Social acceptance of vaping

[Rancid]

I am used to dealing with social rejection of smoking, having smoked for a long time. I changed to vaping in the last six months. Drinking at a friend's place a couple of weeks ago, it was the first time he had seen me do it rather than cigarettes. He smokes and gave me an increasing load of ribbing about vaping as the night and alcohol went on. The thoughts of others don't bother me, but the need to rebuff his taunts throughout the night did start to wear thin.
Watching Mare Of Eastown over the last few weeks, vaping was what Kate Winslet was referring to when she said she was going to have a smoke. I wouldn't want this taken as an endorsement of vaping, but hopefully visibility such as this will ultimately remove the need to respond to both smokers and non-smokers.

 

[Territoo]

Vaping has been socially rejected by both the smokers and the nonsmokers. The smokers seem to think that it is worse than their cigarettes because of all the negative media that vaping has received. The nonsmokers hate it because it resembles smoking, which they hate, plus there's that negative media campaign as well.
Welcome to the land of pariahs. At least we know the truth!

 

[Ed Brown]

That's got to be tough: Being socially rejected by social rejects.

 

[englishmick]

I always felt guilty when I was smoking. I was aware that it smelled bad. In theory anyway, I didn't really understand quite how intrusive and obnoxious it was until I quit. I don't feel guilty about vaping. Did feel some pressure to explain myself. Regularly did a speech about how I smoked for 50 years and vaping saved my life and that's the only reason I do it. More these days I don't care any more, if someone has a problem with me vaping it's their problem. I never vape in other people's homes, if they come to my place they can live with it or leave.

 

[Ed Brown]

Vaping has been socially rejected by both the smokers and the nonsmokers. The smokers seem to think that it is worse than their cigarettes because of all the negative media that vaping has received.

Thinking about it some more, smoking was one of the rituals that you and your friend practiced. By vaping instead of smoking, he feels that you are rejecting an aspect of the friendship and he feels threatened. Then he gives you a hard time to compensate.

That, or maybe he's just a jerk.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

He smokes and gave me an increasing load of ribbing about vaping as the night and alcohol went on.

Sounds like deep down he despises the fact that you switched to vaping now his buddy isn't a smoker like him. It's easier for him to rib you than to look into becoming a vaper himself because smoking is a LOT easier and more carefree a habit than vaping is. Maybe over time you can convince him to make the switch with your help.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

The only way the general public would accept it is if the media tells them to accept it. The general public only believe what they are told to believe and they like it that way because it makes their lives much easier to live.

 

[Falconeer]

Some good comments and advice already.

I'm lucky in that I live in Scotland where in my youth heavy smoking was the norm, but now vaping is seen as a normal event and doesn't really attract much comment from ordinary folk, unless a thoughtless cloud chaser comes along the street imitating a steam engine.

It has helped too that Public Health England sees vaping as 95% less harmful than smoking - heavens one of the most popular and long running TV Soaps - "Coronation Street" - even has three characters who vape on screen.

I think your pal might have reacted similarly if you'd have just stopped smoking btw.

 

[Javichu]

One of the main problems is that people have become lazy.
Whatever they read online,see in the news or hear from someone they take at face value,they do not question it or refute it they just take it as a certainty.

At the clinic the other day,i was tthere to get my 6 month check up (just blood to see if everything is ok) and a bunch of people were waiting outside so i sat on one of the benches where there was no one near so i could vape.

Lady started smoking in my area (wind was pushing the smoke in the opposite direction so i didn't say anything) and once she saw the device i was using she went on a rampage of calling me a ..... because vaping was worst that smoking,saying i was putting at risk the rest of the people because my device was going to explode and just plain yadda yadda yadda.

Personally i always try to bring people to our cause,so far i have helped about 15 people quit smoking for good but if i see someone just wanting to waste my time and lecture me i will tell them to mind their own bussiness and i will walk away.

Apart from trying to help those that REALLY want to quit smoking there isn't much more we can do,sometimes its just an exercise in futility to try to give people the right information,my time is better spent elsewhere.

 

[Superuser187]

Once a friend of mine and also smoker told me vaping is worst and I shouldn't do this.....the fact that he said that while he was smoking cig and knowing that he had never even bothered to search about vaping or knew what it is but was actually telling advice made me angry but I didn't show it to him...
I didn't even tried to tell him that he is wrong and I just said..

