Smokers take drags from healthy alternatives
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OK. Good article but the title is unfortunate.
I would never make the claim that vaping is "healthy".
It's by far healthier than smoking but there's a big difference.
I would never make the claim that vaping is "healthy".
It's by far healthier than smoking but there's a big difference.
Makes a change to see a reporter who's actually been talking to vapers, as opposed to reporting 2nd-hand disinformation.
My only reservation about the article is that it seems to give the impression people can vape anywhere. It may just be me, but I won't vape in any place where smoking isn't allowed. From that POV, I believe vapers should be on a par with smokers. If they can't smoke, I don't see why I should thumb my nose at them by vaping. It only generates ill-will. But that may just be me.
mac
Edit - I sent a mail congratulating her on a well-written article. (But I did point out that vapers don't claim it's healthy - just a lot less lethal than smoking).
My only reservation about the article is that it seems to give the impression people can vape anywhere. It may just be me, but I won't vape in any place where smoking isn't allowed. From that POV, I believe vapers should be on a par with smokers. If they can't smoke, I don't see why I should thumb my nose at them by vaping. It only generates ill-will. But that may just be me.
mac
Edit - I sent a mail congratulating her on a well-written article. (But I did point out that vapers don't claim it's healthy - just a lot less lethal than smoking).
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I went out Saturday night for the first time since smoking was banned here and vaped in the bars. No one batted an eye and several people asked for more info. The bartenders and managers were all aware that ecigs are still legal, but many customers weren't. By vaping inside, I was promoting that vaping is not banned along with smoking and it could inspire more people to switch. If I had limited myself to going outside, it negates part of the benefits, especially with the Wisconsin winter fast approaching. Sometimes the accessibility and ease of use is a stronger motivator than the health or cost benefits!
Is it just me or are we really starting to see more of these positive articles? I think it's starting to snowball! We got Rush, Heigl, Letterman, Deadliest Catch...who's next? I don't like the way they kept calling it "smoking" in the article though, but all in all, pretty good!
After e-mailing the journalist who wrote the article, I received a very polite reply this morning, thanking me and asking where I was. I replied, adding some more about the misinformation surrounding e-cigs, and suggesting that if she wants to know more about vapers and the media, that she check out this forum, especially the Campaigning and Success Stories sections.
Dee,
Yes, it seems as though some media people are beginning to talk to people who actually vape, rather than just repeating the FDA line ad naseum. I've e-mailed several journalists who've written positive articles simply to let them know that people do read them and appreciate them. We need to nurture the positive view of e-cigs wherever possible.
Kristin,
I can see your POV, and perhaps that does put e-cigs in a positive light. However, I can easily see many non-smokers being offended by it. Since they don't know the facts, and it's doubtful they'd even take the time to listen, they'll just assume it's yet another second-hand smoke risk to them, and we may alienate the very people we should be trying to woo to our side. I also believe that if thousands of people start vaping in bars, that'll be the signal for a nationwide ban to appear. (For our own good, of course. /sarcasm)
IMO, the health benefits of e-cigs vs cigarettes should be enough to make people switch, without the added bonus of being able to get round a ban through (what some might consider) a legal loophole. But as I say, that's just my opinion and I don't castigate anyone who disagrees with it.
mac
Dee,
Yes, it seems as though some media people are beginning to talk to people who actually vape, rather than just repeating the FDA line ad naseum. I've e-mailed several journalists who've written positive articles simply to let them know that people do read them and appreciate them. We need to nurture the positive view of e-cigs wherever possible.
Kristin,
I can see your POV, and perhaps that does put e-cigs in a positive light. However, I can easily see many non-smokers being offended by it. Since they don't know the facts, and it's doubtful they'd even take the time to listen, they'll just assume it's yet another second-hand smoke risk to them, and we may alienate the very people we should be trying to woo to our side. I also believe that if thousands of people start vaping in bars, that'll be the signal for a nationwide ban to appear. (For our own good, of course. /sarcasm)
IMO, the health benefits of e-cigs vs cigarettes should be enough to make people switch, without the added bonus of being able to get round a ban through (what some might consider) a legal loophole. But as I say, that's just my opinion and I don't castigate anyone who disagrees with it.
mac
Absent any evidence that exhaled vapor is harmful (and we have MUCH indication that it isn't), I disagree completely. The whole reason for an indoor smoking ban is because of the health risk to others. If you think it's about the image as well, then no offense, but the antis did a great job of getting to you.
