Thank you for this post, as I think it could generate an important discussion on this issue.
In the very recent past, I, on this site, have declared that I am not going to hide the fact I am a vaper and I’m not going to try to disguise my vaping - but with a caveat - I generally only vape in the relative safety of my car and safety (2A) of my home.
When I worked at the vape shop, around once every two weeks or at least once a month I’d get a customer - often a regular - who would come in needing to replace a device because of a vehicular break-in. It occurred frequently enough to impress upon me that not even a bottle of eliquid was safe to store in a cup holder, and as a result I do not leave ANY evidence I am a vaper in a parked car.
To relate this concern to prepping, I keep only a very small consort of friends, and none of them know that I am prepping to the extent I am. Recently I was at a local B&M and as I was talking about the PMTA the clerk, someone I consider a friend, assumed I had enough nicotine stored for the long haul. Even then I diverted the conversation, not because he himself is a threat, but because it is just not something I am willing to discuss outside of my family.
What brought the issue home was two months ago when the flavor ban hit WA I was at another B&M and a customer was very curious about how and why I still was able to use a bottle of fruit eliquid when he was only able to buy a tobacco flavor. I said it was something I had held onto before the ban. I am not deluded at all about the desire for flavors nor the ignorance about how easy it is to DIY.
Sometimes I look at my vape tubs and I realize that someone would break into my house for those items alone. I’m not interested in inviting trouble so I’m not going to advertise my exclusive (lol) vape gear after the PMTA goes into effect. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to go out of my way to not vape in the car or on the porch. It just means I’m not going to explain how I’ve prepared for the upcoming dark ages. And, sadly, it means I’m not going to share like I did before. But that blood is not on my hands.