Interesting conversation

[Trailer]

So i had the opportunity this past long weekend to sit down with the wife of a friend of mine, who is a smoking cessation specialist with a health unit here in Ontario. She isn't a nurse I don't think but I know that she has been working for the past few years with health units within the province to assist people in quitting.
I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some "health worker" feedback on e-cigs and maybe an insight into the ignorance.

Turns out... it was more frustrating than I would have imagined....

So I'm rather proud of that fact that I've stopped smoking analogs. Something my wife and family are also proud of. So I start the conversation with a "guess what, I've quit smoking cigarettes!"
Her reply is along the lines of "that's great, how did you do it?"
So i start into the e-cig talk, discuss the fact that I spent tons of time researching, and that for the first time in 17 years it's the only thing that has enabled me to embrace quitting.

She then gets a sour look on her face and says ... "oh I don't like those at all..."
I'm a little shocked - although maybe I shouldn't be. So I ask her why.
"Well for starters," she says slowly " There is no way for you to know whats in that... and it could be filled with all sorts of poisons" To which i reply... " like cigarettes?"
she then also states "And they are marketed to children with all the flavors"



I won't go into all the rest of the details, although I will mention that it got VERY heated. I was trying my best not to be biased and base my position only on the facts as I know them. Needless to say it was falling on deaf ears. And we probably won't be doing lunch with them again anytime soon.

I find it frustrating and a little sad that a health worker would not see the benefits to doing anything at all to stop smoking cigarettes.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Kams Cats]

Wow sounds like she read a note from Health Canada and took it as her mantra. Perfect example of how some people believe everything they say because they are HC and there for our own good.

P.S. Did she show you where she saw them marketed to children?

 

[Lori68]

It is very frustrating that there are so many people out there who listened to all the crap scare tactics that were used a couple of years back and refuse to hear anything different. Believing that nicotine liquid contains antifreeze is my personal favorite.

I just ignore the ignorant people because that's all they are - just ignorant to the facts. I myself never would have thought that I could drop cigarettes after smoking a pack a day for 27 years myself. I mean, I was fully expecting to be one of those people who'd be still puffing away while toting around an oxygen tank or something because I am that addicted to nicotine.

They can all suck it as far as I'm concerned . I feel much, much better, I can breathe easier, I can taste and smell things again and it costs me a hell of a lot less to feed my habit.

 

[WiηgC¤mmαηdεя]

I would like to say I am surprised, but I am not.
When I started vaping before the HC advisory the staff at the local hospital thought they were great, could even use them just outside the entrance if I wanted.
After the advisory their position is "only can use them off of hospital property", and not enough studies have been done as to whether or not they are safe so don't use them, use NRT's instead(tried that, didn't work/allergic reactions)
All I know is I feel better using my vaporizer vs smoking, the studies I have read and the polls of users indicate it should be, and more than likely is a safer alternative to smoking.

Wing

 

[organic]

Thanks for sharing your story. Seems like many smokers are hesitant to try ecigs because they fear what's in them may harm them. So they take the safe route and continue to smoke cigarettes.

 

[Pipeous]

and she also believes .........ion causes hair to grow on your palms or makes one go blind?

 

[ec!gg]

Don't worry we are proud of you

So i had the opportunity this past long weekend to sit down with the wife of a friend of mine, who is a smoking cessation specialist with a health unit here in Ontario. She isn't a nurse I don't think but I know that she has been working for the past few years with health units within the province to assist people in quitting.
I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some "health worker" feedback on e-cigs and maybe an insight into the ignorance.

Turns out... it was more frustrating than I would have imagined....

So I'm rather proud of that fact that I've stopped smoking analogs. Something my wife and family are also proud of. So I start the conversation with a "guess what, I've quit smoking cigarettes!"
Her reply is along the lines of "that's great, how did you do it?"
So i start into the e-cig talk, discuss the fact that I spent tons of time researching, and that for the first time in 17 years it's the only thing that has enabled me to embrace quitting.

She then gets a sour look on her face and says ... "oh I don't like those at all..."
I'm a little shocked - although maybe I shouldn't be. So I ask her why.
"Well for starters," she says slowly " There is no way for you to know whats in that... and it could be filled with all sorts of poisons" To which i reply... " like cigarettes?"
she then also states "And they are marketed to children with all the flavors"



I won't go into all the rest of the details, although I will mention that it got VERY heated. I was trying my best not to be biased and base my position only on the facts as I know them. Needless to say it was falling on deaf ears. And we probably won't be doing lunch with them again anytime soon.

I find it frustrating and a little sad that a health worker would not see the benefits to doing anything at all to stop smoking cigarettes.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[kalvinf]

I'm hoping my specialist appointment is going to be soon at the Hamilton Firestone clinic. Haven't seen my doctor in 5 months, quit analogs 4 months ago and appointments tend to be every 6 months. This link shows the clinic as state-of-the-art respiratory unit - FIRH Clinical Services . I've talked to one doctor that leads a quit smoking group there and he is totally excited about the possibilities of e-cigs.

When I do get my appointment I'll post back what exchanged between my doctor and myself. From the last appointment 5 months ago he is looking very grimly at me and I'll get to dance in and say I've quit dammit!

