So what do you say when...

[caitlin]

Last night, I posted something on FB about how many cigarettes I have not smoked since I started vaping. A very dear friend, who is a highly intelligent and usually very open-minded person... posted back that she read about all the chemicals in the vapor and how they can be carcinogenic, etc, and suggested I switch to the patch and she knew a trial going on that I could get into for free etc etc etc.

Now, normally I'd just smile and be like "Thanks for the info"... but since I had other friends posting on the same thread about how they are interested in switching to vaping, I wanted to make sure they weren't scared away by her (what i consider) misinformation.

So I posted links explaining what pg and vg are... but really... what would you say in that situation? (Besides... "So you think an experimental trial patch would be safer for me than this..."... because that wasn't going to be productive so i didn't say it at all. . )

 

[Thrasher]

i politely tell them they need to be informed before just recanting anecdotal evidence and if they can provide me with such information it would be appreciated as the research I have done shows this to be wrong, thanks

 

[k3vin]

I tell them there are thousands of people vaping with no issues,and they are confusing propylene glycol with polypropylene glycol,I think is right..then to top it off,I say people inhale the stuff that is used in vaping all the time..It is used in fog machines at concerts..

 

[RosaJ]

Just tell her she has been misinformed and misled and that you would be glad to enlighten her on the real truth about ecigs if she's interested. Mention you would be happy to do it through private messaging so she's not publicly embarrassed in front of her friends. She may be very intelligent, but she seems to be riding on her reputation and shoots from the hip at times.

 

[subversive]

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/centers-institutes/population-development/files/article.jphp.pdf

Refer them to this. It is a Harvard study that shows the flaws in the few cartridges the FDA tested awhile back and has a chart showing the levels of tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are the carcinogens your friend was referring to.

 

[BuGlen]

I would essentially do what you did, provide information and educate. You may not convince someone that they are wrong (or at least they might not admit it), but I believe the best you can do is provide the facts as you have done. You could follow up on how much better your life is now that you've discovered vaping, and the personal aspect might be enough to convince her if she's a good friend that trusts your judgement.

 

[Absintheur]

There have been dozens of articles written, several by doctors, that thoroughly refute that flawed FDA stuy. I would send her several links to articles that support vaping and explain vaping clearly. This is a good place to start, CASAA - The Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association

 

[Twisted]

Well water can be carcinogenic if not tested and checked out, see "Radon in drinking water" and for that matter it can be in the air also. I have it in my house and put in a mitigation system to keep it out before I purchased my home.
Any substance you put in your body can prove to be possibly harmful, but with that note cigarettes are defiantly harmful and will kill you. I don't think anyone will dispute that fact. Vapor is still being checked out and tested, This forum has years of information at you finger tips to make a decisions of cigs/vap/patch/nothing ext.

So when faced with a true friend that asks, I return the question with a question. what would be more harmful - Vape or cigs - and tell me why? because I'm hard headed and will do one or the other because i like my nicotine along with my caffeine.

 

[RoseB]

Hello there are a lot of skeptics out there. I do my best to explain those articles to folks. The sad thing is it's usually smokers. I don't have a mini e cig parade just links for info. Thank god for this forum Then I make a point to ask "how are those smokes working out for you?"

 

[fourthrok]

I tend to avoid mentioning vaping on Facebook. I do a little bit...and have posted a couple of my mods from time to time. Mostly my friends are pretty supportive, but a little flummoxed with the whole PV thing. It's like too foreign for them to quite grasp. I do get comments about how "steampunk" they look, etc. But then...the vast majority are non smokers or former smokers who've been quit for years and years. I did have some influence on one of my friend's boyfriend (also a friend) in the U.K. though...he got a kit and is very pleased! But he had to try the patches and the Chantix version over there (and nearly went psychotic) and the gum etc. first.

 

[DC2]

This is exactly what you are looking for to refute that argument...
FDA's partial truths and exaggerations endanger health

It discusses the source of this misinformation and exactly how it is completely wrong.

 

[caitlin]

Thank you all. Those links were exactly what I was looking for this morning.