It's tough in here.

[goodvapesonly]

Let me start off by introducing myself:

I'm 25, and have been a regular smoker for about 5 years. In some parts of the world it isn't considered heavy to be smoking at least 4 packs of 20s a week, but that's what I have been doing for half a decade.

I have been trying to get off the nasty cancer sticks on and off, all without much success. The most I've ever been off analogs was a week, after which I began to smoke intensively for the immediate day after. I began to lose faith in myself and trust in whether I could actually eventually quit. I don't believe in quitting for a SO/anyone, because quitting shouldn't be contingent on a person, it should be based on personal conviction. Additionally, if that relationship sours, I'll definitely go back to smoking again.

Fast forward to about a month ago, I started on my first PV, and I began to substitute cancer sticks for plumes of flavoured vapour. Granted, there were still times I relented and grabbed a stick from one of my friends, but if you'd allow me, I would like to share some personal victories:

1. I stopped buying my own packet of cigarettes from the day I started
2. The times I slipped I smoked only because it was a social event
3. It's been about 3 days and 10 hours since my last cigarette, and I'm hoping that number grows.

I guess I'm nowhere near some of these achievements I see in the forum, where people are completely off cigarettes, but no one said it was going to be easy. It's an uphill battle, but I'm very glad I found this new hobby and I hope people who wish to quit will find this a useful way to wean off analogs.

Bear with me, this is where things are difficult for me.

I'm from Singapore, and in 5 days, the government will completely ban possession of electronic cigarettes. Previously, only those who were suspected of selling PVs/juices/etc. were fined. But in less than a week, even us vapers who only possess a PV for personal use will be clamped down upon, hard.

The general sentiment here among vapers is that the government does this for the taxes. Over-the-counter tobacco products (namely just cigarettes, rolled tobacco, cigarellos) are the government's longstanding steady source of income, and they have not found a feasible way to regulate vaping and its accessories, and tax it accordingly.

If you keep up with our local news, you would know that every once in a while a news piece comes up bashing e-cigarettes/vaping as harmful (Harvard released a study about diacetyl) and hazardous (an unusual emphasis on a Japanese article that proved 'dangerous levels of formaldehyde released by vape products, but failed to mention it wasn't peer-reviewed). This - we feel - is part of the authority's efforts to create a conducive environment for them to effectively phase out vaping out of Singapore's society completely.

So here I am, someone who really wishes to quit smoking, living under what seems like a dystopian society for a vaper, and struggling to replenish my accompanying paraphernalia, because even our neighbours will ban the sale of such products come 1 Jan.

I guess this is more a rant than an introduction, but Moderators please feel free to move this/close this if it's way too long for comfort.

Otherwise, Ask Me Anything about Singapore's laws on vaping, if you haven't already gotten your information in the SG Vapers forum!

Oh, and hello everyone, it's great to find at least a digital platform to talk to people about vaping especially when it should be a closed-door affair here.

 

[XeniaVaper]

ick! I feel the USA is headed in the same direction with their vaping laws. Good job on the"quitting" every cigarette avoided is a victory. Personally,I have been vaping for years and still break down every once in a while. Usually cause I didn't restock soon enough, but that's beside the point. In fact, your 3.5 days has my current position beat. I'm at about 1.5 days since I smoked a half a cig. It always amazes me to hear of people who smoke 3-5 packs a day. In all my years,I never made it to 2 whole packs, even on a day of work, spent drinking whiskey. I can't imagine smoking that much. Not concerning health reasons, I know we didn't care much about that, but time. Seems to me you would have to have a cigarette from the time you woke until bed.

 

[suprtrkr]

Good luck.

 

[goodvapesonly]

ick! I feel the USA is headed in the same direction with their vaping laws. Good job on the"quitting" every cigarette avoided is a victory. Personally,I have been vaping for years and still break down every once in a while. Usually cause I didn't restock soon enough, but that's beside the point. In fact, your 3.5 days has my current position beat. I'm at about 1.5 days since I smoked a half a cig. It always amazes me to hear of people who smoke 3-5 packs a day. In all my years,I never made it to 2 whole packs, even on a day of work, spent drinking whiskey. I can't imagine smoking that much. Not concerning health reasons, I know we didn't care much about that, but time. Seems to me you would have to have a cigarette from the time you woke until bed.

Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah probably 2 packs with a group of friends would be the limit for me, even if I'm chain-smoking cigarette after cigarette, I wouldn't go more than 3 at a time. Even then I'd feel pretty disgusted. Good luck with quitting cigarettes completely too, it takes a lot of effort, but every goal needs to be reached one step at a time.

Good luck.

Thank you!

 

[sparkky1]

Government buyout from yours truly Philip Morris Singapore Pte ?
Always was and always will be a black market ......................

 

[Maiar]

Was there any discussion or anything before they enacted this law? Or is singapore the kind of place that just enacts laws without any input from citizens?

 

[NightShadow]

I am sorry your country has this rather backwards law, hopefully the people can challenge it and get it overturned. If not then I hope you can find a way around it.

We who vape in other countries need to be vigilant lest we end up in the same situation.

 

[goodvapesonly]

Was there any discussion or anything before they enacted this law? Or is singapore the kind of place that just enacts laws without any input from citizens?

No, I believe such matters are discussed in Parliament (and SG Vapers, feel free to jump in here to correct or supplement), and as far as I can tell, there are no on-the-ground representatives that sit there and vote on the passing of such laws. I have personally never given my opinion to the government on anything except when election comes. Petitions are as far as they go, which aren't really very effective anyway.

I am sorry your country has this rather backwards law, hopefully the people can challenge it and get it overturned. If not then I hope you can find a way around it.


We who vape in other countries need to be vigilant lest we end up in the same situation.

Backwards is an interesting way to see it. For now we are still relying on the underground market, but sooner or later vapers in the country will be a dying breed. There is frankly no feasible way to overturn the law; never in the history of my life have I seen laws that are passed being overturned by sheer citizen votes.

But frankly, @NightShadow, Washington State's where it's at.

 

[crxess]

Best of luck and I do feel for your situation over there.

We live in a Free...Pffffffffffft... country where people can do as they please(NOT) as long as it isn't hurting anyone else.(Yea, right)
Same games are being played world wide and for the same reason. Big Tobacco is the Main stay of Taxes for most Governments. Even RYO is constantly under the gun due to difficulty in TAXING

Governments of the world............Middle finger

 

[NightShadow]

No, I believe such matters are discussed in Parliament (and SG Vapers, feel free to jump in here to correct or supplement), and as far as I can tell, there are no on-the-ground representatives that sit there and vote on the passing of such laws. I have personally never given my opinion to the government on anything except when election comes. Petitions are as far as they go, which aren't really very effective anyway.


Backwards is an interesting way to see it. For now we are still relying on the underground market, but sooner or later vapers in the country will be a dying breed. There is frankly no feasible way to overturn the law; never in the history of my life have I seen laws that are passed being overturned by sheer citizen votes.

But frankly, @NightShadow, Washington State's where it's at.

I am using "Backwards" in an attempt to refrain from swearing for 10 minutes straight in utter disgust at the situation. All I can say is I hope things get better, or you can find a work around.

And although it is not perfect Washington State does have a lot of "Forward" thinking laws, and I really appreciate that. I am concerned that even in the "Land of the Free" our government and media are being swayed if not outright controlled by rich greedy men that use nothing but hate and fear mongering to distract the masses attention, divide us, and keep us from recognizing who is really responsible for a lot of the bad things going on, namely those same rich greedy men.

 

[djsvapour]

In most countries of the world, governments can't afford to see millions of people stop smoking.
People dying young and tax income are two very attractive features.
How 'dirty' governments will play remains to be seen.
Europe (the supposed home of liberty, equality and fraternity as the French like to say it) has made up it's mind. It wants to limit vaping as much as possible and give control back to tobacco companies.

Regrettably, Democracy is not saving vaping.

