***Sorry for the length. I kind of ranted a bit, but I am angry, after all.***
I agree with those who feel that vaping publicly is not really a great idea. I kind of wonder if people had been treating e-cigs like regular cigs, thus not drawing undue attention to them, if we'd be in this mess of bans left and right.
I vape not to be able to get my nicotine fix at work (can't vape there, anyway) or at a bar (I don't go to many bars), but rather because I enjoy smoking and I wanted to try an alternative that would enable me to worry less about my health.
The nice thing about vaping is that it is oderless and does not leave any residue on walls or in fabric. Any public bans would prevent vaping in public work, bars, restaurants, stores, etc. but we could easily continue to vape in "private public" places, like motel rooms. Who would know?
You can also vape secretly. If you hold you e-cig a certain way, thus blocking the LED from view, and you hold the vapor in your lungs or mouth a little longer, nobody would be the wiser. The vapor you exhale would be minimal, nobody would smell it, and nobody would have any idea what you're doing.
It's a shame so many legislators are so closed off to the idea that vaping might be OK. It's also sad that so many have bought into the stupid argument that vaping is attractive to minors. I don't know too many kids with credit cards who can ring up $50-$200 or more in starter kids, carts, attys, juice, etc. It's way cheaper and easier to find some 7-11 or an out-of-the-way deli willing to sell a pack of Marlboros to a group of 13-year olds than to try to set yourself up at that age with an e-cig collection.
It's also a shame that no government agency is moving more quickly to run legitimate lab tests on e-cigs and vapor. Nobody really knows how safe these things are. We could all be soooo wrong about these being a "healthier alternative" to smoking. If we were all duped into simply switching poisons, then those who have been working to ban e-cigs from public use would actually be heroes. But to ban something that is not clearly dangerous seems ignorant and short-sighted.
I would be so much more comfortable if these banning bills included some kind of phrasing that would reverse the ban if, and when, e-cigs turned out to be safe. But that is not going to happen. That kind of thinking is far too progressive for our legislators.
Animal growth hormones and nano-particles have not been proven to be 100% for human consumption, yet there are no plans to ban these from the marketplace. Nano technology is used in all sorts of consumer products. "Consumer Reports" magazine even pointed out that the nano particles used to increase the effectiveness of sunscreen lotion could possibly enter the bloodstream through cuts and scratches, and might be small enough to pass through the protective membrane surrounding and protecting our brains. We have no idea what kind of harmful effects that could have on us. But no senators or assembly people are calling for a halt on the use of nano technology.
Hypocrites, fear mongers, and panderers. That's who we rely on to run our country and make our laws. Today's news reported that used car salesmen are more trusted than politicians. This is a sad state of affairs.
Had I lived in New Jersey, I would certainly never cast a vote in favor of reelecting ANYONE who voted to ban e-cigs in any way. I might never choose to vape in public, but I cannot support the idea that the choice to do so is not mine.
If they ban them in the workplace, it's probably because someone decided to try to make a point by doing exactly what I described above....
