My friend Amelia and I wrote the first of a two-part essay on how existing research methods into smoking cannot result in an understanding of vape, or new technology generally.
Amelia is a PHD candidate at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She has a particular interest in the social, political and cultural dimensions of expert knowledge-making in science and technology.
She's one of the most interesting thinkers I know, so writing this with her has been a real privilege.
Have a read!
Is vaping sticky enough? And how can we tell?
Great article thus far, specifically I am at the section in your article: "Is Vaping Less Sticky Than Smoking"
At point three, you mention FUD, Fear uncertainty and doubt, and go on to explain why some of that might be.
Which you also raise excellent points, and I haven't read much further, but there is one point I feel could or should be added. And that is the fear and uncertainty due to the fact by the time most of us have reached the point of looking to vaping, we have already spent years in many cases trying one thing after another to stop smoking.
I know there wasn't a medication, whether prescription or non prescription that I hadn't tried, I also tried off the wall stuff like hypnosis to quit. All these things cost so much money, and none of them worked.
Therefore, by the time I found vaping and was willing to give it a shot, I also had tons of doubts that it was going to be anything more than just another unsuccessful money pit, and I was very much unwilling to sink a lot of money into it - although I was, at one point, willing to try it, so long as I didn't put a lot of money into it.
For me personally, the only thing that got me through at that point to being a full fledged vaper, was utter determination to quit. I spoke to a vape shop owner, and a couple people who had successfully quit smoking using vaping. I found out what they thought was the most helpful method of making the switch, which was using a device that you added your own e juice in.
Then, I sought out the absolutely cheapest method where I could get a battery and a refillable tank, and at the time that was off eBay getting a cheap Chinese ego battery with a ce4 tank for 10.00.. I bought it, then found the gas station nearby sold 10ml bottles of ejuice, the highest nicotine level they had was 18mg/ml.. which, coming from a two pack a day Marlboro red habit, was not enough nicotine when my consumption was so low on that ce4..
But, I needed to quit, as much as I wanted to. My breathing had reached the point where I was in desperation to quit smoking, and that carried me through the withdrawals, and meant that I was able to fully make the switch.
If I had not had that level of determination mixed with necessity - I probably would not have made it through the initial quit..
I learned a lot since, found what devices work even better, and run around helping every one I can, to the point even of purchasing people's first set up for them. Since I have quit, I helped a friend of mine and her husband successfully switch to vaping, as well as my sister-in-law, her husband, my son has now fully switched to vaping and my husband is vaping now in dual fashion, hopefully soon he will make the full switch. Without me, all those people would still be smoking..
However, it took a lot to get me here, to be able for me to make the switch.. it was a trial an error in how to make a full switch to vaping nary spending a dime . Lol..
This is where a LOT of the fear comes from, because the pharmaceutical industry is more about how to rake in as much cash as possible instead of how to get people away from their addiction to cigarettes, vaping is approached with MUCH caution and fear. And someone who has failed so often in their attempts to quit smoking, who may not yet have reached the point in their health where they are simply desperate to quit, will buy something cheap because of the fear of the money pit, it won't stop the withdrawals, and they will walk away from it thinking they just escaped being sucked into an other money pit..
Just thought to point that out... as this IS another point where fear and doubt comes into play..right now in history, vaping is not our first rodeo.. but it can be our last.