Nothing To Be Ashamed Of

[JupiterV]

Great! Thanks for the info. I'll try it. Been a little shy about it. I'll use it but like you said - keep it in longer so nothing comes out or blow it into my shirt. (lol that probably looks really weird!)

 

[LtrlHzrd]

I'm a new vapor and mostly have been treating like real cigs with regard to having respect for others but ultimately i really don't care what others think as its my health.

 

[wv2win]

There's a middle ground, here.

Ask first, and be polite.

I always ask first. In restaurants, coffee houses, even on a train. Think of it like not wearing a shirt - you have the right to do it, but establishments also have the right to not let you in. It's not about legality. It's about the choices of that establishment. They have a right to not allow you to do something, even if it's legal.

Those who know what e-cigs are have always given me an uninhibited "yes." Those who don't, I have explained it to, and then they give me an uninhibited "yes."

I have, in fact, never been told I couldn't vape.

Once I get that "yes," I vape politely. I don't take power-drags, like I do at home or outside. I take smaller drags, and hold them for just a touch longer, so the vapor is less. I don't go as far as stealth vaping, but I also don't let my vapor trail float into other people's space.

Doing this, I have never gotten a negative reaction.

People who don't know what vaping is, get to see me vaping, notice that it doesn't smell like cigs, and that what I'm vaping actually doesn't look quite like a cig. After getting permission, and vaping politely, they also see that it is non-invasive, and in their minds, they move me slightly outside of the "box" they put smokers in.

Smokers ask me where they can get one, non-smokers ask me what smells like cupcakes, and everybody's happy.

That's one way we can give vaping positive press.

This is the same position I have advocated. Intelligent and respectful vaping in public. It's also why I refer to it as a "personal vaporizer" (which is what it is) instead of an electronic cigarette. And whether we like it or not, we who vape, have a responsibility to openly advocate and educate the uninformed about PV's if we want this life altering device to remain accessible. You can't do that hiding in the dark or "hanging with the smokers".

 

[PoliticallyIncorrect]

I actually do typically say "e-cigarette." Perhaps "personal vaporizer" would be a better strategy. The fact that I'm young, female, and nonthreatening may be influencing the response I get. I know I get a lot more lenience going through TSA than, say, a larger, older male.

I'm glad you recognize that, because I wasn't going to mention my first thought on reading your middle ground strategy: Yeah, easy for YOU to say. You'd likely be granted permission to not wear a shirt, for that matter.

The best I can get away with is the good ol' devious-but-effective "it's a medical vaporizer."

 

[french]

There's a middle ground, here.

Ask first, and be polite.

I always ask first. In restaurants, coffee houses, even on a train. Think of it like not wearing a shirt - you have the right to do it, but establishments also have the right to not let you in. It's not about legality. It's about the choices of that establishment. They have a right to not allow you to do something, even if it's legal.

Those who know what e-cigs are have always given me an uninhibited "yes." Those who don't, I have explained it to, and then they give me an uninhibited "yes."

I have, in fact, never been told I couldn't vape.

Once I get that "yes," I vape politely. I don't take power-drags, like I do at home or outside. I take smaller drags, and hold them for just a touch longer, so the vapor is less. I don't go as far as stealth vaping, but I also don't let my vapor trail float into other people's space.

Doing this, I have never gotten a negative reaction.

People who don't know what vaping is, get to see me vaping, notice that it doesn't smell like cigs, and that what I'm vaping actually doesn't look quite like a cig. After getting permission, and vaping politely, they also see that it is non-invasive, and in their minds, they move me slightly outside of the "box" they put smokers in.

Ya. Totally have to use discretion and common sense when vaping around other people. Some people could get offended, and as previously mentioned.. wouldn't want to spoil someone's "fancy dinner" or something.

Smokers ask me where they can get one, non-smokers ask me what smells like cupcakes, and everybody's happy.

That's one way we can give vaping positive press.

"PTCCCYYIU" (Personal Tasty Concentrated Cup Cake Yum Yums Inhalation Unit) sounds way better if you ask me than "E-Death Stick" !

(totally going to have to mix up cupcake flavor now...)

 

[Toritha]

I prefer calling it a personal vaporizer b/c as others have said the moment Cigarette comes out of your mouth the discussion is over and the people you are talking to stop being receptive. I've vaped in the grocery store ... no one said a word. Also in the locker room at the YMCA. I keep waiting for someone to challenge me but i think part of it is if they see the vapor it dissipates so quickly and they don't smell the "smoke" that they second guess what they saw and don't say anything. Most of the uproar made when you smoke an analog is b/c someone smelled you smoking not that they necessarily saw you. With vaping there is no smell, mostly, and what you can smell is sweet and in most cases yummy The few people I have had the pleasure of educating were very excited and i told them to come here so they can benefit from the wisdom of the vaping masses lol

 

[lacymarie7575]

i totally know that im gonna get smack talked about it but oh well! its better for me...i am not purposely TRYING to attract attention!