You first post was brilliantly written by the way.

 

[goodvapesonly]

I am using "Backwards" in an attempt to refrain from swearing for 10 minutes straight in utter disgust at the situation. All I can say is I hope things get better, or you can find a work around.

And although it is not perfect Washington State does have a lot of "Forward" thinking laws, and I really appreciate that. I am concerned that even in the "Land of the Free" our government and media are being swayed if not outright controlled by rich greedy men that use nothing but hate and fear mongering to distract the masses attention, divide us, and keep us from recognizing who is really responsible for a lot of the bad things going on, namely those same rich greedy men.

Understood, thank you for your well wishes.

By the way, I've been to Seattle for slightly less than a week; staying over in a boat, an apartment as well as a hostel, and I have to say (even if Seattle probably is the #1 tourist city in the state) that the lifestyle is entirely different from say, LA. When I used to hit the ...., I visited Pike Place Market and entirely forgot what was even in there (I have to make that trip down there again - this time sober).

In most countries of the world, governments can't afford to see millions of people stop smoking.
People dying young and tax income are two very attractive features.
How 'dirty' governments will play remains to be seen.
Europe (the supposed home of liberty, equality and fraternity as the French like to say it) has made up it's mind. It wants to limit vaping as much as possible and give control back to tobacco companies.

Regrettably, Democracy is not saving vaping.

You first post was brilliantly written by the way.

Even the most advanced of nations in the 21st century - and I have to say I am pretty proud of how Singapore has put itself on the world map and made a name for itself - have their pitfalls I guess. Just sucks to be stuck in one of them.

Why thanks @djsvapour! We learn the Queen's English here in Singapore, as you do.

 

[Susan~S]

Hello and welcome to the forum @goodvapesonly. Glad to have you here!

We see many new SG members here either looking to get into vaping (and looking for sources) or asking for advise on what to do when they receive a letter from customs saying their online order is being forwarded to the authorities for disposal.

Since that information cannot be posted openly in the SG Forum (your government routinely stalks that forum) it's hard to give advise to new members. All we can do is point them in that direction, advise them to read the "stickies" and hope they get involved (make some friends) and once other members start to trust them information will begin to flow via PM/start a conversation.

To further compound things, in 5 days the ban on owning an e-cigarette (in SG) goes into effect and on January 1 the ban on selling e-cigarettes in Johor goes into effect.

+1 to you for finding local sources.

Have you considered DIY? How long are you going to be in the USA?

 

[Marina2]

Let me start off by introducing myself:

I'm 25, and have been a regular smoker for about 5 years. In some parts of the world it isn't considered heavy to be smoking at least 4 packs of 20s a week, but that's what I have been doing for half a decade.

I have been trying to get off the nasty cancer sticks on and off, all without much success. The most I've ever been off analogs was a week, after which I began to smoke intensively for the immediate day after. I began to lose faith in myself and trust in whether I could actually eventually quit. I don't believe in quitting for a SO/anyone, because quitting shouldn't be contingent on a person, it should be based on personal conviction. Additionally, if that relationship sours, I'll definitely go back to smoking again.

Fast forward to about a month ago, I started on my first PV, and I began to substitute cancer sticks for plumes of flavoured vapour. Granted, there were still times I relented and grabbed a stick from one of my friends, but if you'd allow me, I would like to share some personal victories:

1. I stopped buying my own packet of cigarettes from the day I started
2. The times I slipped I smoked only because it was a social event
3. It's been about 3 days and 10 hours since my last cigarette, and I'm hoping that number grows.

I guess I'm nowhere near some of these achievements I see in the forum, where people are completely off cigarettes, but no one said it was going to be easy. It's an uphill battle, but I'm very glad I found this new hobby and I hope people who wish to quit will find this a useful way to wean off analogs.

Bear with me, this is where things are difficult for me.

I'm from Singapore, and in 5 days, the government will completely ban possession of electronic cigarettes. Previously, only those who were suspected of selling PVs/juices/etc. were fined. But in less than a week, even us vapers who only possess a PV for personal use will be clamped down upon, hard.

