The quantity of "non-smokers shouldn't vape" comments I have read since entering the vaping world has stunned me.
I can't speak for anyone else, but here's why I say that:
1) Vaping appears to be exponentially healthier than smoking cigarettes, but plain old common sense says that doing neither is the healthiest option. And really? We don't know. There have been a few good short term studies that say it's safer, but no one has been vaping long enough for us to have any idea what the long term effects are. Lots of things seem perfectly fine at first and issues aren't seen until down the road, some of them very serious (asbestos, anyone? Lead paint? Hell, doctors used to recommend their favorite brand of cigarettes for the health benefits). We're all taking a risk here. For a tobacco smoker, it's a calculated risk that is likely much, MUCH safer than what they were doing before. For a non-smoker, it's a completely unnecessary risk that will likely make them less healthy than they are now. I do think there are other good reasons to vape - people use the nicotine to help with ADD, slow the progress of alzheimers, and other health situations. I've read a few times over the years about bulimics who were able to stop binging and start eating normally because they got the flavors they want from vaping. But for the average non-smoker, it's like going to a smoking forum and saying "I'm thinking about picking up the habit. What brand cigarettes do you recommend for a good head rush?"
2) Every single public figure and government official (and every damn news report) that is against vaping and trying to restrict, ban, or otherwise make it difficult, EVERY TIME, talks about how vaping will make smoking cool again, encourage nonsmokers (usually teenagers) to pick up a tobacco habit, and be a "gateway drug" to cigarettes. Every time we help a nonsmoker get into vaping without discouraging them from starting an unhealthy habit, we're playing right into that argument. And if these anti-vaping folks want to back up their claims with incriminating evidence, all they need to do is swing by a vaping forum like this one and post "hey, I've never smoked before, but I want to get into vaping. Where should I start?" I'm not saying the OP here is doing that, or than anyone ever does, but it's possible, and even if not, all they have to do is read the threads and reference the responses.
We like to talk about vaping as if it were completely risk-free from a health perspective. And when compared to smoking, it's a HUGE reduction in risk. It's a godsend for someone like me who smoked 1.5 packs a day for long enough that my habit could legally buy porn or its own cigarettes. But we won't have all the evidence for years or even decades, and there's still a risk here. Why encourage people to take that risk unnecessarily?
