Funny little story for you all

[Crow79]

Let me first start by saying that I am normally an ambassador for PV's here in Vancouver.. Some people are slightly put off by it when they see me using mine so openly at the bar.

That is however, until they ask what I'm "smoking" and I tell them it's a vaporizer - then all of a sudden it's the coolest thing ever, to patrons and bar staff alike.

So today, I'm watching the game at St. Augustine's, puffing away at the corner of the bar with my EV torch for THREE HOURS. Both bartenders knew what I was using, and so did the surrounding patrons, everyone thought it was cool.

In the middle of the 3rd period, the manager comes over and she says "I'm sorry, I know it's a vaporizer, but I have to ask you to stop using it inside... It's bothering me and some of the customers."

OK.. Normally I would comply, but I've been getting tired of this, so I pressed a little... Here's how the conversation went:



"Could you be more specific? How is it bothering you? I've been doing this for 3 hours, you've walked by me countless times"

"No. I don't have to be more specific.. I want you to stop using it, I've had complaints."

"I understand... But what KIND of complaints? I mean, you stand right next to the main door with all that second hand smoke wafting in, and that doesn't seem to bother you..."

"Look, I want you to stop using it. It looks like smoke, and people keep asking why you're smoking in here and they find it offensive though it isn't smoke."

"I see... So you want me to stop using this thing because you're tired of having to explain it to people over and over again... This guy next to me? He just came in from a smoke, and I find his odour offensive so I want him to leave or move to another seat then. Sorry buddy, nothing personal - just making a point."

"That's NOT the same thing. What you're asking is beyond ridiculous."

"So is what you're asking me to do. Just because something LOOKS the same it doesn't mean that it is. If you're drinking a can of pop while driving, and a cop pulled you over and said 'your can of pop looks just like a can of beer, so I'm suspending your licence'... Is that fair?"

"Speaking of cops, if you don't stop using that thing I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Well, sorry... I'm not putting it away or leaving, and I've already had this conversation with an officer at the Lennox before. He found nothing wrong with it."

"Fine, have it your way - I'm calling the police now."


About 10 minutes later two cops come in the door. One of them is puffing away on a 510 as he walks up to her. I swear, that manager's face dropped like a STONE. I felt so bloody vindicated it was unreal.

 

[wood]

i dont believe it lol

 

[r2yn3th]

i dont believe it lol

Neither do I, sorry. My friends (4 of them) that share an apartment in downtown Vancouver are always told to leave any facility when they take out their e-cigs.

Let alone being to vape for 3 hours and asked to stop isn't that bad IMO. It was probably annoying for the manager because he was also very busy but had to attend to the same question over and over again. Give the guy a break, he's working his ... off on a busy night and would just like things to go smoothly. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if everyone had knowledge on this topic - blame HC!

 

[Crow79]

I regularly use my PV in lots of bars here. The yale hotel, Doolin's, Steamworks, The Lamplighter, and the railway to name a few.

I don't know what bars your buddies are going to, but they must be pretty uptight. I have been asked at a couple to put it away. Cambie Hostel and Joe's apartment aren't so friendly about it, and I never use it in a restaurant, especially if kids are around. There is a limit in my mind.

And for the record, it's not like I was chain vaping for 3 hours straight. HC has already RELEASED a statement saying vaping does not break any current laws, so they have GIVEN the green light for indoor use. Besides, do you think I don't get tired of the non-stop questions and curiosity people have when they see one in use? I use it openly to raise awareness, and the VAST majority of people think it's a great thing, whether they are a smoker or not.

 

[rachelcoffe]

Interesting story, Crow79.

Though in all fairness...a bar isn't a public place. It's private property & that means they get to make the rules. Whether it's "no shirt, no shoes, no service" - or "no vaping."

There's no law against going shirtless or shoeless, or vaping either - but a place of business on private property (in this case a bar) is totally within their rights to ask you to stop vaping there. So despite the fact that it was silly of the manager to ask you to quit vaping...I do understand why he got testy when you refused, & why he called the police. Forcing the issue wasn't the right call, because you didn't have the right to vape there...you see? In that bar, it was a privilege & revocable at any time...silly as it was for him to revoke it.

I don't drink, so I wouldn't have been in a bar, lol. But if it had been me, I would have put my PV in my pocket & politely asked similar questions. If the manager insisted on no more vaping - I would've said "OK, OK - that's your right, this is your bar after all. Goodbye." I would've left & refused to return - being their customer is a choice.

I'm sure there are nicer places that will be totally cool with you vaping. You'll feel much better giving your money to them than to people who, while being totally within their rights to do so, foolishly fail to value common sense or customer service.

That's crazy though about the police officer - what are the odds??

 

[Crow79]

Like I said Rachel, I normally do the same because I understand the whole private property aspect, etc.

Today I felt like pushing the issue a little, and never did I raise my voice or get angry.... Which is probably why she had such an extended conversation with me in the first place.

The irony is, it's usually the smokers that complain! I almost always get non-smokers defending me, even when I put my PV away. They're the first ones to argue on MY behalf.

People who smoke analogs are the ones who get ...... off and raise a stink, because they can't do the same thing I am.

