Being open about vaping to family....

[Rachy_B]

My family have all been really supportive. Admittedly, they do ask when I'll quit vaping but I tell them its a long and drawn out process.

Most negativity has come from 'friends'. One ex friend (the 1TB HDD story!) would tell me 'yeah, but you're still using nicotine'. I would reply 'but if I was using patches or gum, I'd still be using nicotine. Would you give me this much grief if I was using patches or gum? More importantly, the pharmaceutical companies who make those products KNOW that they have a 95% failure rate. So far, vaping is working well for me and is helping stem my urge to hurt you...but keep testing me and we'll see how well that works, huh?!' - ok, so I never said the last part, but I might have been thinking it!

I would thoroughly recommend you buying a copy of Jean-Francois Etter's book. It's very balanced and overall, I'm very impressed. The only thing I don't like is that he recommends cartridges over juice. But still, having a copy on hand for your dad to read might come in handy. It'd also be handy for more facts you can throw out there if people are negative towards it.

I would also add that doctors, nurses and dentists have all been very pleased with my quitting smoking and starting vaping. ANYTHING is better than smoking!x

 

[Bullette the Cowdog]

Aren't we all funny? Well I should speak for myself. I'm not 14 years old. I'm 64.

So why am I still concerned with what my 87 year old mom thinks of my vaping? Cuz I'm nuts, that's why.

Here's the surprising thing that happened when I came out of the closet with vaping. (BTW: Mom hates smoking):

Me: driving.
Mom: in passenger seat.

Me: take out Kgo & vape without exhaling vapor. Do it a few more times with no or little exhale.

Mom: no reaction. (NOTE: she's very socially astute, observant & IT-savy...by no means senile)

Me after a few stops in the car & still vaping: so I guess you're wondering what this is?

Mom: I didn't want to ask.

Me: it's a miracle. It keeps me from smoking cigarettes. It's just vapor with a little nicotine in it. Can you smell it?

Mom: no. I don't smell anything.

Fast forward to sister in car with Mom...

Sister: well it's smoke in your lungs

Mom: it's not smoke. It's vapor. Like when you boil water on the stove.

WIN. WIN. WIN for vaping.

 

[Rachy_B]

I love your mummy!x

 

[Bullette the Cowdog]

I love your mummy!x

Thanks. The older I get, the smarter she gets.

 

[mare ze dotes]

Thanks. The older I get, the smarter she gets.

Goodness! My mom was the one who got me into vaping. She keeped sending me newspaper clippings on how it helps. She has known a few nurse friends who used it. I Did not pay attention, untill one day I did. And here I am. A non-smoker. TY Mom. Moms are the best!

 

[skyztheLynnit]

I recently went for a meal with all my extended family - 30 of us in total.

5 of the group are smokers (no intentions of quitting or vaping), they had to keep going outside for a nicotine fix, whereas I stayed inside and vaped instead.

Everyone in our group was really interested, asking questions and wanting demonstrations. Except for my brother-in-law, who can be a bit of a know-it-all at times. He kept quiet about my vaping, which I thought was rather strange, because I was expecting a good grilling from him. But when I popped to the rest room, he caught me as I came out and said I shouldn't be vaping indoors. So I asked why. His comments were:
1). Exploding e-cig batteries.
2). Harmful nicotine in the vapour.
3). Unknown ingredients in the liquid.

My replies were:
1). Reports of exploding batteries happened where users used batteries that were not compatable with their equipment, like using a car battery to power a mobile phone.
2). The minute traces of nicotine that I may exhale are no more harmful than the caffeine in your coffee. Plus you've just been eating traces of nicotine in the tomato you had with your side salad.
3). I know exactly what is in my juices, because I make them myself from pharma grade ingredients.

That's the first time I've ever won a debate with him

Some of my answers may have been a bit OTT, but at least I got my point across

Not OTT at all.. nope.. not one bit.. great job!

 

[Rachy_B]

Come to thing of it, my Gran who was in her late 70s at the time got me into ecigs. She found clippings in the newspapers and let me read them. I can credit her with the original idea, I guess! She's now in her early 80s and loves that I'm vaping.x

 

[Light Seeker]

Success is measured in how many cigarettes you haven't smoked, not in nods, smiles and acceptance of others - no matter how close to us those that judge are.

This ^^^.

My family members have become supportive once they learned whats in the juice compared to cigarettes. My wife & I both use the larger battery PVs, they jokingly call them our peace pipes and suggest we put feathers on them

My teenagers always have a few comments when I brew up some DIY batches, seeing an assortment of syringes, vials, and bottles spread out before me. They've asked me not to do it when they have friends over, says it looks like I'm a mad chemist in some sort of methlab They've also said they hate when I DIY .... it always smells so GOOD in the kitchen, they start getting hungry for whatever flavor is wafting thru the air

 

[Ken_A]

Personally, I don't see the big deal. I started vaping and told my parents the next time I spoke to them on the phone. I told them that there are no more than 5 ingredients and my dad said that it sounds better than the over 4000 in tobacco. As the months have gone on, I have shared with them all the good news about how beneficial it is and when we went to visit my brother, I popped onto my ipad and ordered one for him. When we got home, my mom said that it was one of the most selfless acts she had ever seen.
My brother is in his 4th month PV vaping and his biggest worry is should he give that last pack of smokes to his neighbor, or just toss them in the trash.

