My "coming out" as an ecig user story...

[just-cass]

...Christmas Eve I publicised my new infatuation and hopefully my new way of life!!! I charged my batteries and filled my carts and headed for a trendy pub in dublin to use my ecig(my first time using it in front of anyone but immediate family!) followed by a smaller "local pub" and christmas day using it at the poker table in a family game(not my family but my other halfs)...here's how it went if anyones interested...

I got to the pub and looked around...the place was packed full of rugby jerseys and girls with makeup applied with trowels and the place was literally heaving with the amount of people there. I was worried cos the place was so trendy how my lil black 510 with blu light would stick out like a sore thumb...

So i went to the smoking area as I knew before contemplating asking to use it inside I would be barred if I attempted so I followed my other half out to brave the cold and the onlookers...I took it from my pocket and took a lil draw...I think I was waiting for someone to ask what it was or give me sniggering looks and remarks but nothing?...some people looked but no one made any remarks?!It was very obvious though cos the place was dark as it was a big blue light so I think either the people there were idiots and afraid to say they didnt know what it was or maybe thought i was sucking a ridiculous looking pen???either way...I successfully ecigged in front of the jocks and cheerleaders and didnt feel odd...good outcome

moving on we got to the local pub to meet friends and catch up and soon enough the ecig was taken out again...the place was packed still and i couldnt find a time to ask a barman if it was ok to use it...maybe im wrong but i wanted to ask out of courtesy as im in ireland and its fairly unheard of here(never seen anyone use one before me!) and had a more positive attitude that i may get away with it here...so i went outside while it was busy and happily used my ecig...young and old didnt bat an eyelid...some looked twice in the smoking area but no one was bothered....the weirdest thing was one of my friends who is generally very proud and set in his ways and "cool" thought ecigs were great and now wants one...if he thinks there cool im living in hope that others will follo in my group of friends(who are all smokers...not gonna push em but itd b nice if they were at least on side!)...so a little later a barman walked past and i asked if he would mind if i used it(showed it to him) he asked me what it was and i just said its an ecigarette.he asked me to explain in a very formal way that put me off but i explained it had a battery that allowed me to smoke ncotine with no tar or 2nd hand smoke...but it did produce a vapor...he said its no problem at all as long as it doesnt smell like smoke and there isnt too much obvious actual smoke(ie i dont go flaunting it im presuming in case someone thinks i have a real cigarette and lights up)....so i promptly took my other 4 ecigs from my purse and passed them around...it was a lovely sight to sit inside(in the warmth!) with our drinks in the pub and enjoying our habit without all the drawbacks.Just like i knew i had to quit smoking the day i drove for half an hour to buy cigs at midnight...it was xmas eve in that pub that i KNEW ecigs were gonna be the way forward for me and hopefully others...

So I was excstatic about this news...i never thought id be able to smoke in a pub in ireland again until 2 days ago so i brought along my ecig to my other halfs yearly poker game...the people there were ranging from 25-70 so a mixture(us being the youngest)...the game began and later i asked at what i thought would be a good moment if i could use my ecig...should NEVER have bothered....

i was asked to demonstrate so i did...immediately was a snigger of ridiculousness and one of the people there who knew and knows nothing about ecigarettes brought up the point that i had in fact not given up smoking and it was the same thing and nicotine was bad 4 u and i was still addicted and was going to die from it....and wait for it....it looked ridiculous(!!!)....i explained(and another person there who is a nurse agreed) about nicotine/cigarette differences and that person merely said...its still bad for you....its not giving up...only cold turkey will free u of cigarettes....i thought this was the only person who it may bother but 2 others said they "didnt like the taste in their mouth" from the vapor(i took 1 puff!)???and another asked if the smoke i exhale is germ filled and likely to spread swine flu(!!!)