The non-smokers being offended by things is what got us to this point...it's become part of our PC culture to go out of our way to NOT OFFEND anyone. In regards to smoking, this has resulted in the insane bans that keep popping up - OUTDOOR bans, bans against smoking in private cars, bans against smoking in apartment buildings.
It's rapidly coming to the part where it'll be illegal to smoke anywhere that someone can see you doing it - because we MIGHT be seen by a child, who will then instantaneously be influenced by the dirty smoker to pick up a cancer stick of their own.
We need to vape openly, in public, and show the public that just because it LOOKS like smoke, it ISN'T - and isn't offensive as smoke is.
It's rapidly coming to the part where it'll be illegal to smoke anywhere that someone can see you doing it - because we MIGHT be seen by a child, who will then instantaneously be influenced by the dirty smoker to pick up a cancer stick of their own.
We need to vape openly, in public, and show the public that just because it LOOKS like smoke, it ISN'T - and isn't offensive as smoke is.
Well, I seem to be in a minority here, but that's ok. I respect everyone else's opinion. I just think differently, and it's nothing to do with being PC (Me? Ha!!) or the antis getting to me. Here's my reasoning on vaping in general.
I wouldn't vape in front of children, partly because I wouldn't want them to pick up any habits from me, and partly because I respect the parents' right to shield their kids from smoke. Whether vapor is harmful or not, isn't the issue. It's annoying to a lot of people to have someone blow smoke in your face, that's all.
The same applies to vaping in a public place (ie an enclosed space) where my vapor is likely to bug other people.
See, that's where we differ. I think it IS offensive. Not to me, but to non-smokers. The fact that it doesn't smell or isn't harmful still doesn't change the fact that some people can't abide a smoky atmosphere. IMO, shoving it in their face is not going to do us any good at all.
And as we've seen with the current campaign by the media to stigmatise e-cigs, you can explain to people till your blue in the face that it isn't harmful, but they'll still think you're blowing 2nd-hand anti-freeze vapor into their lungs.
mac
I wouldn't vape in front of children, partly because I wouldn't want them to pick up any habits from me, and partly because I respect the parents' right to shield their kids from smoke. Whether vapor is harmful or not, isn't the issue. It's annoying to a lot of people to have someone blow smoke in your face, that's all.
The same applies to vaping in a public place (ie an enclosed space) where my vapor is likely to bug other people.
See, that's where we differ. I think it IS offensive. Not to me, but to non-smokers. The fact that it doesn't smell or isn't harmful still doesn't change the fact that some people can't abide a smoky atmosphere. IMO, shoving it in their face is not going to do us any good at all.
And as we've seen with the current campaign by the media to stigmatise e-cigs, you can explain to people till your blue in the face that it isn't harmful, but they'll still think you're blowing 2nd-hand anti-freeze vapor into their lungs.
mac
Wow, you've really been brainwashed by illogical anti reasoning.
For one, what habit would your kids "pick up" from seeing you vape? If they understand that it's a safer way to use nicotine - a legal stimulant with low health risks - rather than smoking, what is there to emulate? It's like saying they'd start binge drinking from seeing you take asprin for a hangover.
Smoke is offensive because there are (debated) studies which show second-hand smoke can cause illness, it's an eye and throat irritant to many people and some people are extremely allergic. Vapor should be nor more offensive than the steam coming off a cup of hot coffee. Are you really going to buy into the idea that just because you are doing something that LOOKs offensive YOU need to stop? I'm offended by chicks showing their g-string (eww) but they have every right to do it.
