How about them apples?

[MrNate]

One thing I've noticed about the anti-e-cig crowd is that they seem particularly vexed by the "How about them apples?" argument. Seems to me as if the entire position is based on the presumption that every smoker wants to quit smoking. If you treat the arguments as the "begging the question" that they are, the conversation goes something like this:

"Those things are dangerous!"
"Maybe, but we know for a fact that smoking cigarettes is deadly. I'll take my chances with 'potentially dangerous' over 'known to kill you in horriffic ways' any day of the week."
"But they won't help you quit!"
"I haven't smoked a cigarette since I got this."
"But you're still addicted to nicotine! You'll never quit if you keep feeding that addiction!"
"Exactly. How 'bout them apples?"

Anyway...Just a thought. Not an original one, I know, but I've had a couple of these conversations already. Frigging busybody neo-Puritan prohibitionists.

 

[WomanOfHeart]

Some people can't be bothered with the facts because their minds are already made up. It's unfortunate, but that's just how it is. Nicotine isn't the dangerous part of the cigarette, but some folks just don't want to hear that. No. I haven't given up my addiction to nicotine, but I have successfully cut out all of the other crap that has been proven to kill millions every day of the year, including holidays. Deaths from e-cigs? Exactly zero, zilch, nada. People fear what they don't understand (even when they try to come off like they do) and some are content to live in their ignorance.

 

[webbcm127]

i like your thought and ive had similar conversations, when they start bringing up nicotine i tell them that i would have to stop easting potatoes, green beans and tomatoes because there is nicotine in those to and i tell them that they too should stop eating all foods that have nicotine in them...even the healthy ones...lol i tell them that im no longer inhaling all the bad chemicals in cigs and ive been working on lowering my nicotine content(not necissarly true!-) i do like bringing up the veggies thing tho, they usually get a shocked look and will either quite badgering you about it or want to know more about that...lol, have a good day!-)

 

[MrNate]

I didn't know that about the veggies, actually. Very interesting. I wonder if those vegetables are related to tobacco... Isn't tobacco in the nightshade family?

Anyway, my point was more that I'm not real shy about pointing out how my addiction to nicotine is really none of anyone else's damn business. That and I refuse to be guilted or shamed for enjoying something that causes no one any harm. Statistically speaking, anyway.

I really hate the "But if it could save just ONE LIFE, isn't it worth it?" metality that so freely abounds nowadays. No, dammit, it isn't. It isn't worth becoming a society crippled by "what-ifs" when we are perfectly capable of evaluating risk and choosing appropriate actions based on facts and reality.

 

[DC2]

I didn't know that about the veggies, actually. Very interesting. I wonder if those vegetables are related to tobacco... Isn't tobacco in the nightshade family?

That's correct...
All about nightshades: explore the hidden hazards of your favorite food

What Are Nightshades?

Tomatoes, white potatoes, red and green bell peppers, the "hot" peppers such as chili and paprika, as well as eggplant belong to the Nightshade Family, a botanical genus called Solanaceae species. This species also includes tobacco, poisonous belladonna, and the toxic plants herbane, mandrake, and jimson weeds.

 

[GoneWiththeWind]

Most people i come across that see me vaping are curious AT FIRST. Then of course comes the "nicotine thing". I kind of just laugh a little, hear them out and go about my way. Who cares anyway? I'll probably never cross paths with them again, anywho.

 

[kardenm]

It has always been about control with the smoke police not any concern for our health.

That's hilarious MrNate, and exactly right. I've had the very same exchange with almost everyone I talk to. I get a blank stare and the question "what's the point if they have nicotine in them?". Then they just shake their head and walk away even after I explain the "point" because they still don't get it. Hilarious!! I love it because they are trying to find a way to tell me I can't or shouldn't vape. They are actually threatened by my freedom to vape!!

 

[toriL]

I didn't know that about the veggies, actually. Very interesting. I wonder if those vegetables are related to tobacco... Isn't tobacco in the nightshade family?

Anyway, my point was more that I'm not real shy about pointing out how my addiction to nicotine is really none of anyone else's damn business. That and I refuse to be guilted or shamed for enjoying something that causes no one any harm. Statistically speaking, anyway.

I really hate the "But if it could save just ONE LIFE, isn't it worth it?" metality that so freely abounds nowadays. No, dammit, it isn't. It isn't worth becoming a society crippled by "what-ifs" when we are perfectly capable of evaluating risk and choosing appropriate actions based on facts and reality.

How would those people like us following them around and nagging them every time they ate butter or drank a soda? they wouldn't - because then it would be about them. It's always easy to let someone elses rights be trampled on or to trample on the rights of others, they will only care when it directly effects them.

 

[toriL]

I respond mostly that nothing is completely safe, including the meat/milk products we buy(growth hormones/antibiotics), the air we breathe or the water we drink. There are potential risks everywhere - but in a FREE society I should be able to weigh those risks and make an informed decision about my own health.

 

[MrNate]

How would those people like us following them around and nagging them every time they ate butter or drank a soda? they wouldn't - because then it would be about them. It's always easy to let someone elses rights be trampled on or to trample on the rights of others, they will only care when it directly effects them.

Exactly. Like my dad used to say, "Now you've gone from preachin' to meddlin'." Say what you want to say, but don't start telling me what I can and can't do where it's none of your business. Otherwise I get to do the same to you, and then we're both miserable.