Is vaping becoming as unpopular as smoking? (UK resident)

[Kitty_Howard]

I am a Vaper (happily) of two years now approx, for health reasons (I liked my smoke!). Lately, though... through experience, such as airports, pubs, café's, clubs, transport, aeroplanes - I am finding I am being refused permission to vape I feel this is unfair (Is it just me?) vaping is NOT smoking!

I have health issues now, and DON'T want to be forced to stand outside and freeze to death (In winter) with the smokers (summer, I don't mind being outdoors).

I chose vaping as it was as close to smoking as I could get, (and for my health) but mostly because I COULD vape where smoking was banned, especially pubs etc.

The Sun newspaper did an article recently where a reporter TRIED vaping in various locations, and he was told NOT to do it, or PUT OUT of the establishments, EVEN after he explained vaping was not covered by the smoking ban. I think only ONE place allowed him to vape!

I love my vaping, but I am disheartened by all the negative reactions lately. Will vaping soon be covered by the smoking ban as well? Sometimes I feel as if I'd just have been as well sticking to the ciggies!

PS: On a recent bus trip, the driver and I BOTH had to vape outside!

What are other's experiences and views? Mostly looking for those who chose vaping, so that they could beat the smoking ban, not so much those who are happy to vape outdoors like the smokers have to do.

 

[Chrissie]

Hi Kitty,

Quite a few of the UK community (including myself) have left comments on that Sun article to try & set the record straight.
You’re nic’d | The Sun |Features
You have to remember though it's the Sun gossippaper we are talking about So there is a good chance the reporter went out of his way to find places he knew he would be refused. Plus we don't know what his attitude was & of course, he was using a ciggie lookalike.

I didn't choose vaping to beat the smoking ban. I chose it as an alternative to my 50 a day habit that was making me ill. However, I am finding more & more places are happy to allow vaping. And most of the members on AAE-C UK are reporting the same thing. I.e. that pubs etc, that had never heard of e-cigs a few months ago, are now happy to allow vaping.

CAM-VIP have a map of vape friendly pubs -
Campaign for Vaping in Pubs - CommunityWalk

As you can see, there are quite a lot & that's just the ones CAM-VIP have been told of.

 

[EAVM]

Just used that link chrissie, it seems the sun have deleted the comments....as it says" comments(0)"
Or maybe its because im using my phone

Sent From My LavaTube Using Tapatalk 2

 

[Chrissie]

EAVM, the comments are still showing for me - in fact there are new ones since I last looked

 

[EAVM]

Will check and have a little read later on my laptop when the little ones gone to bed



Sent From My LavaTube Using Tapatalk 2

 

[DaveP]

I know this is the UK forum, but it's not different in America. People don't understand ecigs. All they know is the hype from the 2009 FDA quickie analysis of one seized brand that revealed 8ng/dl carcinogens (same as nicotine gum) in ONE sample and a TRACE of diethylene glycol in that same sample. This test has become the byword for the news because there are few out there and this one is the FDA, who should be the unbiased leader in safety.

Until we have unbiased and respected testing of ecigs in a wide range of products, a shadow will remain on vapers. Non-smokers who are tobacco haters look for reasons to ban anything that resembles smoking. Smoker dislike is almost a religion in America. The only thing we have is the agreement that the outside is free territory, unless the establishment bans smoking on its private property.

Stealth vaping has become an art to the point that even I don't catch other vapers when I go out. They must be hiding it well. I know what to look for. I think we are still in small numbers compared to the population, of which only 22% are smokers in the US.

 

[cardboardcutout]

like your les paul with good old soap bars ,is that a gold top mate ?
dont ask just vape,i vape everywhere and dont care.

 

[adrianb10]

Agree with cardboard...we should not hide and stealth , stand and vape...

 

[VapeMeStoopid]

i vape everywhere, but I do ask first and I offer up "its not part of the smoking ban" if you say its not covered, i noticed people tend to confuse that and mean it is banned.

I vape in bingo halls, pubs, restaraunts, in town, in taxis...not on the bus though!