The fact of the matter is that vapor ISN'T smoke and by altering your legal, non-evasive behavior simply because of what it LOOKS like, you are letting them control you for no reason. Next thing you know, your skin color or weight offends them and your sitting in the back of the bus.
The point is to educate people and not give in. People can legally walk around with a steaming cup of legal, addictive coffee, yet we have to worry about offending people simply because of how we look. Complete anti, nanny state logic. With that kind of attitude, they'll just succeed in banning them altogether and you can go back to offending them with real smoke, as they cough and hack drramatically as they pass you standing outside in the cold, all the while you are supporting their government programs that have nothing to do with helping smokers.
The more you hide vaping, the more you act like they are as bad as smoking and should be treated as smoking, the more you support their contention that they are as dangerous as smoking and need to be banned.
People need to understand that the objection to smoking and e-cigarettes has nothing to do with health - your health or their health - for most of these people anymore. It's become all about controlling other people and power.
For one, what habit would your kids "pick up" from seeing you vape? If they understand that it's a safer way to use nicotine - a legal stimulant with low health risks - rather than smoking, what is there to emulate? It's like saying they'd start binge drinking from seeing you take asprin for a hangover.
Smoke is offensive because there are (debated) studies which show second-hand smoke can cause illness, it's an eye and throat irritant to many people and some people are extremely allergic. Vapor should be nor more offensive than the steam coming off a cup of hot coffee. Are you really going to buy into the idea that just because you are doing something that LOOKs offensive YOU need to stop? I'm offended by chicks showing their g-string (eww) but they have every right to do it.
The fact of the matter is that vapor ISN'T smoke and by altering your legal, non-evasive behavior simply because of what it LOOKS like, you are letting them control you for no reason. Next thing you know, your skin color or weight offends them and your sitting in the back of the bus.
The point is to educate people and not give in. People can legally walk around with a steaming cup of legal, addictive coffee, yet we have to worry about offending people simply because of how we look. Complete anti, nanny state logic. With that kind of attitude, they'll just succeed in banning them altogether and you can go back to offending them with real smoke, as they cough and hack drramatically as they pass you standing outside in the cold, all the while you are supporting their government programs that have nothing to do with helping smokers.
The more you hide vaping, the more you act like they are as bad as smoking and should be treated as smoking, the more you support their contention that they are as dangerous as smoking and need to be banned.
People need to understand that the objection to smoking and e-cigarettes has nothing to do with health - your health or their health - for most of these people anymore. It's become all about controlling other people and power.
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It wasn't meant to be offensive, I'm sorry you took it that way. It was meant to get you and others who still think like you to think about it. I was just as brainwashed before I started looking into the anti movement and what it has turned into. So, no, I cannot respect your views when they directly put my health and the health of millions of smokers and vapers at risk and try to take away my freedoms.
I suggest you read Velvet Glove, Iron Fist and the Tobacco Harm Reduction Yearbook.
Our best defense is educated vapers.
I suggest you read Velvet Glove, Iron Fist and the Tobacco Harm Reduction Yearbook.
Our best defense is educated vapers.
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No problem, kristen. It came across as being slightly er... 'blunt', but I accept that you didn't mean it that way. The net isn't the best method of communication and it's all too easy to misunderstand.
Believe me, I've never bought into the second-hand smoke claims, and my POV certainly isn't based on any of that stuff. Funnily enough, I was talking about this with my mother the last time I was home in scotland. (We both think our various relatives who are parents are paranoid to an extreme degree). She said, 'When you were kids, EVERYONE smoked, and they did it in front of the kids. I've never heard of anyone in our family or friends who got a smoking-related illness through it"
I'm not sure how to phrase this and not sound stupid, but my attitude is based on simple politeness. I was brought up to say Please and Thank You, be polite to others and respect their wishes. If my family, (paranoid as they are), and friends don't want me to smoke in front of their kids, I won't. And I won't vape either. To me, it would be like pushing my habit in their faces. That may sound dumb, but it's the way I am. I vape for my own health, and it's no big hardship to put it in my pocket for a while.