The general sentiment here among vapers is that the government does this for the taxes. Over-the-counter tobacco products (namely just cigarettes, rolled tobacco, cigarellos) are the government's longstanding steady source of income, and they have not found a feasible way to regulate vaping and its accessories, and tax it accordingly.

If you keep up with our local news, you would know that every once in a while a news piece comes up bashing e-cigarettes/vaping as harmful (Harvard released a study about diacetyl) and hazardous (an unusual emphasis on a Japanese article that proved 'dangerous levels of formaldehyde released by vape products, but failed to mention it wasn't peer-reviewed). This - we feel - is part of the authority's efforts to create a conducive environment for them to effectively phase out vaping out of Singapore's society completely.

So here I am, someone who really wishes to quit smoking, living under what seems like a dystopian society for a vaper, and struggling to replenish my accompanying paraphernalia, because even our neighbours will ban the sale of such products come 1 Jan.

I guess this is more a rant than an introduction, but Moderators please feel free to move this/close this if it's way too long for comfort.

Otherwise, Ask Me Anything about Singapore's laws on vaping, if you haven't already gotten your information in the SG Vapers forum!

Oh, and hello everyone, it's great to find at least a digital platform to talk to people about vaping especially when it should be a closed-door affair here.

Hello and welcome to ecf!

I read your post with great sadness, for you, as well as the rest of us who are struggling against these inhumane, self-serving laws. Our own governments throwing so many millions of smokers under the bus. It's hard to believe they would rather us die of smoking than lose tax revenue but there it is, right in front of me.

Congratulations on your first steps in quitting tobacco and good luck to you in your endeavor. I truly hope you can find a way around the brick walls going up and are able to quit smoking for good.

 

[goodvapesonly]

Hello and welcome to the forum @goodvapesonly. Glad to have you here!

We see many new SG members here either looking to get into vaping (and looking for sources) or asking for advise on what to do when they receive a letter from customs saying their online order is being forwarded to the authorities for disposal.

Since that information cannot be posted openly in the SG Forum (your government routinely stalks that forum) it's hard to give advise to new members. All we can do is point them in that direction, advise them to read the "stickies" and hope they get involved (make some friends) and once other members start to trust them information will begin to flow via PM/start a conversation.

To further compound things, in 5 days the ban on owning an e-cigarette (in SG) goes into effect and on January 1 the ban on selling e-cigarettes in Johor goes into effect.

+1 to you for finding local sources.

Have you considered DIY? How long are you going to be in the USA?

One has to be resourceful in order to get past all the red tape; and TBH I am a resident lurker of this forum. I started off being very curious about vaping as an NRT option, and started to find out more by myself, from this forum and reddit. The rest is history.

I'm not in the USA, sorry I might have given the wrong impression when I mentioned Washington. I'm currently in SG, I used to travel for 3 months around the States, dropping in on both coasts of the country.

As far as DIY goes, maybe in the near future, when we hit a complete dry spell. I know a few home-brewers who are starting something here too. Never tried their stuff, but maybe I will soon!

Hello and welcome to ecf!

I read your post with great sadness, for you, as well as the rest of us who are struggling against these inhumane, self-serving laws. Our own governments throwing so many millions of smokers under the bus. It's hard to believe they would rather us die of smoking than lose tax revenue but there it is, right in front of me.

Congratulations on your first steps in quitting tobacco and good luck to you in your endeavor. I truly hope you can find a way around the brick walls going up and are able to quit smoking for good.

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to invoke such an emotion in you. It is sad, though, that despite the many success stories I have read about, it still doesn't serve as enough reason for it to be legalised.

Thanks for the encouragement, I recently made it through a nightly social gathering without touching a single cigarette, and that will be another personal trophy to add to my cabinet.

 

[Tommy-Chi]

Was there any discussion or anything before they enacted this law? Or is singapore the kind of place that just enacts laws without any input from citizens?

Yes, it's just like Cook County and Chicago here in the United States.