 

[lacymarie7575]

Ya. Totally have to use discretion and common sense when vaping around other people. Some people could get offended, and as previously mentioned.. wouldn't want to spoil someone's "fancy dinner" or something.




"PTCCCYYIU" (Personal Tasty Concentrated Cup Cake Yum Yums Inhalation Unit) sounds way better if you ask me than "E-Death Stick" !

(totally going to have to mix up cupcake flavor now...)

I love it! Cup cake in a stick! YYYYUUUUMMMMM

 

[xg4bx]

That's pretty much the essence of the unanswerable question that was tossed around in a previous thread.

I'm sure that sheer rebelliousness is an issue for a few, but the more rational counterpoint is that restricting one's vaping to non-smoking areas is a tacit admission that we belong in the same leper colonies as smokers, that the vapor we exhale contains the same toxins as tobacco smoke, that as long as act like smokers, vaping will be dismissed in intellectually lazy, non-smoking minds as a gimmick--yet another scheme by smokers to avoid the regulation, taxation, persecution and general damnation they deserve.

That argument can't be dismissed out of hand, as can't the other: that belligerent, in-your-face vaping as a statement of one's personal right to do so will only slam the door on whatever openness of mind as may still exist. It's a classic catch-22.

i think it's actually a negative. to be frank, it makes one look like a junkie who can't go 5 minutes without their fix. i can see people thinking "look, it's made them MORE addicted!"

i don't vape where i wasn't able to smoke. i'm not a fiend who can't control themselves for the 30 minutes i'm in stop&shop or out having dinner. it's just tacky and it reaches the level of becoming a pacifier. sure you're not harming anybody but neither would somebody who feels like shooting up smack.there's a time and place for everything.

i'm beginning to think that vaping is a bigger addiction than smoking. cigs have a built in life span but e-cigs can keep going and going, pumping more and more nicotine into you, thus increasing your addiction.

 

[wv2win]

i think it's actually a negative. to be frank, it makes one look like a junkie who can't go 5 minutes without their fix. i can see people thinking "look, it's made them MORE addicted!"

i don't vape where i wasn't able to smoke. i'm not a fiend who can't control themselves for the 30 minutes i'm in stop&shop or out having dinner. it's just tacky and it reaches the level of becoming a pacifier. sure you're not harming anybody but neither would somebody who feels like shooting up smack.there's a time and place for everything.

i'm beginning to think that vaping is a bigger addiction than smoking. cigs have a built in life span but e-cigs can keep going and going, pumping more and more nicotine into you, thus increasing your addiction.

More thinking like this and they will definitely be banned.

 

[Automaton]

i think it's actually a negative. to be frank, it makes one look like a junkie who can't go 5 minutes without their fix. i can see people thinking "look, it's made them MORE addicted!"

i don't vape where i wasn't able to smoke. i'm not a fiend who can't control themselves for the 30 minutes i'm in stop&shop or out having dinner. it's just tacky and it reaches the level of becoming a pacifier. sure you're not harming anybody but neither would somebody who feels like shooting up smack.there's a time and place for everything.

i'm beginning to think that vaping is a bigger addiction than smoking. cigs have a built in life span but e-cigs can keep going and going, pumping more and more nicotine into you, thus increasing your addiction.

If I want to have a leisurely vape while I'm sipping my coffee and the manager doesn't care, how am I any more or less of a junkie than I would be if I went outside?

Adhering to arbitrary social mores doesn't make you less of a junkie, sorry. You can certainly do it if it makes you more comfortable - but don't fool yourself.

I forget to vape for hours on end sometimes. I NEVER did that when I smoked. Every half hour, it was like a timer went off in my head. And I don't get that with e-cigs, despite having enough juice to vape a small country, and enough hardware for 4 people to have a basic kit.

E-cigs are a hobby for some, probably because it helps them stay interested in e-cigs, and away from cigs. But I see precious little evidence that it increases the addiction. I see precious few people vaping more, or higher strength, than they did at the start. Most actually decrease over time. A lucky few even stop completely by accident.

Most also take fewer consecutive drags, more often, than they did with cigs, which may make it look like they are vaping more than they smoked, when they aren't.