I understand that you want to educate people, but I feel many people have an ingrained aversion to seeing people smoke, and I don't see them changing their opinion with vaping. Even if it's explained to them to the last detail, they'll still see it as another form of a habit they prefer to avoid. And seeing it will only reinforce their dislike of the whole business.
I live in a country (italy) where the PC brigade are still regarded with a healthy scepticism, but italy has had smoking bans in cinemas and public transport since the 1960s. Even if vaping became completely legal, doing it on, say a bus or a train here, would only provoke people. That's something I think vapers should avoid.
Still, as I say, that's only my opinion.
mac
I appreciate that Mac and I'm certainly not suggesting people go out of their way to be rude. If a business owner or home owner asked me not to vape, I certainly would respect that. But I won't assume that it's not OK because some people may be offended by it.
Rather than hiding, we need to educate. We are reinforcing their dislike more when we hide and act like it's bad. The more we hide, the less chance that it will ever be accepted. If the only time non-smokers are exposed to vaping is seeing us outside with the smokers, they will never get close enough to see how benign it really is. Most non-smokers I have come across indoors think e-cigs are a great thing and like how my mocha cappuccino smells. Several said they'd tell their smoking friends about it and support it. Had I been automatically hiding outside, I would never had the opportunity for those conversations. Most non-smokers I've run across have been impressed and glad they got to see how they work and hear that they don't cause canc er or contain antifreeze.
So please don't assume that more than a few zealous antis will object. Those people will object and try to ban e-cigarettes no matter WHERE you vape and no matter how polite you are - because it has nothing to do with their or your health, it has to do with control. These people are trying to ban smoking in private cars and private homes. Do you think they won't do the same with e-cigarettes? Our only hope is to get through to the reasonable people and show them that what the anti zealots are saying is a lie.
Think of the success the antis had had getting people to think smokeless tobacco is as dangerous as smoking, because they got the law to require tobacco companies to hide the fact that smokeless tobacco is up to 99% safer. That lack of knowledge is killing millions of smokers who would otherwise switch and perpetuating the myths.
What is more important? Worrying about someone's delicate sensibilities or saving lives? Should a diabetic hide their insulin needle because it might look like they are doing illegal drugs and offend someone?
What it comes down to is that we are at greater risk of losing e-cigarettes by hiding than by getting out there and showing non-smokers that e-cigarettes don't stink and won't offend them. Smokers are pretty easy to convert, but non-smokers need to have up close demonstrations, too.
Rather than hiding, we need to educate. We are reinforcing their dislike more when we hide and act like it's bad. The more we hide, the less chance that it will ever be accepted. If the only time non-smokers are exposed to vaping is seeing us outside with the smokers, they will never get close enough to see how benign it really is. Most non-smokers I have come across indoors think e-cigs are a great thing and like how my mocha cappuccino smells. Several said they'd tell their smoking friends about it and support it. Had I been automatically hiding outside, I would never had the opportunity for those conversations. Most non-smokers I've run across have been impressed and glad they got to see how they work and hear that they don't cause canc er or contain antifreeze.
So please don't assume that more than a few zealous antis will object. Those people will object and try to ban e-cigarettes no matter WHERE you vape and no matter how polite you are - because it has nothing to do with their or your health, it has to do with control. These people are trying to ban smoking in private cars and private homes. Do you think they won't do the same with e-cigarettes? Our only hope is to get through to the reasonable people and show them that what the anti zealots are saying is a lie.
Think of the success the antis had had getting people to think smokeless tobacco is as dangerous as smoking, because they got the law to require tobacco companies to hide the fact that smokeless tobacco is up to 99% safer. That lack of knowledge is killing millions of smokers who would otherwise switch and perpetuating the myths.
What is more important? Worrying about someone's delicate sensibilities or saving lives? Should a diabetic hide their insulin needle because it might look like they are doing illegal drugs and offend someone?
What it comes down to is that we are at greater risk of losing e-cigarettes by hiding than by getting out there and showing non-smokers that e-cigarettes don't stink and won't offend them. Smokers are pretty easy to convert, but non-smokers need to have up close demonstrations, too.
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