Need help from African-Americans!!

[ernietd]

My very dear co worker is an African American woman. We became best buddies while going out for a smoke. Then I discovered e cigs.

We still go out for our smoke, but I vape while she smokes (smokers in the office get extra unofficial breaks, I'm not giving that up!!!)

Anyway, I've tried to convince her to try e cigs, even offered to buy her some for her birthday, but she won't. She says that it has been proven that African Americans have a harder time quitting then whites. She says this may be because they often smoke menthols (she smokes Newports). She says she has tried so often and so hard to quit that she's not willing to try again.

I am NOT going to be one of those people who bug someone about life choices, so I've said my piece and will now be quiet. BUT, I've caught her checking out this forum on her computer!!! She's interested, she wants to try. She needs encouragement.

So, if you are an African American, can you tell us your experiences? do you think it's different than any other race?

Also gentlemen: This is a lovely Christian widow, great cook, owns her own house, her kids are all grown, you never know we can turn this into the e cig and dating forum!!!

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Idaho Ron]

I smoked for 50 yrs (Menthol) took me 4 days to quit, only because thats how many anologs I had left.

 

[guava]

Being black, white, whatever doesn't matter. If she's looking for an extra crutch, let it go. And keep vaping for yourself and hope/pray she joins you on the journey!

 

[omerriweather]

I had no problem with the switch... some people just don't wanna let go

 

[UntamedRose]

This..."proven that African Americans have a harder time quitting then whites"
Can Not be true.

First of all from a scientific POV...there is No Such thing as "race" within the human species. Race for humans is purely a social concept, Not a biological one. There is more variation within the racial groups then between them.
There are species that have "races" or more commonly known as "breeds" significant Differences within the brain, body structure and genes are found...but not enough of a difference to make two separate species. Again we dont have this in Homo sapians.

Secondly, Lets pretend that possibly true and if we accepted it...then it would mean there were differences in the brain structure or chemical balances between AA's and other races. As addiction is mainly caused by the changes in the brain the drug causes, What she's suggesting that her brain is different from yours.
Which is a PC disaster, if accepted the next step is for someone to imply that b/c of these brain differences some group is better then another aka Racism....but like i said there isnt these differences so lets just leave that alone.

Whats she is doing is looking for an excuse...cant really blame her(though I hate her particular excuse) and I doubt anyone on this board can. For we have all said them and all used them.
I cant quit now I'm too stressed, I cant I got in a fight with my SO, I can't I'm allergic to the patch, I cant b/c I'm a single mom working two jobs....blah blah blah
I'm hearing them from some of my friends now... one told me California was getting to my head. It's Bull Snit, they/we said it because they/we were afraid.

Go buy a good menthol, bring an extra battery and atty to work...let her try it. Or hand her some of those disposables ones.

 

[Laguna6866]

My very dear co worker is an African American woman. We became best buddies while going out for a smoke. Then I discovered e cigs.

We still go out for our smoke, but I vape while she smokes (smokers in the office get extra unofficial breaks, I'm not giving that up!!!)

Anyway, I've tried to convince her to try e cigs, even offered to buy her some for her birthday, but she won't. She says that it has been proven that African Americans have a harder time quitting then whites. She says this may be because they often smoke menthols (she smokes Newports). She says she has tried so often and so hard to quit that she's not willing to try again.

I am NOT going to be one of those people who bug someone about life choices, so I've said my piece and will now be quiet. BUT, I've caught her checking out this forum on her computer!!! She's interested, she wants to try. She needs encouragement.

So, if you are an African American, can you tell us your experiences? do you think it's different than any other race?

Also gentlemen: This is a lovely Christian widow, great cook, owns her own house, her kids are all grown, you never know we can turn this into the e cig and dating forum!!!

Thanks in advance!!!

With all due respect, that is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard in my life! Drugs don't discriminate, neither does nicotine. You ask any non-African American if quitting was easy because they are not African American, 99.9% of them will say no! I myself am a mutt! Latino, Cherokee Indian, and Irish. I quit using crystal .... 13 years ago. As hard as that was to quit, analogs are probably harder!!! I just cant comprehend any reasoning for ones race, making it harder to quit. Look, I've heard every excuse in the book for an individual not to want to quit, but Lord, saying its tougher because of your race is absurd (might be the best excuse I've ever heard!) Congrats to you, and giving up analogs, i envy you! As for your buddy, shes not ready to quit, don't try to convince her! Oh yeah, I've been smoking Newport's for 20 years, and really having a hard time putting them down!

 

[Kobudo]

This..."proven that African Americans have a harder time quitting then whites"
Can Not be true.

First of all from a scientific POV...there is No Such thing as "race" within the human species. Race for humans is purely a social concept, Not a biological one. There is more variation within the racial groups then between them.

From the standpoint of a person with some training in biological anthropology, this is true and untrue at the same time.

"Race" as defined in social constructs is not scientifically founded (i.e., there is only one "race" of H. Sapien, and we are all it). However, social race does fall along the lines of long-term adaptations that various groups of H. Sapien have developed during a long stretch of our species' time on this planet, during which multiple groups spread from modern-day Africa across the globe. This does result in a few medically observable changes, including:

• Sickle-cell anemia among some persons with dark skin (originally an advantageous adaptation that reduced the effects of malaria among populations in hot, moist climates with larger insect populations).

• A severe allergic reaction in a small segment of Mediterranean males (linked to the Y chromosome) to a pollen or wheat gluten -- I can't remember (it's been years since I took this class, and I got a D).

