New York, Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Blinc Group, Inc., the regulatory-focused designer and provider of premium, customized and bespoke vaporizer technologies, in partnership with Canada’s leading independent third-party cannabis testing company Labstat International Inc. have conducted the first North American Cannabis Vape Consumption Survey aimed at better understanding how consumers use vaping devices. The study, Cannabis Puffing Regimes: A first step in developing standardized testing for cannabis vape products, found that cannabis consumption through vape devices is vastly different than nicotine and varies across borders.

“We set out to better understand how consumers use vape products to create a puffing regime to help inform policy. As expected, we found that the vape consumer is quite different from your traditional nicotine user, but we also found it interesting to learn that there were also many differences between an American consumer and a Canadian consumer,” said Arnaud Dumas de Rauly, CEO and co-founder of the Blinc Group.

Administered by Abacus Data, the Cannabis Vape Consumption Survey collected information from both medical and adult-use consumers across North America to understand how they use cannabis vape devices. More than 2,000 medical and adult-use cannabis consumers across North America answered questions pertaining to their vape consumption habits.  The Blinc Group and Labstat used the data to create a baseline “puffing regime” for cannabis vape testing.

To develop the regime the survey examined participants vaping frequency, formula preferences, length of vaping sessions, number of puffs inhaled, the intensity of those inhalations and the life of a vape cartridge.

“Our survey first found that American consumers use vape pens as their #1 method of consumption while Canadian consumers prefer joints and edibles. We also found that there is a significant difference between the number of cannabis vaping sessions per day in Canada versus America,” added Dumas de Rauly.

“A consumer’s smoking behavior influences potential exposure to harmful or potentially harmful contaminants and the puffing regime is an important aspect of risk assessment. This newly defined cannabis puffing regime will further inform the standardization of quality and safety testing protocols designed for today’s complex cannabis vape devices,” said Peter Joza, Chief Technical Officer of Labstat.

The 2019 EVALI crisis in the United States has led to great debate over how to protect cannabis vape consumers and illustrated the need for more research into the issue.  The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division has put in place new regulations that go into effect by January 2022 making it one of the first in the world to require aerosol testing for cannabis vaping products. The regulations state “all cannabis concentrates in vaporized delivery devices must be tested for heavy metal contaminants in the emitted aerosol by an authorized testing facility.”

“The industry has put all its emphasis on testing the oils and concentrates that go into vape pens but have neglected to test what actually comes out of them and is inhaled into our bodies. The heating of the cannabis changes its chemical composition, it stands to reason that this could have a different impact upon one’s health,” said Dumas de Rauly.

“Very little information is known about the consumption habits of vape consumers. Their vaping behavior influences potential exposure to harmful or potentially harmful contaminants and the puffing regime helps us to assess that risk and inform regulators of those risks,” added Joza.

If you would like to speak with our team about the findings or the survey, please contact our media contacts below and download the study here, Cannabis Puffing Regimes: A first step in developing standardized testing for cannabis vape products.

 

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Original Press Release: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2022/01/25/2372346/0/en/The-Blinc-Group-Labstat-International-Inc-Study-Finds-Vape-Habits-Don-t-Cross-Borders.html

I think something is happening on the road. Carl and I are turning into an old married couple. We started off the day at our homebase at the Courtyard Marriott where we shared an egg frittata. What grown men wake up and get there day started sharing an egg frittata?  I’ll tell you who, two very secure, banging vape technology salesmen, that’s who.

Properly lubed up with two coffees we planned out the rest of our day and got moving. We handled a few of our daily meetings at the hotel and then we got on the road to Green Meadows in Southbridge. They are an amazing operator founded by the family of General George Patton who works tirelessly to provide their customers with organic grade cannabis, support their community and gives back to the veteran community.

Our first order of business was to provide the budtenders with some treats from the Blinc Family inventory, our Puffmod and Puff Stiks, some of our best-selling batteries that offer a great charge and various heat settings, they truly put the user in the driver’s seat.  They loved them and we promised to send more.

