Please, don't vape where you can't smoke

[mick11]

This is a very interesting discussion. I think in the end, it is up to each individual to decide how they want to handle public situations.

With that said, I come down on the side of those who refuse to just be shoved in to the smoker category and the accompanying humiliation and "lesser" label that go with it. A militant "in-your-face" attitude virtually ensures you will have confrontations, and many if not most, will not go well for you or the general perception of vaping.

On the other hand, an educated, and self-assured confidence in what you are doing (while carefully trying not to cross the line to arrogance), has proven at least for me, to provide unlimited opportunities for educating and exposing this amazing technology. As a result, I have personally introduced at least a dozen current vapers in only two months time. And I am starting to find out after the fact that many more have begun vaping without me knowing it.

Do what is comfortable for you, this change was for YOU! save yourself first. Be respectful of even the willfully ignorant, but do not let them get in the way of your transformation and speak out as strongly as your conscience tells you to. As a community we should never have to look back and think...if we had only......

Stand up for your right to vape

 

[JoeD4]

I second that!!

I spent the last 3 out of 4 weekends in Chicago. We seemed to have dined each night at a different bar/restaurant and each time, I asked when they were taking my drink order if they allowed 'nicotine inhalers' to be used in their establishments.
All but one at least knew of them & allowed it, one even said "sure! We even had a guy over in the corner using one earlier".
The one place that hadn't heard of them, I did a quick 30 second explanation of them, politely assuring them it wasn't breaking the smoking ban and all was ok.

Not wanting to look like I was doing an "in your face" act, I did hold the vaper a little longer than I normally do and exhaled downward, but IMHO, that was a small price to pay for keeping the peace and being allowed to use it.

Maybe it's just me, but how can I say it should be up to the business owner to decide if s/he wants to allow smoking or not, and at least not give them the curtesy of allowing vaping if they so desire.

I think many, maybe not all, but many people are scared of it. It looks like smoking and with the current socio-political climate regarding smoking, well, that's just feeding the fear. I have found that most people will respond positively if I demonstrate that I am concerned for them and their well being by: asking if they mind, and then educating them a bit. I've only had one person say no and that was my best friends wife. Kind of an odd scene. When I asked her if she minded she said "Blow it at the cat and see how he reacts." Of course the cat ran away because to him, a cloud of vapor looks like a white object the size of a football coming at him and cats are jumpy in the first place. But I respected her wishes and her cat's "judgement".

 

[auTONYmous]

Interestingly enough, I'm a vaper, my wife is not (and never was a smoker either). She supports my vaping, and I have been known to step outside to vape, just to keep the peace (usually at church). I also step outside with smokers to show it off, hand out some cards, try to win some converts and get the word out. BUT...I do vape when and where I want for the most part. I like stealth vaping. Feels like I'm getting away with something. {devilish grin}

However, the other day, we were at a non-smoking restaurant, and I did my usual (like others have stated), 1 or 2 puffs every 10 minutes or so, then put it away. She asked my "why are you doing that in here?"

So, I looked at her quizzically, and stated "dear, I would expect that from the manager, but I thought we've been over this before..."

PS: The ModernVapor 902 is matte black with a grey cherry that lights up blue. Get one. In your hand it looks like an ink pen. Put it to your mouth, puff out a little cloud, and get ready to 'splain yourself, Lucy. Folks are gonna want to know what the F you just did...

 

[Chiqa]

If I vape at all in a public place where smoking isn't allowed, I do it very discreetly. I agree that too many people who are uninformed would think it looks like smoking. I do have to say that stealth-vaping at Home Depot takes all the stress out of picking out tile, though ;-)

I found Sportsmans Warehouse very accommodating on this subject after I explained to the employees( one of whom was acquainted with it) what I was doing.

 

[gerry81611]

I agree, until someone pays me to cause a fuss and educate people, its easier to just go outside. plus then i can hang out with my analog buddies

 

[Cuco3]

Stealth Vaping is so important; don't make a big deal and start vaping just to draw attention.

If the owner of the property doesn't want you vaping, that's fine.

With that said: I'd have an issue if someone with no authority was trying in infringe upon my rights to not smoke in a smoking area. Surely I would leave as to be the bigger man and not cause problems, but not without letting that person know that they're dead wrong to group vaping with smoking.

As smokers, it's been too long that we've been treated and looked down as inferior to the rest of society. We've been kicked out restaurant by laws, paid outrageous taxes on our cigarettes, and even have had people making weird faces at us anytime we smoked in a SMOKING SECTION --- all just to do something that never proved to hurt or kill any person around us!

Smokers/Vaporers ARE PEOPLE, TOO!

Don't get me wrong, though: I enjoy the pleasures of going outside to smoke and I still do when I vape; I don't want things to change just because I can smoke anywhere now (although that does have its perks).