 

[northhar]

Thanks for posting, forewarned is forearmed or something like that. Congratulations on your accomplishment vaping is the way to go.

 

[sabyrock]

Great post. we need more like this.

 

[rachelcoffe]

It would've been interesting to ask her: "So given a choice between continuing to smoke, or using an e-cig...are you actually saying I should keep on smoking?"

This sort of ignorance must be challenged. We just have to challenge it. 'Cause there are way too many uneducated, ignorant & flat-out stupid people in our society to let them run amuck.

We know exactly what e-liquid contains & doesn't contain. We know exactly what an e-cig is made of, and isn't made of. We know exactly how they work. And there's not one shred of evidence to indicate that non-smokers, youth or otherwise, have ever been enticed to take up vaping for any reason, let alone flavouring. Believe me...if there was any such evidence, they would be shouting it from the rooftops. They aren't - because there isn't. They're just repeating a claim that they cannot possibly back up. (And while we're on that...Nicorette uses tropical fruit flavouring in a chewing gum - and children love gum! Run for the hills!)

This woman is repeating lines of propaganda that are two or three years out of date & provably untrue today. They were untrue three years ago, lol!

And this...person (wanted to say something worse)...is a smoking cessation specialist with a provincial health unit? She works for the government? For a specialist, she sure doesn't know much. And what she thinks she knows is provably wrong. I don't think it's out of line to say that she's unfit for duty -

- & should be fired for providing provably fraudulent information to smokers. Why should she be fired? Because her misinformation could directly result in deaths.

Smokers that might have made the switch to vaping & lived...instead keep trying dismally ineffective NRT products, failing, and return to smoking...more convinced than ever that it's "impossible to quit." I'm not excusing smokers: they should think for themselves, & research things. But clearly the government has a responsibility to ensure that its workers do not provide false information. Especially where lives are at stake.

 

[Danesnpits]

I would also like to add too, that kids aren't after ecig flavors, they were after primetimes and bullseye cigerello's! She totally got it wrong, so dont feel bad for that ladies ignorance..but u can let her know it was cigarello's not ecigs.

 

[mostlyclassics]

I find it frustrating and a little sad that a health worker would not see the benefits to doing anything at all to stop smoking cigarettes.

Not to cast aspersions on the ethics of this health care worker, but I'm going to anyway.

Vaping, with its extremely high and almost instant conversion rate, may be threatening to these folks' means of making a good living.

Instead of selling you (but billing the insurance company and/or the gummint) on an expensive, multi-month course of treatment (and then another and another when the first course doesn't work as is often the case), all of a sudden you've quit cigarettes on your own and with nothing the health car worker can bill anyone for.

Just sayin' this may be one of the reasons so many gee-enuine certified health care workers willingly and stubbornly cling to the spoutings of the anti-e-cig crowd. Follow the money . . .

 

[mopar]

They will take my e-cig from my cold dead hands. FAC coming next week

 

[kalvinf]

And this...person (wanted to say something worse)...is a smoking cessation specialist with a provincial health unit? She works for the government? For a specialist, she sure doesn't know much. And what she thinks she knows is provably wrong. I don't think it's out of line to say that she's unfit for duty -

- & should be fired for providing provably fraudulent information to smokers. Why should she be fired? Because her misinformation could directly result in deaths.

Most likely this person has not had a loved one or a friend's loved one die of COPD or lung cancer. The tune would be much different if she had that life experience.

 

[jamieishere]

this thread is intence lol

 

[countrygirl1291]

What a shame that such a thing has come between a friendship.

 

[kingcobra]

Well what's really funny here is that this person seems to think they are speaking from a position of authority here. What's sad is that they think they know what the hell is going on. I would ask them where the heck they got this information from, and they will hopefully realize that they know absolutely nothing. More likely though they will claim they read something somewhere, that part about being marketed to kids is just hilarious by the way. These aren't even marketed at all, and you have to be in the know to even know what's going on let alone where to buy the stuff.

To be fair though if you had asked me a few months ago I would have told you, isn't that antifreeze? In fact that's the very thing I said to my buddy Neon when he introduced me to this stuff. I had read one of these articles and remember thinking, geez I can't believe people smoke poison, this sounds a lot more harmful than cigarettes, I'm sticking to that.

So we need to realize the extent of the misinformation out there and not be surprised when we encounter it. We can attempt to educate but some people just aren't going to believe us and that's their problem I guess Life is too short to get angry over other people's lack of knowledge or willingless to learn.

 

[FarmYard]

i always hear the flavors are marketed towards kids.i guess we as adults are not entitled to anything other than tobacco.when i smoked analogs i loved the vanilla bullseyes.its like anything, give people options and of course they are going to take them.

 

[kanadiankat]

I've lived my life in a medical household - and can tell you that no 2 "medical professionals" will think the same. There are doctors and nurses who look into things - others who simply read the latest "bulletin" and take that byline. I guess that's just the way human's think.

If you have the chance to talk to her again - asking her the questions. I did this with a similar situation and it turned out really well. I just started querying things like - "hmm, so where did you hear that?" and it led to a really good discussion.

It also helps to bring up that a lot of research has been done (and is on-going) - there is no negative results yet - all of it is very positive.

Truth is though - some people just don't want to hear stuff. Some people still want to believe the earth is flat and that all women know how to cook.