Whether I go outside, or keep my .... planted in a nice comfy chair, I am equally as much an addict. Trying to say otherwise is kind of like saying ultra-light smokers, or people smoking under 5 years, or people smoking under 15 a day, aren't really addicted. It's just bogus.

I can go five minutes. I can go entire days, and have. But if I don't want to, and nobody cares, and I'm not hurting anyone, why should I have to because of some social construct?

 

[some87]

i love to draw attention to myself when im vapeing because i most likely be able to get anybody else thats smokeing into vapeing. its a good thing to start talking with somebody.

 

[Polioud]

Ya know, I was just thinking about this.

I'm going into Mod Land, due to killing eGo's with my LR atties. I got over feeling weird in public with my Kr808's, and my eGo's. But I am not sure how I'll feel pulling out a shiny metal tube and taking a hit off it in public, ya know? I'm much more afraid of the cops eyeing me than I am with my more "standard" e-cigs.

I still feel weird about vaping a mod in public.

Any modsters who vape in public?

GGTS + AVS in clubs / bars / coffee shops / everywhere: a pickup artist's dream

 

[jmanning]

Frankly, I take great pride in being a vapor and being off analogs for 2 1/2 months. I vape anywhere with my Omega and have only had positive comments and questions about it. Nothing negative, yet. I started with an eGo and worked my way up to the Omega. What would feel uncomfortable and silly to me would be a PV that looked like an analog. I am not a smoker and don't want to look like one.

 

[irefine]

i think it's actually a negative. to be frank, it makes one look like a junkie who can't go 5 minutes without their fix.

If I spent my time worrying about what people who don't know me think of me, I wouldn't have time to vape!

 

[wv2win]

..........What would feel uncomfortable and silly to me would be a PV that looked like an analog. I am not a smoker and don't want to look like one.

jmanning, I couldn't have said it better!! To me, beyond the much better performance of a mod, is the fact that no one thinks I am still smoking. And it's a heck of a lot easier to educte non-smokers to the benefits of vaping when using a mod since it doesn't look like an analog.

 

[Raynen]

I love vaping! I don't mind it in public, I just don't take as big of hits, so the smoke doesn't cause as much attention. But then you get the non-believers that try their best to tear apart this quitting method...

 

[pseudus]

...you get the non-believers that try their best to tear apart this quitting method...

I'm with you, it amazes me! It's the people close to me that are most skeptical and ....ty about it. Everybody else is supportive and happy or me. I hven't ad an analog since I got my Go, and I feel pretty confident, I wont have one ever again.

 

[Automaton]

I love vaping! I don't mind it in public, I just don't take as big of hits, so the smoke doesn't cause as much attention. But then you get the non-believers that try their best to tear apart this quitting method...

I've never understood that. Well, I do on a logical level, but not on an intrinsic level.

Ex-smokers who quit the hard way (anything other than vaping, basically) are jealous that it either wasn't around when they quit, or that they didn't know about it. Ex-smokers who quit the hard way are the people most of us get the most flack from. Like we should be sorry for not wanting to be in pain, and finding something that works for us. Sorry, but I just wasn't willing or able to go through being a total nightmare for months on end to quit. Sorry if that offends anyone.

Non-smokers will never get it, but some of them are supportive. It's one of those things where they have to be bright enough realize that just because they see "smoke" doesn't mean it is smoking. Some people aren't. And they're the critical ones.

But smokers? I never get any flack from them. They understand the addiction, and they also understand why I didn't quit the hard way. Not all of us can.

People try to fit everyone into the same box, but how we deal with addiction isn't the same across the board. Saying otherwise is kind of like insisting that everyone wear the same size shoes. You can do it, but it's a blatant dismissal of reality.

 

[deback]

I've never understood that. Well, I do on a logical level, but not on an intrinsic level.

Ex-smokers who quit the hard way (anything other than vaping, basically) are jealous that it either wasn't around when they quit, or that they didn't know about it. Ex-smokers who quit the hard way are the people most of us get the most flack from. Like we should be sorry for not wanting to be in pain, and finding something that works for us. Sorry, but I just wasn't willing or able to go through being a total nightmare for months on end to quit. Sorry if that offends anyone.

I quit smoking in 2007 using Chantix, and then I started smoking again when tax clients started calling constantly around January 25th. I've since regretted that I bought that first pack and smoked one cigarette per day for the next three weeks, then bought another pack that lasted for two weeks, then another, etc, until I was smoking a pack a day by the end of May. But now that I'm into vaping (and love it), I no longer regret that I started smoking again. I just wish I would have known about PVs in early 2008 -- and could have bought the batteries (that are available now) back then. Then my quit date would still be July 3, 2007!