I've had mostly positive reactions to my PV out in public but have encountered a few people who weren't so accepting. What have you guys encountered? How do you deal with people who are negative about vaping?
Public perspective of vapors
- Thread starter Longfellow110
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
I have never really had a negative experience with vaping in public. Lots of people ask about them and I don't mind that at all. I personally regret ever smoking around people in public because until I quit, I didn't realize just how bad they smelled. I think if someone did say something negative, I would just be polite and explain to them that I was vaping because I wanted a healthier alternative to smoking and that this is the future that more and more people are getting involved in. I think people react to the way we handle the situation. Now if someone tries to take it away from me.... that's a whole different approach we'd be discussing. 
I usually ask them in my best raspy like Stoner voice impression, and say "Want a Hit? It's fracking good!!" while holding it out towards them. Then I usually laugh and walk my merry way.
I guess I'm not the approachable type
I've never had a stranger say a thing about my vaping. The closest thing to a negative reaction was a dirty look, but honestly I don't care what others think. I'm always respectful of others and never vape in an enclosed public space, so if they don't like vaping... that's their problem, not mine
I've never had a stranger say a thing about my vaping. The closest thing to a negative reaction was a dirty look, but honestly I don't care what others think. I'm always respectful of others and never vape in an enclosed public space, so if they don't like vaping... that's their problem, not mine
I've not had a negative experience, either! Since I'm "retired" now, I don't get out much, and I don't really need to get many other people involved. I did have a pretty cool experience though, and that was at a local Perkins. As I was leaving I pulled out my gear and was starting to vape when I noticed it was raining and I would have to stand under the awning for a moment. Well, that is where there were a couple guys smoking. So I mentioned that I had stopped smoking in favor of vaping, and I noticed that one of the two was also vaping a cigalike. So we got into a cool discussion and I ended up giving him a card from my favorite vendor. I treat vaping in public places the same as I did smoking. I'm normally a non-confrontational kind of guy, so if I can minimize my chances of losing my temper we all come away with no handcuffs! 
I always find it best to treat people the way I want to be treated. That's just the way I was raised and they way I raised my children.
I haven't been vaping long, so my only "public" experiences have been with my extremely supportive friends.
I do anticipate questions and concerns from strangers who think I'm smoking, however, so I made some business card-sized brochures to give to inquirers. Basically, they include the following info:
I'm not smoking, I'm using a personal vaporizer. That means no tobacco, no smoke, no tar, no carbon monoxide, etc. The flavored vapor is made of safe, food-grade ingredients. Most vapers are smokers or former smokers seeking a safer and cleaner alternative to smoking. In a 2011 survey, more than 90% of PV users reported that it helped them decrease or quit smoking, and more than 70% no longer smoke.
It's got a big "No Smoking" logo on the front.
If someone wants to gripe, I want to convince them vaping is awesome.
I do anticipate questions and concerns from strangers who think I'm smoking, however, so I made some business card-sized brochures to give to inquirers. Basically, they include the following info:
I'm not smoking, I'm using a personal vaporizer. That means no tobacco, no smoke, no tar, no carbon monoxide, etc. The flavored vapor is made of safe, food-grade ingredients. Most vapers are smokers or former smokers seeking a safer and cleaner alternative to smoking. In a 2011 survey, more than 90% of PV users reported that it helped them decrease or quit smoking, and more than 70% no longer smoke.
It's got a big "No Smoking" logo on the front.
If someone wants to gripe, I want to convince them vaping is awesome.
What a good idea. I think I will do something like that and maybe even include some of the places I shop on line and definitely include this forum. Thanks for the wonderful idea. Have a great day.
Go for it!
When I made my little brochure, I imagined hardcore anti-smoking activists as my most important audience. I figured these are the folks most likely to be concerned and/or annoyed, thinking that I am smoking, and most likely to approach me to express that concern or annoyance. A hardcore anti-smoker is the last person a smoker would want to meet. But as a former smoker and a vaper, I see the hardcore anti-smoker as a potential ally. If I play my cards right, allaying his fears and showing him the benefits, I believe I can win him over.
Winning anti-smoking activists over is a good move for vapers. I think these are the folks most likely to oppose vaping if they don't understand it rightly, but most likely to support vaping if we provide accurate information in a timely manner.
It's been a mixed bag for me vaping in public. There are those who are curious about my vaping rig, others who think it's neat and want to show me theirs, or ask questions about vaping in general, and of course there are those who are front-loaded with prejudice as soon as they see a cloud coming out of my mouth, and decide that I'm smoking and thus a legitimate target for their righteous condemnation. There are also those who know I'm not smoking, and denounce me for my "nicotine delivery device," and revile me as an addict, as well as insist I'm giving myself cancer with nicotine, which, as we know, is not at all the case.
Vaping in public is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get
So I continue to go about with my mech and RBA wherever I please, hoping for the positive interaction, and ready to deal with the negative ones. Sometimes I can educate people, who to start out with have a negative view of vaping, and that's neat, but sometimes there are those who's cup is already full, and cannot be reasoned with. So it's a mixed bag, like life in general.
Vaping in public is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get
So I continue to go about with my mech and RBA wherever I please, hoping for the positive interaction, and ready to deal with the negative ones. Sometimes I can educate people, who to start out with have a negative view of vaping, and that's neat, but sometimes there are those who's cup is already full, and cannot be reasoned with. So it's a mixed bag, like life in general.
I get the same reactions sometimes. I live in an area with a lot of older people and a lot of younger tourists.
Someone asked me what kind of crack pipe it was... I simply laughed and said "the expensive kind"! LOL
That is one of the best ideas I have seen yet. Way to go. Provide good information and let them go from there. Bravo!
Oh man, a lot of younger folk think that's what I'm doing!
By cracky, they better smile when they say that, the little whipper snappers! I'm only 52!!!! 
"Age and Treachery", you have been fore warned!
I've gotten some weird looks, but nobody has said anything yet. When friends ask, I just explain that I beleive it's healthier than cigarettes, and they are more than welcome to prove otherwise.
After 11 weeks off cigarettes, so far I've had two double-takes from car drivers passing by, and some old guy (meaning roughly my age) asked if he could have a hit of my "hash". No real run-ins with anyone, and nobody's been particularly curious. Surprising to me, since vaping isn't something you really see at all in this city -- I've never seen anyone with even a convenience store disposable, except at the local vape gear stores.
In case anyone in-the-wild has questions, I carry in my wallet a few sets of business cards banded together (two local brick & mortar stores, discount cards for Mount Baker and Smokeless Image, plus the cards for this forum and CASAA. I've only given out two sets of the cards, and none to a complete stranger yet.
In case anyone in-the-wild has questions, I carry in my wallet a few sets of business cards banded together (two local brick & mortar stores, discount cards for Mount Baker and Smokeless Image, plus the cards for this forum and CASAA. I've only given out two sets of the cards, and none to a complete stranger yet.
Last edited:
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