 

[oldbroad]

I totally don't agree! When I go to a resturant that is non-smoking, I show the server and if necessary, the manager my PV, explain what it is and that it produces water vapor, not smoke. If they say no, then I don't vape in the resturant. But to automatically act and state through your actions that vaping is just the same as smoking, and that is what you are doing, then vaping WILL NEVER be accepted as a safe alternative to smoking. If you want vaping and smoking to be considered equally bad, then act like it is equally bad.

EXACTLY!!! I WILL NOT HIDE my vaping...it harms NO one and if I sneak and act stealthily, then it could be assumed that i'm doing something "wrong".I asked permission of a restaurant, they said "no I couldn't" because the other patrons might not like it (?!!!) so I politely told the manager that he just lost a patron...
I'm seriously considering going to any restaurant of my choice and vaping whether anyone likes it or not...I'm doing NOTHING illegal or harmful to anyone.

 

[Cuco3]

Smokers are picked on by society. We pay taxes, are forced to leave buildings by law where smoking was previously allowed for years, and still get weird looks when we smoke in areas where you are allowed to smoke (people always shoot me a weird look in the Casinos poker tables despite the fact that they should expect people to be smoking in a Casino).

Quite frankly, I stopped caring if someone was offended by me smoking because I did my best to make sure I didn't bother them (ex, I'd look up and blow the smoke in the air) and they still shot me weird looks or obnoxious gestures to let me know that me smoking was offending them.

Obviously this was before I started vaping, but if you vape and people are still shooting weird looks at you, don't feel ashamed. I don't condone petty arguments or violence, especially over a vapor, but at what point do we draw the line and show society that smokers are not second-class citizens.

 

[smoo]

I love my ecig, I really do, but I don't vape anywhere smoking isn't allowed.

The other night at a restaurant, someone nearby had an ecig. This was the first one I had seen in the wild, other than my own. The restaurant was non smoking and it really freaked out a lot of the patrons. The manager or whomever came over, after complaints by customers, that he would need to go outside. His vaping was conspicuous.

Healthier than smoking or not, when vaping, it LOOKS like you're smoking and that's the issue for most non-smokers/non-vapers out there. I don't want these things drawing negative attention. A few people freaking out and poof, this ecig bubble could burst. Let's face it, laws get passed because of people who make a stink, laws like no smoking on the street in certain cities! I am really afraid the whole ecig issues is one Fox News story away from being banned because, 'it's so bad, the FDA won't even rate it a tobacco product'!. Really, think about it.

SO I say, be accommodating to those who don't know and don't vape where you can't smoke, unless it's really known in your area and in that establishment.

I went outside to vape with the guy who was asked to go outside to "smoke". He had some genericish looking ecig, I didn't ask. So I pull out my silver bullet 6v and have a vape with him.

His looked like a cigarette, was shaped like a cigarette and people thought it was a cigarette and that is, what I told him, part of the problem. There are a lot of people who hate smoking, yes hate. And what they hate even more is if they see somebody smoking in a place where smoking isn't allowed and doing so brazenly. It's not the same thing, but it's similar in a way to a toy gun. We know they're way safer than the real thing, but when in public, you don't pull out a toy gun and act like it's a real gun. It freaks people out.

So please, let's be overly considerate of those who don't know about ecigs and vaping. If you can't smoke there, don't vape there. Of course there are exceptions, but when there are people who look like they don't know how to use email (people who are more likely to call their congressmen and senators) refrain from conspicuous indoor public building vaping.

Agree or not, please consider the ramifications.

Thanks.

So good I agree with you~!!

 

[Jonesin]

I prefer to refer to it as "ninja vaping" instead of "discreet". Actually, I think it's semi-important to vape in areas that don't accept cigs so when I am asked I can educate instead of deal with fear mongers. I mean, this is all IMHFO but I have educated quite a few people who have asked. Then again, I vape a black 510 with a blue LED so it doesn't really look like a cig so there's that.

I do vape on the public bus, Metro rail system, Wal-Mart/store, etc but I don't make it obvious and usually hold it in long enough so when I exhale there is very little vapor left. I don't "throw it in anybodies face" by blowing big clouds up unless I am walking down the street. On a side note I love to hear people "cough" or wave their hand in their face while waiting for a blast of cig smoke and they don't get it while walking down the street.

If I was asked to not do it in an establishment then I wouldn't but I'm not pushing my habit on others like I did with 2nd hand cig smoke. Again, this is my opinion and my opinion is just that...mine. I mean no disrespect to any that don't agree.

 

[Slickstick]

I vaped in a Virginia courthouse the other day. Purposely left my cell phone in my truck, decided to TRY to get my pv in. After going through the metal detector, the officer asked if it was one of those e-cigs. I said it is more like my personal nicotine vaporizer. he said never seen one that looked like mine. (almost like a pipebomb) I explained it was a mod for a bigger battery. I proceeded to vape for ten minutes in the hallway while gladly explaining the benefits of vaping over smoking to a few people. (I did not actually vape inside the courtroom itself)

Now, if I can get away with vaping in walmart, school, libraries, petsmart, mcdonalds, ci'ci's, Busch Gardens, Ukrops, CVS, hospitals, AND a COURTHOUSE, among many other smoke free public establishments, what is the harm? I say get the word out! If a manager asked me to stop using it in their establishment, I would, but I have never came across any negativity.