That's been my experience almost %100 of the time.

And yes, I just about fell off my chair when I saw that officer vaping, because he didn't even know what the issue was, she hadn't explained it to him yet.

 

[earthpig]

Always ask to talk to the ownership, and go around the flunky manager.

 

[Switched]

I regularly use my PV in lots of bars here. The yale hotel, Doolin's, Steamworks, The Lamplighter, and the railway to name a few.

I don't know what bars your buddies are going to, but they must be pretty uptight. I have been asked at a couple to put it away. Cambie Hostel and Joe's apartment aren't so friendly about it, and I never use it in a restaurant, especially if kids are around. There is a limit in my mind.

And for the record, it's not like I was chain vaping for 3 hours straight. HC has already RELEASED a statement saying vaping does not break any current laws, so they have GIVEN the green light for indoor use. Besides, do you think I don't get tired of the non-stop questions and curiosity people have when they see one in use? I use it openly to raise awareness, and the VAST majority of people think it's a great thing, whether they are a smoker or not.

Please provide a link to said statement.

 

[Crow79]

Please provide a link to said statement.

I remember seeing on this forum, in this room somewhere. I'll see if I can dig it up.

 

[Crow79]

Arrrgh... Tried every combination of words in this search engine and on the net, and I can't find it. It was a direct response from HC about "vaporizers being exempted from the Smoke free Act" because they do not produce any form of combustion.

If I could remember the user that got the response, it would make things a LOT easier :/

 

[Concat]

I dunno how/why you guys can put up with all the explanation needed to vape in public. Moreover, if a manager or owner asks you to stop, or leave, aren’t you legally required to do so regardless of whether or not your activities are legal? It’s like saying “no hats” in bars.

I mean, all the power to ya if you don’t mind putting up with the stares, and the comments and whatnot. Maybe I’m just not one for confrontation.

So what did the police say? I would have thought they’d tell you the manager was within his rights to ask you to leave.

 

[muleygirl]

I don't know if this is relevent,
When I came home from the states customs took the kit I just bought. I had them sent it to hc. I got a letter from them stating they were going to destoy the whole thing but when I phoned them and told them I was under the impression that the hardware was legal the just the nic. was. They must agreed cause they did send the kit back minus the nic.

 

[muleygirl]

Back on track here, I usually don't vape where you can't smoke. Just me though. I really don't like having to defend my self when in a crowd of hostiles ( so sorry all my post have spelling mistakes, I flunked spelling)lol

 

[Concat]

I don't know if this is relevent,
When I came home from the states customs took the kit I just bought. I had them sent it to hc. I got a letter from them stating they were going to destoy the whole thing but when I phoned them and told them I was under the impression that the hardware was legal the just the nic. was. They must agreed cause they did send the kit back minus the nic.

Why tell them you bought it in the States at all? Were you not aware of the importation ban at the time?

(and did you mean to post this in the other thread regarding traveling to Canada?)

 

[muleygirl]

I wasn't aware at the time that there was a ban here, so when he asked what we all bought we like idiots told him. I sure wish I would have known. This was the first time I had ever seen an e-cig in my life, I had no idea of this whole wonderful world of vaping. So I guess he did me a favor in a round about way. I was so ripped about it the first thing I did was hit the web.
And no I didn't mean to post in the other thread I just though I might be hijacking this thread cause it was about vaping in public and didn't want to be rude. I read the part about hc and just thought I would share what I knew. Which isn't too much. Lol

 

[IOWN]

so what did the cops at the bar do??? lol, can you imagine the call over the radio "umm we have a vaporizer in progress at ... "

 

[Melnik]

I wasn't aware at the time that there was a ban here, so when he asked what we all bought we like idiots told him.

U did the right thing telling them what are you importing. The question is where can i find the info on the ban itself? Or they just enforce the advisory? When was it? Was it right after they released the advisory? With people celebrating 4:20 here in Van, ban of nic sounds ludacris anyway.

 

[muleygirl]

That was my main problem finding info from hc when we came home this march. Seemed kinda funny that the only thing I could find on hc's web site was an advisory from 2009! Isn't it 2011? What I read and understood was that they were not illegal.

by the way what did the manager say when the cop came in with his 510?

 

[Melnik]

This is what I'm getting as well... this must be the border officer interpretation of the memo they might have received. You should have asked why they are seizing your ecig, at least you should now and i guess they have to provide valid reason for such action. It not like manager complaining in a bar. There been some info on new classification of ecig devices, but my understanding is that it only kicks in sometimes in June.

 

[Concat]

Nicotine can not be imported/sold unless it conforms to regulations regarding dosage (ie X mg per per gum, X mg/hr for patches etc etc). And since the regulations were not written with e-cigs in mind, they claim the e-juice is outside the scope of definition for nicotine. It has essentially put things at a stalemate. They won't change the regulations any time soon because they want to be careful about how they go about it. It's all about control.

The advisory doesn't tell you this though. It just says e-cigs aren't safe and Canadians should not use them. Very misleading advisory. Nicotine itself isn't "safe" in absolute terms, but you don't see any advisories on Nicorette now do you?