vaping is under attack from every corner. The guys who make cigarettes hate us. The companies that make 'stop smoking' aids hate us. The states that have budgets based on the money they get from tobacco settlements and taxes hate us. Sometimes it seems like everyone hates vapers. Everyone.
But you know who shouldn't hate us? You know who should be standing up with us and fighting the legislators and ANTZ with total commitment and zeal at least equal to our own? I'll try to make a list.
Firefighters. Oh yeah. People fall asleep with cigarettes in their hands and burn down buildings. Happens all the time. Firefighters should be fighting for our vaping rights, tooth and nail. Vaping is SAFE.
Landlords. Besides the whole fire issue, landlords should support vaping because vapor doesn't leave a stink or coat your properties' walls with tar stains. Smokers are going to smoke. Don't kid yourself that indoor smoking bans are going to stop the destruction. Only vaping can do that. Vaping is PROTECTING your INVESTMENT.
Health Professionals. Every health professional in the world should get on the vaping bandwagon, right now. If every smoker would switch to vaping immediately, millions of lives would be saved. Remember that oath you all took? First, do no harm. Well, here's your chance to step up, doctors. Help us stop the harm that smoking is doing by reading the data and studies and seeing with your own eyes that vaping is a fantastic alternative, and one that makes getting off cigarettes a thousand times easier. Vaping is LIFE.
Anyone who has ever known someone who died because of cigarettes. Personally, I've only known a couple people who actually died because of smoking (my maternal grandmother, and my paternal grandfather), but the list of my heroes who died because of smoking is a very long list indeed. Humphrey Bogart, Leonard Nimoy, George Harrison, Louis Armstrong, John Candy, Bill Hicks, Andy Kaufman, Ernie Kovacs, Groucho Marx, Lee Marvin, Walter Matthau, Johnny Carson, and many more. If you've been through the horror of watching someone die from lung cancer, then you should definitely support vaping. Vaping is LONGEVITY.
Current Smokers of Cigarettes. Look, it's only a matter of time before all you smokers get around to realizing that vaping will not only save your life, but is actually a lot more satisfying and fun than smoking ever was or could possibly be. We'll happily wait 'til you're ready to switch, but in the meantime, we could really use your help. Vaping is YOUR BEST HOPE.
Environmentalists. And I use the term very broadly. Pretty much anyone who thinks that it's a good idea to make less waste and have cleaner air and water. Smoking makes a crap-ton of garbage and litter. And most of it is not biodegradable. Vaping, in comparison, produces practically no waste at all. Maybe a few extra paper towels, some clipped wires and a few bits of wet cotton, but that's about it. No pollution, just a pleasant smell that dissipates in seconds. Also, we almost exclusively use rechargeable batteries. Vaping is GREEN.
Non-Smokers. All of us vapers know how much you hated us when we smoked. And for the first time in our lives, we kind of understand why. It smells even worse to us, believe me. But now, you can have your thing, and we can have ours, and we never have to clash again. With vaping, all your needs are met: there's no smell, there's no stains, there's no burnt clothing or furniture. All the things you hated about smokers are things you'll never experience with a vaper. And let's be honest, non-smokers, you never really cared about our health. We heard you whisper your foul curses and death wishes on us. We know. So stop pretending you want us to be healthy. You just want us to quit smoking because you don't like it. And now you can have what you want - a totally smoke-free world. All you have to do is stop wagging your fingers and stick up for vaping. Vaping can END SMOKING.
Children. When I was a kid, my mom smoked constantly, and I **hated** it. I complained bitterly about the smell and the yuck, and eventually drove my mother to finally quit. Later, I went on to start smoking myself, and did so avidly for thirty years. But kids today are super smart. In a recent study of youth attitudes towards smoking, they were almost universally against it. They all thought it was stupid and harmful and just a terrible choice. Children may not care about vaping per se, but if they knew how easily they could get their smoking parent to stop smoking with it, they'd be all for it. Vaping has NO second-hand ANYTHING.
Supporters Of Small Business. Vaping is a relatively small thing, still. Sure, there's some big companies into it, but mostly it's mom and pop shops and little internet businesses springing forth. And because they're largely started by vapers themselves, the customer service is astonishingly good. I've blogged before about this phenomenon, but it's worth mentioning again. Vaping is bringing the concept of customer service back to American business. If the idea spreads, it could be great for our economy. There's a myth going around that vaping is just another Big Tobacco trick to steal our money and our lives, but that's entirely untrue. In fact, the reality is just the opposite. Big Tobacco and Big Pharma are fighting against vaping like rabid dogs. They are throwing millions of dollars at stopping the vape culture in its tracks. If you've ever casually thought 'Gee, vaping is worse than smoking', then you've been victimized by misinformation. You've inadvertantly heard some news story or read some article that outright LIED to you, in order to get you on the side of the exact giant corporations you hate. Vaping is PATRIOTIC.