It was also great getting a chance to reconnect with Ramzi Moushabeck, their wholesale manager, that we met last year at a Lemon Haze golfing tournament in Boston where we had a blast playing and getting to know each other. He gave us a tour of the facility and it’s so awesome to see how well they are growing and prepping to enter the vape space with their own line.

We were able to keep the day going with lunch with Ramzi and some of the other team members, talked about local businesses and also about getting involved with the Summit Lounge, to do some local events. Whenever we have the opportunity to get involved with the local community, the Blinc Group likes to see how we can jump in and help to educate more about the vape space.

Carl navigated us terribly back to the hotel, he always gets us lost. I’m not quite sure how he does that with all the technology in the world, but he does. At least he braved the cold to fill up the gas tank of Herbie, (we did promise you that we would name our Nissan Kick) while I was on our team managers meeting. Herbie has been a great, reliable car, just like his namesake Herbie, the Love Bug, I love that movie.

We finished up the day with a quaint dinner back at the Courtyard Marriott, share a lovely Blinc vape and bunked down early, all tuckered out after our great day with Green Meadows.

Today we are headed off to meet with Resinate about their vaping needs and then we will be headed back to the Big Apple.  We can’t wait to see our friends at Resinate and finish up this trip with a bang, stay tuned, hopefully Carl won’t get us lost on our way home.

 

Oh, where do I begin? Our Massachusetts road trip is going swimmingly for just being gone for 24 hours, although saying that will probably jinx the rest of the trip. We started off the trip with a stop in Chicopee, a great town with a rich history and home to the largest Airforce Reserve Air Base in the country.  As a former Airforce man that warms my heart, but my service is another story for another day.

After a good, productive meeting in Chicopee, we had ourselves a fantastic lunch at this small Bavarian restaurant. I could not pass up on the Bavarian Pretzel Burger, so delicious, I can’t even explain, such a tremendous pretzel roll. Carl decided to go with the Chicken Francaise, which I would say is a questionable choice given the other amazing German options, but to each his own.

Our afternoon took a bit of a turn with our afternoon meetings getting cancelled, but it turned into a blessing in disguise. We ended up having a lot of great phone meetings from our homebase at the Worchester Courtyard Marriott. One of those calls was with Green Meadow Farms in Southbridge who we will be seeing today.

If you are unfamiliar with Green Meadow Farms, is a vertically integrated operation run by the descendants of General Patton. And they are looking to begin putting out their own vape line in the coming weeks with the help of the Blinc Group.  We are very excited for this partnership and know that our V-12 cartridge is going to be the solid workhorse that they are looking for as they determine if they want to go with Live Rosin or Distillate.

We are also going to be headed to Wareham, at the base of the Cape to speak with another facility who has just completed their own proper grow and is ready to tackle a new cape line. It’s honestly exciting to see all of these clients and potential clients in Massachusetts getting their grows and genetics in line to provide Mass with some great premium product and to cement this market.

It’s another gray cold day, with snow on the ground, but I’ve got hot coffee in my tank and we are raring to go for another great day on the road.  We’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

It is a cold, brisk morning in Long Island, 7:30am to be exact and we are headed off to what I like to think of as the backyard of New York, the Bay State, the State of Baked Beans, the beautiful Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It’s always a good time to hit the road with Carl Giordano, our Director of Customer Service/Automation. This trip has been in the works for some time, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with old clients who we look on as family and bring on some new ones to our Blinc Group family.

To get set for this trip there were vigorous preparations on my part, a trip to the dry cleaners, a new haircut to spiff up my already amazing coif, and we rented a Nissan Kick to spirit us on this fine journey and navigate any snow we might encounter.  Our Kick, to be officially named later, is all packed with amazing Blinc Group swag and samples of our latest cartridges: V1, V12 OG cart and the V11C, all unique and up to task for whatever your vaping needs might be.