 

[Ciar]

slightly off topic, it looks like my mates guitar which is a Gibson les paul gold top, had a little play on it a couple of weeks ago twas lovely

I myself play a epiphone swingster not as pricey lol

 

[stumpy]

i recently had surgery under local anacetic and was laid on the bed puffing the nuts out of my gg odyesuss the surgeon laughed and had no problem with it i vape in hospital waiting rooms i vaped on the ward i vape everywhere never had any probs
been asked loads of questions about it but never been asked not to do it

 

[Viola Da Gamba]

It is an odd one, new to the vaping world. I'd become so ashamed of smoking and now find it difficult to change my mind set to 'it's OK to vape in public' (I hate the term vape). Recently got married and the hotel manager tried to incourage me to 'vape' indoors he got quite upset when I went outside.

 

[brummyjon]

Personally I think this is such a difficult area for people to get their head around. Even here, on a forum which is by definition about as 'vaping friendly' as it's possible to get, there are strong differences of opinion.

I expect that the 'anti-vaping' stance will get more pronounced before it reduces, as there are currently lots of people with NO knowledge of pvs/e-cigs at all. The 'e-cig' label doesn't help to differentiate the devices from cigarettes, of course. On the other hand, it does highlight to smokers that it is an alternative to smoking, so it is a good name for recruitment purposes. The Sun called it a 'fake cigarette', which is clearly laughable (as of course is the rag itself).

I expect the key to wider acceptance, and to an increased rate of take-up, is the policy of pub landlords to vaping in pubs. At the moment it is far from clear which way this will go in the longer term. CAMVIP is raising awareness of this, but I can absolutely understand the attitude of publicans who are concerned about the reaction of their non-vaping/smoking patrons to the potential appearance of lots of clouds of vapour in the pubs. There is also the (probably valid) concern that it might lead to other people 'stealth smoking' in pubs, under cover of vapers. In a packed pub, how easy will it be to enforce the smoking ban, when there are clouds of vapour around?

I would love to see a wider acceptance of vaping in public, but to pretend that business owners should not tread with caution as regards their own livelihoods is naive, I feel.

The best way that we can promote the cause of vaping is to act responsibly, and to respect the concerns of others, and politely educating them, and acquiescing to their requests, if they ask us not to vape on their premises. We should be asking about the vaping policy before assuming that everyone will be ok with it, I think. A pub is within its rights to exclude people for wearing baseball caps, or red shirts, or blue jeans, or anything else. The same applies to vaping.

That said, I have on occasion vaped in a quiet pub, away from others, and out of sight of the bar.

There will be those who disagree with what I have said, of course. I just think that being militant and standing up for your 'rights' while on someone else's premises is not the way to increase support from the otherwise impartial observer.

 

[brummyjon]

After my lengthy post, I'm not sure I actually answered the main question. The answer is 'no'. Vaping will never be as unpopular as smoking. All the objections to subjecting others to passive smoking are well documented and founded in fact. No one in their right mind can seriously think that smoking should be reintroduced to pubs etc, surely?

 

[Buxton74]

I have only been asked to refrain from vaping once, and that was in a fast-food outlet, even after explaining that it wasn't an actual cigarette. I have had no other issues despite vaping in pubs, clubs, a restaurant (I was initally sort-of stealthy but was definitely spotted by staff and fellow diners who didn't take issue) and even the local Asda/Wallmart where the checkout operator asked me about it and proclaimed she was thinking of trying them herself!

I myself am a professional club DJ and vape while working. As you can imagine, it attracts quite a bit of attention and puzzled looks. And, quite a lot of disapproving glares - to which my response is usually to thrust the apparently burning cigarette tip into my eye followed by a shrug of the shoulders - people usually 'get it' then, some even ask to try it! In fact, it's becoming a rare gig when somebody doesn't ask. The last gig I played influenced the General Manager to look into stocking disposables behind the bar - progress of some sort I suppose - anything that raises awareness has got to be a good thing - so I reckon that it can be as unpopular as smoking with the ignorant - but the times are a changing - for the better.

