging is actually a bonus.

Occupy your mind

The more you concentrate on something else, the less you will focus on your cravings. Absorb yourself in a good book, work on a puzzle, watch a movie or play Angry Birds (other games are available!). It doesn’t matter what you do to distract yourself, as long as you do something. If you taking are lengthy flight and will be relying on your laptop or tablet to entertain you, take a power bank to ensure that your device lasts the course.

Take a nap

Every minute you are sleeping is a minute you won’t be suffering from withdrawal. It can be hard to sleep on a place. A travel pillow and noise cancelling headphones would be good investments.

Wear a patch

Nobody enjoys wearing a nicotine patch. Those awful things start to itch like crazy and leave you with an ugly red rash. But you will be glad of one anyway on a long-haul flight as that dose of nicotine could make all the difference. If a nicotine patch will prevent a nasty episode of air rage, it is worth suffering the side effects.

Travelling with your electronic cigarette

You can’t vape on a plane but you will want to take your vape gear with you. It is important to check the vaping laws of the country you are travelling to. Even if you are permitted to vape, it might not be possible to purchase e liquids or hardware. This will mean that you have to take all the juice you need with you together with a spare battery.

Remember that vaping isn’t as popular in many countries as it is in the UK. The security staff at airports might not recognise your hardware and so your luggage is more likely to be selected for a physical check.

In addition, you must familiarise yourself with how your airline requires you to transport your device and eliquids. Most airlines require lithium-ion batteries to be packed in your hand luggage. There will be a limit on how many batteries you can take with you.

Eliquids are subject to the same restrictions as any other liquids and must be packed in your hand luggage. They will need to be transported in bottles with a maximum volume of 100ml and placed in a clear plastic bag at security. You are limited to the one clear plastic bag. If you have other types of liquids with you, it might be tricky to cram everything you need into that bag. You could ask someone you are travelling with to carry some of your eliquids for you, if you are challenged for space.

It’s a good idea to keep eliquids in the plastic bag during your flight as this will prevent your juice leaking over your clothes.

You should empty your vape tank before flying. The air pressure on the plane can cause vape tanks and clearomizers to leak.

Vaping in the skies

You can take vapes on a plane. But there are regulations to negotiate and you can’t use your equipment during the flight. By checking the applicable laws and regulations carefully, you should be able to transport your hardware and eliquids to your destination and there are ways to alleviate your cravings along the way. You can survive the ordeal!