E cigs have a bad rep,, how to overcome this bad name

[KentuckyRain]

I am 2 weeks into vaping,, hoping to be completely off analogs by morning,,, had the inlaws over for dinner and while chatting with the mother,, she informed me to "be careful" because e cigs are dangerous and we all live in Fl and she heard that one blew up in a guys face. Well I just told her that from what I heard, the guy had "stacked batteries in a mod" and that I don't use a mod or stack batteries and that the news did not bother to give the full story or do a follow up.

Are the e cigs getting a bad rep? What can I do to help change this if that is the case?

 

[DC2]

Basically it seems that all you can do is just what you did.

 

[Reidus]

First, realize that a lot of people have a vested interested in keeping us down, specifically Big Tobacco and Pharma. One of the biggest problems is that since the mini's look just like cigarettes, everybody associates the 2. What we do is explain to people that the 2 are completely different processes altogether, and that vaping (not using e-cigs) is a much less harmful way of getting nicotine into your system than tobacco. Vaping using 3 main ingredients: nicotine, something to carry the nicotine (either PG or VG) and additives for flavor, as opposed to the 3300 or so components in tobacco smoke. For the people who say that propylete glycol is dangerous, as it's what's used in anti-freeze, explain that it's what's used in non-toxic antifreeze (the toxic stuff that killed your dog was ethylene glycol), and if you're worried about PG, then you need to stop drinking cokes, wearing make-up, etc. as it's been components for all sorts of food and beauty aids for over 50 years. As far as batteries exploding, yeah there has been a few cases of batteries in Pvs exploding. One of my brother-in-law's friends had his flashlight explode, so should we outlaw flashlights? Anything that uses batteries is potentially explosive in the right situation.

 

[DC2]

Oh, wait, more ideas...

You can also Google up some stories of cell phones exploding...
Or laptops, or golf carts, or electric toothbrushes...

 

[AttyPops]

I am 2 weeks into vaping,, hoping to be completely off analogs by morning,,, had the inlaws over for dinner and while chatting with the mother,, she informed me to "be careful" because e cigs are dangerous and we all live in Fl and she heard that one blew up in a guys face. Well I just told her that from what I heard, the guy had "stacked batteries in a mod" and that I don't use a mod or stack batteries and that the news did not bother to give the full story or do a follow up.

Are the e cigs getting a bad rep? What can I do to help change this if that is the case?

How about "How many times have you heard 'house fire cause by careless smoking?'" or
"x,xxx deaths per year attributed to cigarettes" or
viewed any of those new anti-smoking ads?

Did your mother-in-law warn you every time you smoked?

Your reply was good. Keep up the good work.

 

[TravTech]

Don't associate youself with anything labeled as e-cig or e-cigarette. They are personal vaporizers and there is no smoke of any kind involved as there is with cigarettes.

My friends frequent a site called "e-cigarette-forum". I try to warn them that they're only perpetuating the negative stereotypes, but they won't listen.

 

[Wuzznt Me]

"Is that one of those fake cigarettes?" Nope, it's a real electronic one.

"Propylene Glycol!! That's in antifreeze". Yep, so's water but I'm not going to stop drinking that either.

"Those things are dangerous. Did you hear about the one that blew up in a guys face?"
Yep, better get away from me. This thing could go at any moment.

If this is what's making you cough you'd better see a shrink. It ain't smoke.

I can't help it sometimes.

 

[John1952]

US smoking-related deaths in 2011: 443,000
US vaping-related deaths in 2001: ~0

 

[WindLvr]

I have stopped calling the e cigs along time ago. People just like to assume that you are doing something wrong. I said this is my personal vaporizer that helped me quit smoking. I also have a Vick's personal vaporizer in my daughter's room to help her avoid allergies. Neither has killed us yet. People are going to think what they want. I can tell you don't use it at Lowe's or you will be removed by their security. I didn't even know they had security, but they escorted me out while I vaped the whole way. I offered to stop, but they said they didn't need my business if this is how I was going to treat their store. Home Depot don't give a .... though!

 

[Butters78]

I use stacked batts in a mod.. my buzz pro

And I feel as right as rain.

 

[mattiem]

Was watching Pawn Stars this evening. Guy brought in a big can of saltine crackers that were produced by nabisco back during the cold war days. Some of the food produced to have on hand in case of a nuc attack. One of the ingredients was Propylene Glycol. Said it was used to maintain freshness. Propylene Glycol has been in our food supply for a very long time but those that won't be convinced that vapor is much safer than smoke cannot be convinced because they don't want to be.

 

[BHam]

I am 2 weeks into vaping,, hoping to be completely off analogs by morning,,, had the inlaws over for dinner and while chatting with the mother,, she informed me to "be careful" because e cigs are dangerous and we all live in Fl and she heard that one blew up in a guys face. Well I just told her that from what I heard, the guy had "stacked batteries in a mod" and that I don't use a mod or stack batteries and that the news did not bother to give the full story or do a follow up.

