Forget cigarettes after sex, a new study has revealed that over half of vapers reach for their e-cigarette.

That’s according to experts at E-Cigarette Direct, who picked the brains of almost 2,000 vapers to understand attitudes around e-cigarettes and romance in the run-up to Valentine’s Day.

It is especially common in Northern Ireland to reach for a post-coital vape, with almost 40% of respondents always taking a drag immediately after, and another 40% often considering it.

Gender seems to make no difference, but it is more popular to grab an e-cig straight after in the West Midlands and York and Humber.

This revelation has shown that electronic cigarettes can help replace tobacco cigarettes in previously unresearched situations.

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The Dating and Vaping Study also found that 40% of women and 30% of men wouldn’t consider smooching a cigarette smoker.

People in the South East and East of the UK are least likely to date a smoker and men who smoke are far less likely to bag a date.

It also explored how vaping impacts early dates and romance.

James Dunworth, Chairman of E-Cigarette Direct said: “Dating can be daunting at the best of times. For smokers and vapers, however, there’s lots of extra etiquette and anxieties to navigate when meeting someone for the first time.

“Smoking cigarettes has long been considered a turn off. However, there isn’t much data on how vaping impacts romance, and we wanted to know more. It is great to know that, on the whole, vapers have better dating prospects than smokers.

“Out of the various angles explored, it was particularly interesting to see how vaping can replace smoking in more novel situations…like straight after sex!”

The E-Cigarette Direct study found that 10% of women and 13% of men who vape would seek out and only date a fellow vaper. This seems like a surprisingly high percentage.

Of course, attitudes and opinions change from person to person, but one reason people might feel more comfortable dating a vaper is because of a shared experience.

It could also be more practical for them to date a vaper over a smoker. Seeing a significant other smoking real cigarettes could cause relapses among vapers.

Over 85% of vapers feel comfortable vaping on a first date, however, the remaining 15% show that some have issues whipping out their vape on a date.

Research suggests that vapers are most likely to get a date in London and Wales.

Almost 8% of vapers in the East Midlands have been turned down for a date because they vape, much like people in the South East and Yorkshire and Humberside.

A small percentage of respondents lived outside of the UK, and their attitudes to vaping and lovemaking, along with dating a vaper, seem a lot more liberal.

Not one of them had been turned down for a date for vaping, which can’t be said for anywhere in the UK.

When it comes to online personas, lots of people were loud and proud about their love of vaping.

34% of males polled actively share photos of themself using their electronic cigarette devices. Females didn’t feel shy sharing their snaps either, with almost 28% having their e-cigs on display on social media.

On the other hand, some people seemed shy about revealing the habit when online dating.

Females were slightly less likely to admit to being a vaper on a dating app or site than men were.

But when finding the love of your life online, all may not be as it seems… Research shows that 1 in 10 people who claim not to vape on dating apps could be keeping their habit a secret.

James Dunworth, Chairman of E-Cigarette Direct said: “In contrast to smokers, who often struggle to get dates with non-smokers, it shows that vapers rarely have problems finding romantic partners.

“It also shows that vaping can replace smoking even in more novel situations, such as after sex. While it seems lighthearted, with millions of people still smoking instead of vaping, despite the fact that Public Health England and the Royal Society of Physicians say that vaping is 95% less harmful than cigarettes, it’s crucial that we highlight even the more unusual ways vaping can replace smoking.”