Needless to say i had to go out in the cold to use my ecig and really felt like just picking up a real one...i honestly didnt mind them not wanting me to smoke as no one else smoked (a few do occasionally but not that night) but i felt like the whole table thought i was a smoker still and i was totally discouraged.....not one person said well done on not smoking for 3 weeks especially around xmastime(they did last time i gave up cold turkey for a few days!) and my frustrations lie with ignorant people who even when armed with the facts choose to continue with their opinion and preconcieved notions grasped from mid air which are obviously totally wrong...and when proved wrong they find any faults they can(the final attempt at ridiculing me was saying i still had the hand to mouth thing which if i didnt break cold turkey would mean id go back to cigarettes(and that i may aswell be sitting there puffing away.....

all in all mixed reviews on my first public experiences but i wish i had more time and quicker ways(people have a limited attention span!) of telling anti-ecig people-who-know-nothing-about-them why they are better than real cigarettes...

any advice on how to deal with these people or reactions on anything feel free to interject : o)

 

[Brewster 59]

Really I dont quite understand why you care what people in the smoking area think about your ecig. I have used mine in public and had what I thought was a funny result. This guy sees me smoking it and with a scowl on his face stomps over to where im sitting and starts looking for a cig when he doesn't see one he starts sniffing the air when he doesnt smell smoke he turns around and stomps off. I was laughing inside so much it was hard to keep from lol.

IMO it doesnt matter what non smokers think,to them if there is nic and smoke it is smoking. All that really matters is how do you feel, does it work for you? Personally I like the taste of eni better, I like not smelling like smoke, I like no butts, I like being able to breathe better and taste things better. So I have to tell you I dont give a damn what anyone else thinks, I think I like it so Im going to do it. Vape on and Happy New Year!

 

[Stormynights]

You can go to the rest room and no one will ever know you are vaping.

 

[potholerepairman]

You can find a closed minded persons real ways when you break out the ecig in like 10 seconds.I wonder how many kids will try to get them for their parents on mothers and fathers day.With the help of the other adult of course. The only time I regretted taking my ecig to the bar was when a regular plug and ecig got left plugged into the wall at the bar.

 

[just-cass]

I suppose this is a very longwinded way of saying i do actually kinda care what people think as much as i try to deny it...i will continue vaping and mostly reminding myself what you're saying but when im confronted with people who embarass me in front of everyone i dont appreciate it...

i am stubborn though so i will just have to change their mind(having gone from never hearing of ecigs never mind seeing someone using one i have ordered kits for 5 people and at least 10 more are interested so i must be saying something right!)

 

[Kilroy]

Don't worry about what the smokers think. On the other hand if you can help one of them lose that nasty habit, give it a go.

 

[Connman]

Healthier is better and we don`t have to worry about killing the non smoker with this device. Cold turkey works great for sandwiches but "usually" ends in failure with long term smokers. Certainly a good way to make life miserable. Keeps my fuse at a safe length to where I`m not a monster to be around. Take my nic away and I hate myself let alone the not so bright public.

 

[Fire N Ice]

I have only known 2 smokers in my entire life that have quit cold-turkey. My Mom (after 22 years and 4 failed attempts), and my wife (got pregnant). Virtually everyone that I'm close to outside my family smokes and has tried to quit (including myself).

My advice to you is to keep advocating the ecigs to those willing to listen, and move on from the ones that don't. As far as your other half's family is concerned, just tell them that you don't plan on stopping the PV's and you would appreciate it if they would just drop the subject, and in return you'll respect their wishes and use your PV outside.

Just remember, don't let the criticism of a few get you down from something you believe is benefiting yourself and those close to you.

 

[DVap]

My wife and I use ours in the reddest of redneck bars here locally.

This is a place where you need a gun or a knife to get in (or be willing to take one off of somebody), and the patrons are typically bemused, curious, incredulous, and sometimes even impressed.

They never give us any trouble though, probably because they assume that we, like them, are armed.

 

[Greeneyeddevil]

I've had mainly positive reactions from people about mine, but yesterday for christmas, was the first time I caught some ridicule. I had my e-cig in hand getting ready to step outside with my sister (who is a smoker...yes I go outside to use my pv still in places where people aren't allowed to smoke real cigs inside) and my niece, who was there with her boyfriend asked me what I had in my hand. I proceeded to explain to them what it was and how it worked, they are both smokers by the way. As I was explaining, he just started convulsing with laughter at me. As I smelled the cigarette stench coming off him, I smiled and said "Laugh at me all you want. At least I'm not hacking my lungs up anymore and not going to die from cancer now." She quickly interrupted and said "I'm not laughing! That thing is cool, I've never seen one". So I finished explaining to her, maybe planted a seed for an option other than cigs to her, and I let him finish his cackling and ignored him because I'm satisfied in the fact that I feel better and do not care how ridiculous people may think I look with my e-cig. Be proud of not smoking cigarettes anymore! I know I am and my kids are proud of me and I will be around longer for them because of my e-cig and that is all I really care about

 

[Brewster 59]

heres what I dont get why would anyone think smoking a ecig looks any more ridicolos than smoking a real cig? Actually if anything we should be laughing at smokers ecigs taste better, are healthier, no oder and cost less.