• The fact that I sweat like crazy and overheat when it starts getting too warm outside (my ancestors adapted to a colder climate in Northern Europe, and I have a larger volume-to-surface area ratio than some people). The overall lack of melanin in my pigmentation is also a long-term adaptation to reduced sunlight levels (it's easier for my body to make more vitamin D on cloudy days than it would be for a person with more melanin).

Since nicotine has only recently been introduced to all our environments, it would be an unreasonable expectation to think that a person with one set of adaptations (which are very minor, compared to physical variations found in Australopithecus, one of our nearest ancestors!) would react differently to nicotine. This would hold true for menthol as well -- my father smoked menthols until they required half of one of his lungs to be removed, and he eventually died of cancer.

 

[UntamedRose]

"(it's been years since I took this class, and I got a D)"

That about sums my reply...Thanks for being honest and saving me the time.

 

[Liscab]

Love can move mountains,

Are you in love with her ?

 

[beebopnjazz]

I believe the studies found that menthol smokers have a harder time quitting and that African Americans are more likely to be menthol smokers than regular tobacco flavor smokers.

 

[Kobudo]

That about sums my reply...Thanks for being honest and saving me the time.

Well, to be fair it was a "freshman flunk-out course" that I took as an elective, and it was more the result of not thoroughly memorizing bones and species of extinct apes that hurt my grade.

To clarify, I was agreeing with your points that there is no scientific basis for social race constructs and there would be no scientific cause that a person of one social race would react differently to nicotine than a person from another.

I was disagreeing with the blanket statement that you made when you stated "There is more variation within the racial groups then between them," mentioning that there are some minor universal differences between these groups, relating mostly to regulating the body's production of vitamin D, and that there are some observable health implications as a result. I was not entirely dismissing the variety that is evident among individuals regardless of social race.

 

[martha1014]

No blacks do not have any more difficulty qutting to smoke than any white person. I know a lot of black people and this is an old wives tale that most blacks smoke menthol. I nor anybody I know smokes menthol.

It is very kind of you to be sensitive about the racial issue here. Be assured that this is not the only case of a population with a different gene pool. Type 2 diabetes is much higher among Scandinavians, and it is not related to lifestyle...it is all genetics. So black people are not alone in suffering from their genetic background. We are all a result of our past, to one degree or another

 

[JohnnyVapor]

Type 2 diabetes is much higher among Scandinavians...

Scandinavians are also predisposed to Type 2 Awesome. Just sayin.

 

[LostInDaJungle]

Ummm.... Don't phrase it as quitting?

People are scared to quit. I didn't start vaping to quit cigs... I did it to stop going out on the porch in 20 degree weather.

If someone had come to me with "Use this to quit smoking" I'd have said "No" and fast! It's like a girl walks up to you in a bar and says "Hey cutie, wanna get married and have three kids?" Hell no! Now, if she says "Wanna go play hose-beast in your living room?" I'm saying "heck yeah" even though I suspect she's got designs on changing her last name. (And since she's planning on changing it, why bother learning it?)

As far as the African-American thing goes... C'mon. Seriously? How about telling her that e-cigs come in Watermelon flavor...

Get her to try it... Then on a rainy day, offer her your spare e-cig and see if she'd rather sit in the break room or something. Don't try and take away her cigs, just get her to pick up a PV. If she likes it and it works, the rest will take care of itself.

 

[omerriweather]

As far as the African-American thing goes... C'mon. Seriously? How about telling her that e-cigs come in Watermelon flavor...

LMAO ... Watermelon flavor is good though

 

[martha1014]

No I like fried chicken better.

 

[Poeia]

No blacks do not have any more difficulty qutting to smoke than any white person. I know a lot of black people and this is an old wives tale that most blacks smoke menthol. I nor anybody I know smokes menthol.

"The majority of menthol smokers are African American" is true. The converse ("the majority of African Americans are menthol smokers" or even "the majority of African American smokers smoke menthols") is not true. And, of course, plenty of people in other ethnic groups smoke menthols as well.

The reason for this is probably due to proximity rather than ethnicity. When you first start smoking you bum a fair number of cigarettes from your friends. If your friends smoke menthol, that's what you get hooked on.

I not familiar with any studies about it being harder to quit smoking menthol cigarettes vs. regular cigarettes, but it really sounds like your friend is going through with what so many of us have gone through before. Before I found PVs, I had tried cold turkey, hypnosis, Smoke Enders, Wellbutrin, acupuncture and gum. I was tired of trying -- it seemed like I was just setting myself up to fail once again -- and had come to the realization that I probably couldn't quit. I didn't plan to try again until I found out about PVs. They just seemed right for me -- and they were.

Vaping doesn't work for everyone. We see the success stories here. The people it's not right for don't hang out in this forum posting about that. But if your friend is lurking here, she'll see that it does work for many, many people and that it doesn't have to be an "all or nothing" proposition. If she tries it, maybe she'll find that she can smoke 4 fewer cigarettes a day. That may not seem like a lot but it is over 70 packs a year. If she really wants to quit, it's worth trying.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I didnt start vaping to quit smoking. I tried them because they were something new & looked cool. After 4 days I just quit & stayed on vaper. That seems to be the best way, dont go into it to quit. Puts to much pressure on yourself. I think if you find a vape you like you can quit without even realizing it. Quess everyone is different tho.

 

[PriestSLC]

I smoked menthols for years, and when I started vaping, I got the menthol e-juice and really quit analogs after about a week I think it was.

Get her a 901 with menthol e-juice, problem solved.



Do not offer it, gift it, assemble it, get the cart's filled for the first use... then she will come to you for the education after she uses the first carts.

 

[Papagoatee]

love can move mountains,

are you in love with her ?

lololololololololol