Hello! I'm new to these forums, but I've been vaping for several years now and would love to contribute to the greater community. As my first foray onto the boards, I'd like to share an essay I put together regarding the negative backlash visited upon the vaping industry and its customers by the establishment.
The Backlash
With the advent of electronic cigarettes came an unexpected backlash against their widespread use and proliferation, from both so-called sides of the political aisle. These critical voices have sparked a debate on the benefits and risks to health potentially caused by e-cigs, but their motivations are far from altruistic, based solely on selfish notions of profit and imposed morality.
The most obvious and outspoken opponent of electronic smoking (called vaping by users) is, of course, the tobacco industry. Mass-market saturation of a nicotine-delivery product lacking virtually all the health risks of traditional combustible tobacco cigarettes is a scenario that Big Tobacco clearly does not want. Many products designed to help smokers quit, such as gums and patches, are in fact sold by the very same tobacco companies that peddle the dangerous addiction in the first place. It should come as no surprise that these companies dont really care about the health of their customers, so long as said customers continue to give them money. Their opposition to e-cigs is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to loss of market share, both from regular smokers and smokers trying to quit.
Another business that clearly profits from traditional tobacco use is the medical industry. Americans spend over $300 billion each year treating health ailments caused by tobacco smoke. If every smoker were to eventually switch to vaping, thats a serious amount of revenue that would be lost by the healthcare establishment. As such, many people in the field are highly critical of e-cigs, claiming that the science is not in, and that we dont really know the health risks of vaping yet. This is a half-truth. The science IS in on the immediate effects of vaping versus smoking, and the unanimous conclusion is that e-cigs are 100% safer than combustible cigarettes. Its true that we dont yet know the long-term effects of vaping (because e-cigs are still too new to study such effects), but suggesting to the public that they shouldnt consider switching to e-cigs in lieu of regular cigarettes because the science is not all in yet is not only disingenuous, its outright destructive, and blatantly immoral.
On the subject of morality, the final group ranting against mass public acceptance of vaping are the PC warriors, the remnants of the anti-smoking movement that (rightfully) swept through America in the 80s and 90s. On more than one occasion, Ive been vaping in a public place and had someone walk by me waving their hands in front of their face, coughing, and muttering under their breath about my inconsiderate decision to smoke in their presence, completely ignoring the fact that no smell, no irritating smoke, and no dirty ashes or butts were involved in any way. These are the same people who fought, successfully, in New Jersey to ban the use of e-cigs in indoor public spaces, the same people who lobbied to ban e-cigs from airplanes.
These people are simply angry because they view vaping as smokers getting away with it. Having spent the last few decades demonizing smokers in the public consciousness, the sight of a person inhaling and exhaling a cloud, regardless of that clouds contents, is offensive to them. E-cigarettes make them feel like they lost the battle, plain and simple. So their reaction is to demonize vaping the same way they demonized smoking, albeit with none of the facts and evidence that supported their arguments against tobacco use.
So if you are a smoker who is trying to quit, or at the very least, switch to a less dangerous alternative, ignore the clamor that is muddying the waters of this perceived debate. It is merely the nonsensical propaganda and meaningless rhetoric of self-serving profiteers and misguided, self-righteous culture warriors. We may not yet know what effect 50 years of vaping will have on a person (and we wont know for another 40 years or so), but what we DO know is that burning ANY substance and inhaling the smoke is FAR more dangerous in the short term than inhaling propylene glycol vapor (which, incidentally, has been used in asthma inhalers since the 1950s).
Dont let the hypocrites and demagogues cause you to hesitate on taking responsibility for your own well-being. If youre a smoker, switch to vaping today. Your health will be grateful.
The Backlash
With the advent of electronic cigarettes came an unexpected backlash against their widespread use and proliferation, from both so-called sides of the political aisle. These critical voices have sparked a debate on the benefits and risks to health potentially caused by e-cigs, but their motivations are far from altruistic, based solely on selfish notions of profit and imposed morality.
The most obvious and outspoken opponent of electronic smoking (called vaping by users) is, of course, the tobacco industry. Mass-market saturation of a nicotine-delivery product lacking virtually all the health risks of traditional combustible tobacco cigarettes is a scenario that Big Tobacco clearly does not want. Many products designed to help smokers quit, such as gums and patches, are in fact sold by the very same tobacco companies that peddle the dangerous addiction in the first place. It should come as no surprise that these companies dont really care about the health of their customers, so long as said customers continue to give them money. Their opposition to e-cigs is nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to loss of market share, both from regular smokers and smokers trying to quit.
Another business that clearly profits from traditional tobacco use is the medical industry. Americans spend over $300 billion each year treating health ailments caused by tobacco smoke. If every smoker were to eventually switch to vaping, thats a serious amount of revenue that would be lost by the healthcare establishment. As such, many people in the field are highly critical of e-cigs, claiming that the science is not in, and that we dont really know the health risks of vaping yet. This is a half-truth. The science IS in on the immediate effects of vaping versus smoking, and the unanimous conclusion is that e-cigs are 100% safer than combustible cigarettes. Its true that we dont yet know the long-term effects of vaping (because e-cigs are still too new to study such effects), but suggesting to the public that they shouldnt consider switching to e-cigs in lieu of regular cigarettes because the science is not all in yet is not only disingenuous, its outright destructive, and blatantly immoral.
On the subject of morality, the final group ranting against mass public acceptance of vaping are the PC warriors, the remnants of the anti-smoking movement that (rightfully) swept through America in the 80s and 90s. On more than one occasion, Ive been vaping in a public place and had someone walk by me waving their hands in front of their face, coughing, and muttering under their breath about my inconsiderate decision to smoke in their presence, completely ignoring the fact that no smell, no irritating smoke, and no dirty ashes or butts were involved in any way. These are the same people who fought, successfully, in New Jersey to ban the use of e-cigs in indoor public spaces, the same people who lobbied to ban e-cigs from airplanes.
These people are simply angry because they view vaping as smokers getting away with it. Having spent the last few decades demonizing smokers in the public consciousness, the sight of a person inhaling and exhaling a cloud, regardless of that clouds contents, is offensive to them. E-cigarettes make them feel like they lost the battle, plain and simple. So their reaction is to demonize vaping the same way they demonized smoking, albeit with none of the facts and evidence that supported their arguments against tobacco use.
So if you are a smoker who is trying to quit, or at the very least, switch to a less dangerous alternative, ignore the clamor that is muddying the waters of this perceived debate. It is merely the nonsensical propaganda and meaningless rhetoric of self-serving profiteers and misguided, self-righteous culture warriors. We may not yet know what effect 50 years of vaping will have on a person (and we wont know for another 40 years or so), but what we DO know is that burning ANY substance and inhaling the smoke is FAR more dangerous in the short term than inhaling propylene glycol vapor (which, incidentally, has been used in asthma inhalers since the 1950s).
Dont let the hypocrites and demagogues cause you to hesitate on taking responsibility for your own well-being. If youre a smoker, switch to vaping today. Your health will be grateful.