 

[sonnetjie]

Good on you! I also don't like being humiliated and I am not very good at getting my point across, so I haven't been brave enough to use my PV in front of people outside of my immediate family. Probably also because most people don't even know I smoke... But I am loving my PV!

 

[cliff5550]

Just remember. You're the smart one.

 

[bigozone]

i like vaping while driving.... especially with state troopers driving past as i hold a big silver magnum mod up and smoke billows out.

i figure someone has to educate them

 

[zerohalo]

I have only known 2 smokers in my entire life that have quit cold-turkey. My Mom (after 22 years and 4 failed attempts), and my wife (got pregnant). Virtually everyone that I'm close to outside my family smokes and has tried to quit (including myself).

Cold turkey only works for a few... most of my smoking family smoked themselves into the afterlife - so you can't let people get to you. I started smoking because of peer pressure - it's kinda silly to quit quitting because of the same.

 

[sherid]

I always thought that the purpose of using the e cig was for the person using it to reduce or quit smoking real cigs. I did not know that we were supposed to serve as evangelists of vaping. I am put off by those who believe that it is our mission to "educate" smokers and convert them to e cigs. Where did e cig users get that idea?

 

[Thulium]

When in similar situations, I've told people: "You're right, I haven't quit, but I have stopped smoking. I prefer the flavor, it costs less, I don't stink, I can breathe easier, taste and smell better, and if I decide that I want to stop using nicotine, I have that choice."

 

[Gemini]

I have had many curious people asking me "what the heck is that?" especially when i'm vaping my dse901 with pink/green/blue led, and most of the time they are impressed and you get the "hey well done" " does it really work" or "i want one", i once caused a bloke to fall off his bycycle because he was staring at me walking down the street vaping, lol. I've only had one smart ar*e trying to be clever, he was the landlord of a pub down on the south coast and we were on holiday and sat outside the pub having a quiet beer and a vape. He asked what it was, i told him, he tutted and quite sarkily and loudly, said "huh, waste of money if you ask me ( i did'nt), why on earth don't you just pack in smoking altogether?" so i took a looong draw and said "I have packed in smoking, this is not lit (waving it at him) it works with a battery, it doesn't have 4000 bad chemicals in it, it makes me feel healthier, and i love it, and so what if i'm addicted to nicotine its my choice, oh and i've saved ££££££££s not buying CIGARETTES" to which he replied a bit red-faced, "Well, if you put it that way i suppose you're not are you?" It shut him up anyway!!

 

[Wheatfield]

Isn't it ironic that the people closest to you (any of us) feel free to critisize our behavior the most? I vaped in front of family over the holidays and got a lot of petty reactions, their problem not mine. Most didn't even care to hear about the benefits over cigs.

Steve

 

[JustJulie]

I always thought that the purpose of using the e cig was for the person using it to reduce or quit smoking real cigs. I did not know that we were supposed to serve as evangelists of vaping. I am put off by those who believe that it is our mission to "educate" smokers and convert them to e cigs. Where did e cig users get that idea?

A little bluntly stated, but i don't really disagree with this. If someone is happy smoking and has no desire to quit, then that's their business. However, I know there are many smokers who, like me, desperately wanted to quit and had tried many, many times with no success. For smokers like that, PVs could quite possibly prove to be the miracle they've been for me.

I will say that when I first started vaping, I simply assumed that pretty much all smokers were looking to quit and that all smokers would be very receptive to the idea of vaping. Not true.

So I openly and notoriously vape in smoking areas, and occasionally a smoker will approach and ask questions. I am very receptive to discussing the PV with those who are interested, but for those who don't express any interest, I simply leave them in peace.

I am a PV ambassador trying very hard not to be a PV evangelist.

For those who feel somewhat self-conscious about vaping in public, it does get easier with time. And after awhile, you hardly even think about it (other than to vape responsibly while in traditionally non-smoking areas).