If you’re someone who uses an e-cigarette, then while you might be out enjoying the sun this week, you might also need to remember to take a few precautions.
Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those scare-mongering articles about how your vape is going to kill you in some abstract way, it’s merely a piece of practical advice.
After all, vaping is recommended by the NHS as a method of stopping smoking, and they're the folks worth listening to about this sort of thing.
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You see, vapes – like pretty well all electrical equipment that runs on batteries – don’t fare well in extreme heat or direct sunlight, which is what you need to look out for.
The first problem is an obvious one, which is that metal gets hot in sunlight, so don’t leave it in the heat for too long and grab it, because you might burn your hands.
That’s not the main thing to be worried about, though.
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The truth is that the batteries within most e-cigarettes are not great if exposed to extreme heat or sunlight, because they contain lithium.
The same applies if you have a phone, a tablet, a laptop, or a digital camera.
You shouldn’t be leaving any of those in the sun, and the same applies to your electronic cigarette.
The batteries in all of these devices are ordinarily completely safe to use, but there are certain circumstances in which they can become a problem.
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One of those circumstances is in extreme heat.
That means that it’s really important that you don’t leave your vape somewhere that is really hot. Of course, it’s a no-brainer that you shouldn’t leave it in your car.
The same rules that apply to a dog or a child should apply to your e-cigarette – though for slightly different reasons and at a different level of importance, obviously.
We’ve all chucked open the door of a car and immediately recoiled at the heat. What did we expect? It’s a big metal box.
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Anyway, the heat that can be reached inside a car can be too much for the lithium battery within an e-cigarette to safely operate.
If left in temperatures over 40ºC, the battery can overheat and potentially even catch fire.
It’s unlikely, but best not to test that out.
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The same applies for leaving it in direct sunlight – let’s say – on a table in a pub beer garden.
As you’d imagine, exposing it to direct sunlight can cause the device to heat up, causing the same set of problems.
On the beach, it’s best not to have it in the bottom of a sweltering beach bag tucked into the sand, as that can become too hot too.
Why not just keep it in the shade, or in your pocket.
Just remember to take it out before you go swimming, as that wouldn’t be good for it either.
Tom Wood