 

[Chiqa]

I have been vaping in places Like home depot, sportsmans warheouse , the grocery store etc, more of the ninja vaping style. Outside I go for big vapor, in my car vape away. To date no one has asked me about it(

 

[Soundwave]

I vap with this brand called ehealth cigarette (only until my 510 ordered this morning gets to my doorstep for my birthday) inside at my work. A hospital. I have been asked what it was and I simply replied "Its fake smoke and it delivers nicotine like a patch but a better way" most people think its really cool and end up asking more and want me to take it apart and show them.

The other thing is they will commend me for quitting smoking! I have never had negative attitude except for by certain family members that want me to not have any "bad habits" at all. "Why don't you just quit all together it seems stupid to me."

They obviously have never smoked analogs in their life so they don't understand the difficulty of quitting.

 

[ivyjhen]

The only really compromising place I've used my PV, (801 pen style) Was in the emergency room of my local hospital awaiting 7 stitches on my left hand. I was stealthy about it, but three hours sitting there, waiting for my name to be called was a bit much. So I broke out the 801 and those that noticed pretty much thought I was chewing on a pen. I was discrete about the vapor itself and no-one seemed to smell it or see it. Would I do it again? You betcha.

 

[Jaka]

Honestly, I don't care if it offends their nostrils. When the stench from cheap perfume is banned ...perhaps I give a rats behind.

Seconded! I'm allergic to one of the commonest fixatives used in perfume.

 

[Poeia]

I think it's a question of know where you are and who is around you.

At work, I told them I quit a few weeks after I did it. While I still went outside once on most days so I could chat with my smoking buddy, the rest of the time I vaped in my office with the door open. But I knew that everyone there was delighted for me and wouldn't be upset.

Walking down the street, I'm vaping and, if you don't like it, tough. I felt the same way when I smoked. (And I always giggled when standing at a street corner and someone glared at me and turned so he or she could get a proper lungful of exhaust as a bus went past.)

In a store, I've taken a puff or two in a dressing room or when I was alone in an area, but I didn't do it on the main floor.

But in a restaurant, I think it's just wrong. People have the right to eat their dinners without being intruded on. I'd be angry if someone sprayed perfume around even if they didn't do it very near me. I'd be wondering if the air currents were going to bring it my way and if it was one of the many scents I'm allergic to -- it would take away some of my enjoyment in the meal.

 

[zoiDman]

Right you are, we don't need negative attention.

I agree fully. Too many people don't understand what an e-Cig is and freak out when they see a light on the end of what they see as some sort of analog and then "smoke" coming out of a persons mouth.

My concept is to lay low and fly under the radar. If someplace is marked No Smoking, I don't vape there.

 

[haznugadget]

Just becaues you can dosent mean you should

 

[Icebaron]

No smoking laws offend me. I always ask for the smoking section now that I vape, but if there is none, I will vape. It is my revenge for years of standing outside in hot/cold/rain smoking because an entire city decides a private business cannot allow anyone to smoke in their establishment.

 

[Sethari]

Just becaues you can dosent mean you should

Amen.

For me, there’s a line between what I am allowed to do and what I should do. I could vape wherever I please, but to do so without concern for the consequences would be discourteous and disrespectful to the other people whom you are demanding those same considerations from. Most people have no idea what an electric cigarette is. They have no reason to perceive it as harmless, even if they recognize that it’s not an analog. Their ignorance isn’t our fault, but we need to understand and expect it. Cigarettes are toxic and second hand smoke is dangerous. To their perspective, you are poisoning the air in a place where they should not have to be subjected to that. Their objection is perfectly reasonable and some measure of indignation is to be expected. Remember, we’re not doing anything wrong but they don’t know that until we explain it to them. A little patience and understanding goes a long way.

Yes, there are belligerents who won’t care what you have to say. To hell with them. My personal freedom isn’t there to be compromised by hatful, small minded philistines. The obvious exceptions are the owners and employees of whatever venue I happen to be in. While I’m not doing anything wrong, a waitress cannot be expected to waste her time explaining that to other patrons. Would you vape in someone’s home if they asked you not to? Even if you’re the sort of person who would, I suspect you’d do so surreptitiously. The same thing applies to places of businesses. If an employee asks you to stop, try to imagine the situation from the employee’s perspective. They want to deal with righteous belligerence just as much as you do. Be courteous.

To date, I have yet to be asked to stop. I have had people express concern, which I have translated into interest and occasionally envy from former smokers who “wish that had been around when I was trying to quit.” Mostly, I encounter people who are simply curious. I do get the occasional, “why not just quit?” to which I reply “I don’t want to quit but I do want to live.”