 

[Squish]

We can openly vape at the U of A Hospital in Alberta, Canada. Tell that to anyone who says they are unsure, it's a hospital not a cafe!

 

[Markjohn]

I was on a virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando last year, happy enough sucking the heck out of some nicotine losenger's when I had the urge to go to the loo, don't worry I won't go into details, but as I was in there I noticed a sign, not just the usual this facility is fitted with a smoke detector sign but one that also included a warning not to use any form of electronic cigarette. So I'm guessing that Virgin at least don't see any difference twixt analogue or electronic cigs?

 

[brummyjon]

I was on a virgin Atlantic flight to Orlando last year, happy enough sucking the heck out of some nicotine losenger's when I had the urge to go to the loo, don't worry I won't go into details, but as I was in there I noticed a sign, not just the usual this facility is fitted with a smoke detector sign but one that also included a warning not to use any form of electronic cigarette. So I'm guessing that Virgin at least don't see any difference twixt analogue or electronic cigs?

Some smoke detectors can be set off by 'vaping vapour'. I would think that this is one of these, and that they have had the alarm go of before, if they have thought to put a sign in there. I may be wrong.

 

[brummyjon]

I have only been asked to refrain from vaping once, and that was in a fast-food outlet, even after explaining that it wasn't an actual cigarette. I have had no other issues despite vaping in pubs, clubs, a restaurant (I was initally sort-of stealthy but was definitely spotted by staff and fellow diners who didn't take issue) and even the local Asda/Wallmart where the checkout operator asked me about it and proclaimed she was thinking of trying them herself!

I myself am a professional club DJ and vape while working. As you can imagine, it attracts quite a bit of attention and puzzled looks. And, quite a lot of disapproving glares - to which my response is usually to thrust the apparently burning cigarette tip into my eye followed by a shrug of the shoulders - people usually 'get it' then, some even ask to try it! In fact, it's becoming a rare gig when somebody doesn't ask. The last gig I played influenced the General Manager to look into stocking disposables behind the bar - progress of some sort I suppose - anything that raises awareness has got to be a good thing - so I reckon that it can be as unpopular as smoking with the ignorant - but the times are a changing - for the better.

I used to DJ in bars and clubs, but it was way back before the 'ban'. I reckon I would vape too, in your circumstance. It's not as though you can abandon your decks....

 

[Jammin]

Until we have unbiased and respected testing of ecigs in a wide range of products, a shadow will remain on vapers. Non-smokers who are tobacco haters look for reasons to ban anything that resembles smoking. Smoker dislike is almost a religion in America. The only thing we have is the agreement that the outside is free territory, unless the establishment bans smoking on its private property.

Totally agree with ya there Dave.

It is an odd one, new to the vaping world. I'd become so ashamed of smoking and now find it difficult to change my mind set to 'it's OK to vape in public' (I hate the term vape). Recently got married and the hotel manager tried to incourage me to 'vape' indoors he got quite upset when I went outside.

I am not new to the vaping world, and not at all ashamed to vape, but haven't felt the need to vape in establishments that smoking is banned. I know this is a topic that has folks either on one far end of the debate or the other, I guess I am on the side that doesn't really care to vape in these places because for me, it makes me vape a bit less. I chain vape when at my PC, when I am out, #1, I don't really crave it like i did analogs (huge win!) and #2 I don't really want to chain vape when out and I probably would if I decided to try to push the stance to vape in those establishments.

The hotel manager getting upset you vaped outside is a new one !! LOL Nice to hear he was pro vaping though.

Hi Kitty,



I didn't choose vaping to beat the smoking ban. I chose it as an alternative to my 50 a day habit that was making me ill.

Same here. It wasn't making me ill, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it did. It was making me reek though, and even when I was smoking I loathed the smell it put on my clothes and myself. YUK. So my choice to switch was all about the benefits, not the quest to vape anywhere. It's all a personal choice individual for each person though.