For sure - and I hope I was clear that a great deal of my customers were workaday blue collar folks who often had to scrape for change to buy their weekly supply and I have every sympathy for them (on the vaping issue).
And since so much legislation was pushed back (even here in WA, there were several taxation initiatives that never made it to the legislative floor, contributing to the “chicken little” personality those of us trying to generate awareness were perceived to have) I can also understand the naïveté some may possess that if it isn’t being limited today, it may get limited down the road, but not today, and today is what matters.
Why has the vaping industry seemingly failed so badly at generating awareness, though? I have seen remarks that The Industry did not take initiative and let the responsibility fall onto the shoulders of vapers. According to “common knowledge” it seems the Industry was busy making money instead of working to acquire lobbyists, etc.
But on the flip side of that, the Enemy of vaping has a vast war chest that the vapers do not, correct? A few YouTube channels and niche websites are no match for advertising resources that can reach millions with a snap of the finger.
So I do understand that the everyday person who happens to vape is not necessarily complicit in the failure of securing the future of vaping. The tragedy is that so many people who did transition away from cigarettes to vaping understand the drastic improvement of their quality of life - perhaps even extending its length - which makes this literally a life and death issue, and now, due to circumstances beyond their control, will see it diminished.
Perhaps I could include one small argument on behalf of user engagement: whereas smoking meant buying the cigarettes and a lighter, not requiring much forethought or expertise, choosing a vape and a favored (I meant “favored” and not “flavored”) eliquid does require a little bit more premeditation, and I would think, understanding of how vaping works in general (for instance, when I smoked, I never thought about what constituted the material inside the filter). I never spent time talking to the 7/11 clerk about the variation between a Marlboro and Camels. I also understand that not every engagement at a B&M meant a lengthy discussion about the nature of vaping but there was *some*. I would think the culture around vaping would at least contribute to more awareness by default, but as it has been said over and over again, including by me, a lot of vape shops and their employees also seem to be in the dark or in denial of the PMTA altogether. Why is that?