 

[jmadden22]

My mom realizes what we all do, that vaping is a healthier alternative to smoking. My dad however thinks vaping is somehow related to drug usage and that I'm inhaling "benzies". LOL.

 

[X P3 Flight Engineer]

My family have all been really supportive. Admittedly, they do ask when I'll quit vaping but I tell them its a long and drawn out process.

Most negativity has come from 'friends'. One ex friend (the 1TB HDD story!) would tell me 'yeah, but you're still using nicotine'. I would reply 'but if I was using patches or gum, I'd still be using nicotine. Would you give me this much grief if I was using patches or gum? More importantly, the pharmaceutical companies who make those products KNOW that they have a 95% failure rate. So far, vaping is working well for me and is helping stem my urge to hurt you...but keep testing me and we'll see how well that works, huh?!' - ok, so I never said the last part, but I might have been thinking it!

I would thoroughly recommend you buying a copy of Jean-Francois Etter's book. It's very balanced and overall, I'm very impressed. The only thing I don't like is that he recommends cartridges over juice. But still, having a copy on hand for your dad to read might come in handy. It'd also be handy for more facts you can throw out there if people are negative towards it.

I would also add that doctors, nurses and dentists have all been very pleased with my quitting smoking and starting vaping. ANYTHING is better than smoking!x

Thank you so much for putting my feelings into words!!

This is exactly how I feel! People don't understand the tension that nicotine withdrawal can cause, or that even if you do overcome the withdrawal, it can come back at any time (with a vengeance) and cause a person to "snap".

I have also had Doctors, nurses, and dentists praise the difference that vaping instead of smoking has accomplished. They can see results that others may not.

Thanks again! You are Wonderful and an inspiration!

 

[trouble1000]

Not OTT at all.. nope.. not one bit.. great job!

It just felt good to finally get one over on my brother-in-law

 

[BostLabs]

I say come out of the closet loud and proud and be a flamboyant Vapor!


If he doesn't accept you, punch him in the throat and establish dominance.

Quoted for Truth and because it made me LMAO!

All of my family is supportive. But they haven't seen me vape yet. Next weekend when I visit my brother's family for my Nephew's birthday will be the test.

Yesterday I was at a graduation party for a friend on my wife. It was outside so I'm sitting at a table with a few other people I didn't know and I'm just vaping away. Oddly enough they didn't notice which was fine by me. A bit later one of my wife's co-workers and her husband sit at the table. I had to use the rest room so got up. As I was leaving her husband asked me how that was working out for me. I didn't hear him, as I was on a mission (too much soda!!!!) but my wife did. When I came back to table everyone had questions which I answered to the best of my ability.

A bit later, a little girl came up to her mother that was sitting across from me. I had just taken a big vape and was blowing a big plume. "What's he doing!!!???" She exclaimed. "Oh crap!" I thought. her mother quickly says its a fake cigarette and the kids just beams! She wants her uncle, who is not there, to see this. She wants her uncle to quit smoking very badly. I was a hit.

I hope it keeps going like this.

 

[Rachy_B]

Thank you so much for putting my feelings into words!!

This is exactly how I feel! People don't understand the tension that nicotine withdrawal can cause, or that even if you do overcome the withdrawal, it can come back at any time (with a vengeance) and cause a person to "snap".

I have also had Doctors, nurses, and dentists praise the difference that vaping instead of smoking has accomplished. They can see results that others may not.

Thanks again! You are Wonderful and an inspiration!

Lol! My mum always used to tell me that smoking may be bad for her health, but it was very good for mine!x

 

[DC2]

Just a curiosity as I take a quick break from some writing during this beautiful late afternoon. My father is coming for a visit soon, and I know I'll be vaping around him. I am a 20 yr smoker turned vapor (horay!) and have had some tension with my father about smoking in the past. He's not a smoker and never has been. I'm actually the only nicotine user in the family. I can see it start to play out. At first, he'll be curious about it and then possibly turn a bit critical. I've done my research with studies and am ready to drop some knowledge that there are strong indications that this is safer and cheaper. Any thoughts from the ECF folks out there about how family members reacted to your switch to vaping? Or, is there anything else I might need to know about being open about it. It's odd, but I actually feel a bit nervous about this.

I like to change the argument into a question of whether or not vaping is good for you.
When you're arguing about whether or not it might be good for you, the idea that it might be bad for you is no longer a consideration.


Propylene glycol is a very good anti-microbial agent which kills germs germs such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi.
Nicotine is a performance enhancer that increases memory, attention, and concentration, and may also help prevent Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

 

[supertrunker]

Both of which they'll need if you threaten them with an old folk's home!

T

 

[tflemmer]

Being open about vaping with my family actually turned out to be a pretty cool experience. My Dad was a fairly heavy cigar smoker. But now he has his own little setup and is searching for a good cigar type juice. All because of my vaping around him and continually talking about it Pretty cool that now we have something we can discuss and do together! Definitely not how I expected it to turn out telling my family that I was now vaping.

 

[Rachy_B]

Both of which they'll need if you threaten them with an old folk's home!

T

'Be nice to me! I'm the one picking your old folks home!'x

 

[moijamie]

I never had problems with family they were like ok great