I’ve got my Starbucks Tribute Blend all brewed and ready to go with a tad bit of sugar and a tad bit of whole milk, anything else is a waste of time. The 3-hour drive should be a breeze up the Mass Turnpike with our first stop in Chicopee, MA, and then on to Worcester, MA, our homebase for trip at the lovely Courtyard Marriott.

My dog, Sugar, a gorgeous 10-year-old Chocolate Lab, is the only one in my house that is going to miss me for the next couple of days. My wife has already planned Girls Nights for every night this week, (she says she won’t, but she’ll miss me ????).  I can tell by Carl’s face that he is quite thrilled to be riding shotgun and putting his life in my hands for the drive. He has nothing to fear, I’m an excellent driver.

We’re excited to be back out on the road and hope that you will follow this brief travel blog about our daily hijinx. I can promise you that there will be some fun to remember.  And if you are looking to connect with us while we are in Massachusetts and want to talk vape, please don’t hesitate to reach out, I’ll be awaiting your call, (516) 456-5453.

Cannabis vape cartridges and related products continue to be a significant percentage of overall cannabis sales. Second only to the sale of flower, vape cartridge popularity has proven incredibly resilient and therefore an important category to pay attention to for any vape brand, MSO or Canadian LP. Flavored distillate, full spectrum, live resin, rosin, CBD and Delta 8 are now available in vape cartridge format in virtually every legalized medical and recreational market in the world.

Given the importance of these SKUs to the cannabis industry, one would think wholesalers, retailers and consumers would pay more attention to the cartridge itself, yet many times this very important variable is overlooked. Although they certainly look similar, not all vape cartridges are the same. Buyers should understand that the cartridge is not just a vessel or packaging. The cartridge is in fact an atomizer without which there would be no vapor. The design, materials used, electrical resistance and intake hole size will all determine how good or bad a vape experience is. The oil, as “craft” as it might be, can prove totally disappointing without the right cartridge.

Below are three questions that consumers and wholesalers should be asking about a vape cartridge prior to purchase.

What brand of vape cartridge is being used? Who imported it?

Shenzhen, China is where 99% of vape cartridges are made. There are dozens of raw material suppliers, assemblers and third party distributors competing in this market. Price and quality differ greatly. There are also many counterfeits. Knowing the brand name could give you some insight into the quality of the cartridge. For example, when you see “Powered by Blinc” on the bottom of a cartridge, it means that the product has been manufactured to the highest international standards of safety and compliance with complete quality control and traceability. 

What type of materials is the cartridge made out of? Brass or stainless steel? Glass or plastic?

Like anything else we buy, certainly anything else we put in our mouths, materials should matter! When cannabis oil is held in a cartridge over time, leaching of heavy metals and other chemicals into the oil can occur. This is why many states have regulations requiring heavy metals tests to be conducted on the cartridge prior to going to market. Understanding how these materials impact the overall safety of the experience is important.

When was the cartridge filled, capped and packaged?

Cartridges should not sit around in a dresser drawer or in your glove compartment for too long. Exposure to air, light and heat can all impact the quality of the formulation. Oxidation can occur and terpenes can gas off changing the viscosity and the flavor of the oil. Depending on the materials used, leaching of chemicals into the oil can increase with time. Therefore, carts are best vaped within a few weeks of purchase and always stored upright at room temperature. Ask when the cartridges were filled to understand how long that oil has been sitting in the tank.

The optimal vape experience is safe, smooth, flavorful and effective. To achieve that, a lot has to go right along the supply chain starting with the selection of the cartridge and ending with the filling, packaging and storing of tens of thousands of units. Consumers should ask budtenders, budtenders should ask distributors and distributors should ask cannabis brands these questions and focus their attention as much on the hardware as they do on the oil itself. 

The Blinc Group takes a consultative approach to working with cannabis companies all over the world. Through these partnerships, the right time and testing is devoted to answering all three of these questions with a focus on innovation, quality and safety.

#notjustvapor