Owners and Employees in the Hospitality Industry. Yes, you told that guest when they checked in, at least three or four times, that their room was a Non Smoking Room. But they still smoked! They smoked non stop during their entire stay, and now you have to figure out how to get that stink out of the curtains and carpets before your next guest checks in. As you've probably noticed, it's not easy. If you've had a couple smokers stay in a non-smoking room for more than a few days, you know you're going to get complaints about the smell from the next four or five people who stay in that room. Now, if you said to those people 'Your room is non-smoking, but we do allow the use of personal vaporizers, which we sell in our lobby store...' you've just made a smoker very happy, and you've made some extra revenue. Win/win. Plus, there's nothing to clean up, and no risk of fire. A vaper can stay for a month and leave no trace that they ever did anything in that room besides dirty the sheets and towels. So if you own a hotel or work in one, you should also be fighting for vaper's rights. Vaping is CLEAN.
See where I'm going with this? Yes, you guessed it: EVERYONE should be on board with vaping. The people who aren't are mostly people who are experiencing a slight drop in profits and revenue, people whose products either killed us or tried to help us quit but never worked. Boo freakin' hoo. Sorry, Big Tobacco, but I don't really care about your sagging business. You already made billions of dollars from us, and we are done with that garbage. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Cigarettes were killing us and making us wildly unpopular, so we found another way. Chantix and patches and Welbutrin and inhalers and gum wasn't working at all, so we found another way. Insane taxes and oppressive laws limiting our smoking enjoyment to back alleys and cold doorways was stifling and actually making some of us smoke MORE (because you never knew when you'd not be able to smoke, so you better inhale deeply and have two or three, just in case). Again, not working for us, so we found another way.
If everyone stopped listening to the lies and joined us in our fight to save vaping, great things would happen. If vaping caught on it could literally mean the end of cigarettes. We're talking about a revolution, here. Imagine ending cigarettes in your lifetime. Imagine the universal and dramatic decrease in smoking-related deaths.
Vaping isn't a cure for cancer, but it's the next best thing.
But you know who shouldn't hate us? You know who should be standing up with us and fighting the legislators and ANTZ with total commitment and zeal at least equal to our own? I'll try to make a list.
Firefighters. Oh yeah. People fall asleep with cigarettes in their hands and burn down buildings. Happens all the time. Firefighters should be fighting for our vaping rights, tooth and nail. Vaping is SAFE.
Landlords. Besides the whole fire issue, landlords should support vaping because vapor doesn't leave a stink or coat your properties' walls with tar stains. Smokers are going to smoke. Don't kid yourself that indoor smoking bans are going to stop the destruction. Only vaping can do that. Vaping is PROTECTING your INVESTMENT.
Health Professionals. Every health professional in the world should get on the vaping bandwagon, right now. If every smoker would switch to vaping immediately, millions of lives would be saved. Remember that oath you all took? First, do no harm. Well, here's your chance to step up, doctors. Help us stop the harm that smoking is doing by reading the data and studies and seeing with your own eyes that vaping is a fantastic alternative, and one that makes getting off cigarettes a thousand times easier. Vaping is LIFE.
Anyone who has ever known someone who died because of cigarettes. Personally, I've only known a couple people who actually died because of smoking (my maternal grandmother, and my paternal grandfather), but the list of my heroes who died because of smoking is a very long list indeed. Humphrey Bogart, Leonard Nimoy, George Harrison, Louis Armstrong, John Candy, Bill Hicks, Andy Kaufman, Ernie Kovacs, Groucho Marx, Lee Marvin, Walter Matthau, Johnny Carson, and many more. If you've been through the horror of watching someone die from lung cancer, then you should definitely support vaping. Vaping is LONGEVITY.
Current Smokers of Cigarettes. Look, it's only a matter of time before all you smokers get around to realizing that vaping will not only save your life, but is actually a lot more satisfying and fun than smoking ever was or could possibly be. We'll happily wait 'til you're ready to switch, but in the meantime, we could really use your help. Vaping is YOUR BEST HOPE.
