Sooooo, that would mean that you only use your PV/cigarette lookalike in designated smoking areas when in public? It's a given that you would attract lot's of attention if you whipped it out in a social situation where smoking was unacceptable. Say in a resturant or something. I can see it now, "Put that cigarette out!" "It's not a cigarette!" It just looks like a cigarette, expells volumes of fumes like a cigarette and does for me what a cigarette does, but it's not a cigarette, so leave me alone!" Then if you're only going to use it in designated smoking areas, of course you'll fool all the real cigarette smokers with your electronic look alike (not). Then again, when you're vaping in the privacy of your home or with known friends, who cares if it looks like a pipe bomb?
To each his/her own as they say, but my conversations usually go something like, "What is that thing?" "It's my inhaler." "Oh."(end of story)
I use PVs that look nothing like a cigarette. In fact, I would like to make a mod out of an ADVAIR Respiratory Inhaler disc so people in public wouldn't think twice about what I'm doing.
From my experience, the fastest way to attract unwanted attention to yourself is to whip out a cigarette look alike in areas where smoking isn't permitted or to whip out a fake cigarette in a crowd of smokers. I've already been there/done that with a 510 lookalike with the brown cartridge that looked like a filter and all. The unwanted attention was the main reason I went to a big fat ego/riva type. In the end the only person I fooled with a cigarette look alike was myself. Thankfully, everyone else was too polite to laugh in my face.
Your results my vary, and I do believe that whatever device that gets you off cigarettes and keeps you off cigarettes is the right one for you. Im just relating my experience having gone through the same mind set of not wanting undue attention drawn to myself. I also do not feel the need to extoll the virtues of the PV nor notch my belt wih converts. You sound like my kind of person Katiecat.
I sing the praises of vaping to my friends and family, but that's as far as that goes. In the real world, I really don't like drawing attention to myself and don't want people staring or asking questions. I know that's a slap in the face to all the people who've worked hard at campaining, and I appreciate what they do, but it's not for me. To be fair, I wouldn't have burned my bra in the 60's either. It's not that I don't believe in the cause, I just personally preferr to watch from the sidelines. If you knew me, you would understand. I'm a very socially awkward person and don't like to stand out. When my husband was stationed in Germany I rarely even went off post because the thought of being surrounded by people I couldn't understand was enough to have me breathing in a paper bag.