Since I started Vaping - Reaction from people around me

[RubenX]

Most people are indifferent and don't really care. But I found it rather interesting that both fellow smokers and militant smoking haters told me similar comments:

- "You gonna end up smoking more with that thing".

- "If you are doing it to quit, then yes".

The funnier by far was this smoker hater that saw me vaping from a distance @ the parking lot and started coughing. He said "you know there are designated smoking areas right? I have asthma and I'm very sensitive to cigarette smoke". And I was vaping with a tiny 4081....lol

I understand militant smoker haters, they are uninformed. But with fellow smokers I don't know what to think. I'm gonna go ahead and name this phenomena the "E-Hate"... a mixture of ignorance, misinformation and resistance to change.

I'm sure you have similar stories... let's hear them.

 

[PastaMonster]

I think I've recently experienced something like this at work. A guy brought a vape in and got a few of us interested, and he cleared it with HR supposedly. We'd been using it around our manager with no problems, but were careful not to blow plumes of stuff in the office. Well we started opening up and sharing it with other people. Word came down that certain people were saying it was unfair that we could "smoke at our desks while at work", and now we're not able to use them on the work floor, but can still use it in the break rooms. They tried to use some typical policy BS on top of it to make it seem legit (not supposed to have USB devices, and since these can be plugged into usb to charge they're using that policy to back it up).

I'm pretty sure this all started with some smokers noticing us and reporting us directly to the upper facilities management, and we got pulled aside and told we couldn't use them at our desks anymore. It's interesting how people react to something they don't know anything about, and have such a negative reaction to something different. I guess this is how prejudice works.

 

[otrpu]

I find most people these days have far too much to say about what other people do. Reminds me of an ole saying, "Shoemaker, tend thy last". JMHO

Cheers,
otrpu

 

[xg4bx]

i'm honest about it, i love smoking and don't want a horrible death from cancer.

 

[MasterVapper]

I find that most people just look at me weird, and I get the feeling that they think I'm doing drugs or smoking crack. LOL I have showed the e-cig to many of my smoking co-workers, and as of yet none of them have purchased or spent the time to investigate the products. I guess you just can't teach an old dog new tricks!

 

[ScottinSoCal]

I went rapidly through the phases most people take a while to do, but it's been useful. My 510 PCC kit is currently on loan to someone at work, until the one she ordered comes in. My eGo got passed on to my BIL. My GLV2 Mini went to my little sister. The only comments I've gotten (besides interest and questions) is that my electronic cigarettes keep getting bigger and bigger. I'm currently using a ProVari with a MAP tank or XL CE2 cartos. It's a good 8' long and about 1" around - much bigger than a cigarette. But also much more satisfying and healthier for me.

 

[Brewlady]

Ruben, when you encounter smokers and antis in public, this is a great opportunity to educate them. The more accurate information that you can provide to people, the better for all of us. Please consider ordering the ECF business cards (FREE, you just pay for shipping), and if you can, print up a few of these tri-fold brochures. http://www.casaa.org/files/CASAA-Ecig-TriFold-Brochure.pdf

I carry a few new prefilled carts with me, so if anyone is really interested, I ask them if they'd like to try it, and then hand them a business card.

 

[terramorph]

Yeah, what's funny for me is how other smokers react. The nonsmokers at work and my friends that don't smoke are really happy for me! The smokers are the ones that are the most negative! I have a couple friends that smoke and seem sincere about trying vaping, since I've been tobacco-free 2 and half months. The rest are like, "Oh, it's not really any different from smoking" or "I tried one of those one time, and it gave me asthma for a week" or they want to just use my vape for a couple quick drags so they don't have to go out in the cold, but say they don't want to switch over. It drives me nuts sometimes.

 

[Gardner808]

For me most of the reactions have been: "What the hell is that?"

So I show them and tell them. And they say: "Oh. I've heard about those. Congrats on stopping smoking."

So far not one negative reaction or someone getting in my face for "smoking" where I shouldn't be.

 

[wv2win]

Most people are indifferent and don't really care. But I found it rather interesting that both fellow smokers and militant smoking haters told me similar comments:

- "You gonna end up smoking more with that thing".

- "If you are doing it to quit, then yes".

The funnier by far was this smoker hater that saw me vaping from a distance @ the parking lot and started coughing. He said "you know there are designated smoking areas right? I have asthma and I'm very sensitive to cigarette smoke". And I was vaping with a tiny 4081....lol

I understand militant smoker haters, they are uninformed. But with fellow smokers I don't know what to think. I'm gonna go ahead and name this phenomena the "E-Hate"... a mixture of ignorance, misinformation and resistance to change.

I'm sure you have similar stories... let's hear them.

One of the big advantages to vaping with a 5 volt or VV PV is that it looks nothing like an analog. No one thinks I am smoking and the vast majority have a positive reaction. In a worst case sceniaro I tell people it is an inhaler supported (which is true) by my doctor to keep me away from analogs.

 

[DaveP]

If it looks like a duck ...

People are highly opinionated. If they see "smoke", it's a cigarette to them. When people start in on me about how it's just another habit, I explain to them how it works. It's like a fog machine that delivers nicotine only, with flavorings. The output is mostly water vapor produced by the warming of propylene glycol, a liquid used in hospital breathing treatments to deliver medication in a fog to the lungs in patients with asthma and emphysema. The exhaled vapor contains only minute amounts of nicotine, since most is absorbed by the mucous membranes and the lungs.

They still say, "You are still addicted to nicotine!" I tell them, yes, I am, but without the carcinogens associated with tobacco, no second hand smoke to offend people nearby, and the option to move down to lower and lower nicotine ranges until I hit zero. Then it's just a hand to mouth habit that can be broken easily.

By the time I get through all that, they begin to talk about their brother-in-law who smokes two packs a day and needs to know about something like this. At that point, I point them to a web site for their BIL.

 

[WolfMemnoch]

I haven't come across the militants/extremes of either camp 'yet' being the key word. The only thing I have noticed is that when I used to smoke there was that unspoken code that being a smoker you could relate to one another. Now that I've switched to vape, those same smokers are more interested in cutting it than they are in keeping it. So that is where I find it to be completely interesting, seeing/experiencing it from both sides.

One minor positive story so far:
The SO and I went out to eat yesterday so as we're walking we stop a bit away from the doors while he finishes his analog. Meanwhile I'm enjoying my 510 Mega. The timing was just right that one of the employees thought we were going to be walking right in, so he was holding the door until he looked up and said, "Oh you two are still smoking". Naturally I say in a gentle but joking tone, "Correction, he's smoking, I'm vaping". "Is that what that's called?" "Yup". I went ahead and wrote down some information for him, including the web addy of this board as he seemed quite interested.

Definitely going to have to pick up some of the cards from this site as I can easily see this dialog happening where ever I go and I really don't mind opening dialogue, positive or negative. I just take the same stance that having a lot of piercings has taught me. If someone asks, inform. If someone comes off as negative, address it with interest as there's a chance someone else similar to me has given the wrong first impression.