Environmentalists. And I use the term very broadly. Pretty much anyone who thinks that it's a good idea to make less waste and have cleaner air and water. Smoking makes a crap-ton of garbage and litter. And most of it is not biodegradable. Vaping, in comparison, produces practically no waste at all. Maybe a few extra paper towels, some clipped wires and a few bits of wet cotton, but that's about it. No pollution, just a pleasant smell that dissipates in seconds. Also, we almost exclusively use rechargeable batteries. Vaping is GREEN.
Non-Smokers. All of us vapers know how much you hated us when we smoked. And for the first time in our lives, we kind of understand why. It smells even worse to us, believe me. But now, you can have your thing, and we can have ours, and we never have to clash again. With vaping, all your needs are met: there's no smell, there's no stains, there's no burnt clothing or furniture. All the things you hated about smokers are things you'll never experience with a vaper. And let's be honest, non-smokers, you never really cared about our health. We heard you whisper your foul curses and death wishes on us. We know. So stop pretending you want us to be healthy. You just want us to quit smoking because you don't like it. And now you can have what you want - a totally smoke-free world. All you have to do is stop wagging your fingers and stick up for vaping. Vaping can END SMOKING.
Children. When I was a kid, my mom smoked constantly, and I **hated** it. I complained bitterly about the smell and the yuck, and eventually drove my mother to finally quit. Later, I went on to start smoking myself, and did so avidly for thirty years. But kids today are super smart. In a recent study of youth attitudes towards smoking, they were almost universally against it. They all thought it was stupid and harmful and just a terrible choice. Children may not care about vaping per se, but if they knew how easily they could get their smoking parent to stop smoking with it, they'd be all for it. Vaping has NO second-hand ANYTHING.
Supporters Of Small Business. Vaping is a relatively small thing, still. Sure, there's some big companies into it, but mostly it's mom and pop shops and little internet businesses springing forth. And because they're largely started by vapers themselves, the customer service is astonishingly good. I've blogged before about this phenomenon, but it's worth mentioning again. Vaping is bringing the concept of customer service back to American business. If the idea spreads, it could be great for our economy. There's a myth going around that vaping is just another Big Tobacco trick to steal our money and our lives, but that's entirely untrue. In fact, the reality is just the opposite. Big Tobacco and Big Pharma are fighting against vaping like rabid dogs. They are throwing millions of dollars at stopping the vape culture in its tracks. If you've ever casually thought 'Gee, vaping is worse than smoking', then you've been victimized by misinformation. You've inadvertantly heard some news story or read some article that outright LIED to you, in order to get you on the side of the exact giant corporations you hate. Vaping is PATRIOTIC.
Owners and Employees in the Hospitality Industry. Yes, you told that guest when they checked in, at least three or four times, that their room was a Non Smoking Room. But they still smoked! They smoked non stop during their entire stay, and now you have to figure out how to get that stink out of the curtains and carpets before your next guest checks in. As you've probably noticed, it's not easy. If you've had a couple smokers stay in a non-smoking room for more than a few days, you know you're going to get complaints about the smell from the next four or five people who stay in that room. Now, if you said to those people 'Your room is non-smoking, but we do allow the use of personal vaporizers, which we sell in our lobby store...' you've just made a smoker very happy, and you've made some extra revenue. Win/win. Plus, there's nothing to clean up, and no risk of fire. A vaper can stay for a month and leave no trace that they ever did anything in that room besides dirty the sheets and towels. So if you own a hotel or work in one, you should also be fighting for vaper's rights. Vaping is CLEAN.
See where I'm going with this? Yes, you guessed it: EVERYONE should be on board with vaping. The people who aren't are mostly people who are experiencing a slight drop in profits and revenue, people whose products either killed us or tried to help us quit but never worked. Boo freakin' hoo. Sorry, Big Tobacco, but I don't really care about your sagging business. You already made billions of dollars from us, and we are done with that garbage. We are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Cigarettes were killing us and making us wildly unpopular, so we found another way. Chantix and patches and Welbutrin and inhalers and gum wasn't working at all, so we found another way. Insane taxes and oppressive laws limiting our smoking enjoyment to back alleys and cold doorways was stifling and actually making some of us smoke MORE (because you never knew when you'd not be able to smoke, so you better inhale deeply and have two or three, just in case). Again, not working for us, so we found another way.
If everyone stopped listening to the lies and joined us in our fight to save vaping, great things would happen. If vaping caught on it could literally mean the end of cigarettes. We're talking about a revolution, here. Imagine ending cigarettes in your lifetime. Imagine the universal and dramatic decrease in smoking-related deaths.
Vaping isn't a cure for cancer, but it's the next best thing.