Are the e cigs getting a bad rep? What can I do to help change this if that is the case?

What someone told me that was sort of a load off is that ALL batteries whether double A's or laptop batt or phone batt all have the chance of exploding. It's the chemicals inside and in the right circumstance it'll blow. So as long as you maintain proper battery safety and care you should be fine.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

[N rustica]

US smoking-related deaths in 2011: 443,000
US vaping-related deaths in 2001: ~0

It's a safe bet to say there is more than one goofball who is dead or crippled from dripping and driving.

Before a few months ago, I associated e-cigs with shysters at mall kiosks selling 100 dollar penlight battery sets. Many people I talk to offline seem to have the same idea.

 

[groundedcontrol]

It's a safe bet to say there is more than one goofball who is dead or crippled from dripping and driving.

Before a few months ago, I associated e-cigs with shysters at mall kiosks selling 100 dollar penlight battery sets. Many people I talk to offline seem to have the same idea.

Yeah, the local mall kiosk sells a single joye 510 battery, with PCC and two atty's for $150. It's just plain terrible. I like to stop by with my stuff when I see other people stopping, and "sample" their terrible juice just so I can guffaw at their prices passive agressively.

Still, I agree that the name "e-cig" is a misnomer, and quite troubling. I find myself explaining that I am not using tobacco, not producing smoke, and so on, all the time. I'm not worried about any of the "conspiracy" nuttiness, really. The bad rep is simply due to innocent ignorance, and education is the best way to rectify it. Your answers to your family were the right ones, and the only way to improve them is to learn and share better information regarding battery safety. Never hurts to know the basic chem too, but if that's too much of a chore, at least know that you're vaping food flavoring, and food additives. Let them know that you are aware of the risks of vaping, and explain that the risks of continuing smoking are much greater.

Nothing is risk free, even oreos. I have a mild heart condition, and nicotine isn't great for me personally, but fatty foods and stress are worse, nevermind the fact that I'd still be smoking combustion cigs if I hadn't stumbled into vaping. It's not as safe as quitting nicotine altogether, but it's absolutely safer than being overweight, overstressed, and inhaling smoke of any kind. Generally, being honest about the big picture will make people feel more comfortable. The last thing you should do is say "I'm only inhaling water vapor" or other such easily rebutted claims, or go on about un-provable conspiracies.

How am I improving the reputation of vaping? I am polite (I put the PV away first when asked, then explain the difference without arguing), educated, and I vape openly.

Be the change you want to see, and the reputation will follow naturally.

 

[sawitall]

this is cyborg smoke...its ok im from the future where smoke is not smoke and everything is digital(crazy concept isnt it?). in all seriousness with a njoy in every grocery store and puresmoke in every gas station people are pretty familiar with what im doing, thats just my experience though. i only had a few unfriendly encounters and that was almost 6 months ago. my goodness have things changed since than, and at a shockingly fast rate( and no fda import restrictions have happened yet )

that mall kiosk thing is surely true but its the gateway vape. before long you find yourself looking at boutique eliquid sites and drooling over mods.

 

[zapped]

Find new people to hang out with.Ecigs only have a bad rep in your circle because thats not what I hear from everyone else.If I do hear some criticism Im quick to educate the person making false assumptions and spreading misinformation.

 

[aurea]

The info that I heard on that exploding eCig is that the gent wasn't using the appropriate type of batteries either. Apparently, he was trying to save money and got some batts from Radio Shack instead of the type approved for his setup.

However, when I really want to challenge someone about eCigs blowing up and being dangerous I point them to this White Cloud video, where they do all sorts of crazy tests (one test involves a blow torch...) to try and blow up an eCig.

exploding-ecig

 

[Riverboat]

I am 2 weeks into vaping,, hoping to be completely off analogs by morning,,, had the inlaws over for dinner and while chatting with the mother,, she informed me to "be careful" because e cigs are dangerous and we all live in Fl and she heard that one blew up in a guys face. Well I just told her that from what I heard, the guy had "stacked batteries in a mod" and that I don't use a mod or stack batteries and that the news did not bother to give the full story or do a follow up.

Are the e cigs getting a bad rep? What can I do to help change this if that is the case?

First thing you can do to change this rep, is to buy a Mod...

 

[BHam]

I saw a thread on this.

The info that I heard on that exploding eCig is that the gent wasn't using the appropriate type of batteries either. Apparently, he was trying to save money and got some batts from Radio Shack instead of the type approved for his setup.

However, when I really want to challenge someone about eCigs blowing up and being dangerous I point them to this White Cloud video, where they do all sorts of crazy tests (one test involves a blow torch...) to try and blow up an eCig.

exploding-ecig

 

[DC2]

The info that I heard on that exploding eCig is that the gent wasn't using the appropriate type of batteries either. Apparently, he was trying to save money and got some batts from Radio Shack instead of the type approved for his setup.

I am pretty sure that was the Colorado incident back in January.
As far as I know we still don't have the facts about the Florida incident yet.