Who told you I do it cause it's healthier???....I just like it and even if it was worst I wouldn't care....and then I blew a huge cloud on his face

Lol that's not good for vaping but it was one of those times that I didn't even want to bother try explain...
I usually just calmly tell them that vaping is far more healthier and I don't even continue discuss...I just tell them "do you know anything about vaping??? Do your research"

 

[DaveP]

The cloth test tells the truth as far as particulate matter is concerned. Take a big hit and exhale it through a white cloth or porous paper. The cigarette smoke leaves a yellow/orange stain. The vapor just leaves a clear wet area, similar to water on a white cloth (unless you vape some dark juice with a lot of particulates).

Of course, your smoking friends will say that it's still worse than smoking. You just have clear chemicals that are bad for your lungs.

 

[DaveP]

I always felt guilty when I was smoking. I was aware that it smelled bad. In theory anyway, I didn't really understand quite how intrusive and obnoxious it was until I quit. I don't feel guilty about vaping. Did feel some pressure to explain myself. Regularly did a speech about how I smoked for 50 years and vaping saved my life and that's the only reason I do it. More these days I don't care any more, if someone has a problem with me vaping it's their problem. I never vape in other people's homes, if they come to my place they can live with it or leave.

I loved smoking. It relaxed me and gave me a reason to go outside at work for a break. I always worried about the consequences. Vaping gave me the feeling of smoking without the worry of negative results. Back when I smoked a chest x-ray would show hazy areas that x-ray techs said was caused by smoking. After vaping for a while, my lungs were clear and clean. X-ray techs have told me that they would have never guessed that I was a former smoker.

Vaping is great, especially since I was hooked on the hand to mouth actions of smoking.

 

[evan le'garde]

I'm pretty sure it's not about vaping or tobacco at all. I just think that once someone has finished being educated at school they become fundamentally complacent about just about everything. They don't really bother trying to learn anything at all. Just read through the daily rag each day and that's it. It never ceases to amaze me that whenever i leave the house, for whatever reason, i just come across idiots everywhere i go. They're everywhere !.

So i suppose that because this is a vaping forum, then the general focus in a thread such as this is how ignorant people are about "vapers and vaping". And the only problem with that, for me, is that the pure, fundamental stupidity of people en masse will be completely overlooked.

So the next time someone ridicules you about your vaping it's just their way of saying they are fundamentally stupid about most things and always will be. So don't waste your precious time trying to educate them.

Im not a school teacher. I don't go around trying to educate people about anything, why would i do that ?. I'd actually prefer it if they'd just keep talking so i can understand more fully the depth of their stupidity. Usually i find most people, once they start talking, become totally committed to everything they say, and would rather die than admit they could ever be even the slightest bit wrong about the smallest little thing.

I love people !. They're so open, honest and transparent about their level of social ineneptitude.

So much better than watching TV.

 

[smacuser]

If you have a good solid mod, you can show him how it makes a great backstop for your knuckles if he makes another peep.

 

[Falconeer]

The cloth test tells the truth as far as particulate matter is concerned. Take a big hit and exhale it through a white cloth or porous paper. The cigarette smoke leaves a yellow/orange stain. The vapor just leaves a clear wet area, similar to water on a white cloth (unless you vape some dark juice with a lot of particulates).

Of course, your smoking friends will say that it's still worse than smoking. You just have clear chemicals that are bad for your lungs.

Ironically when we were young and daft at school and college we used to do this test with handkerchiefs - and we rated cigarettes and how good they were by the colour of the stain - the darker the better.

Though we thought we knew everything then, we really knew very little, but to use a Scots word, we were "gallus" ( bold to the point of stupidity) and our warcry was "We're gonnae dae it oneyway!"

 

[DeloresRose]

I haven’t been accosted in a long time - one of the silver linings of the pandemic. Often I used to have people ask, some were mildly passive aggressive, some honestly curious, some combative.
I would always ask if they wanted information, because I would always welcome the opportunity to share what I know. But I made it clear I had no interest in their opinions, and zero time to argue about it. My habits and my reasons for them are my business.

 

[CMD-Ky]

The thoughts of others don't bother me, but the need to rebuff his taunts throughout the night did start to wear thin.

Don't bother with a rebuff or the taunts. Ask if he swallows everything the media and the government tells him. He will get rather defensive and sputter that, of course, he does not. Then ask him upon what fact does he base his belief in this load of crap about vaping.
This has an excellent chance of ending a useless and probably unpleasant conversation. If not, then don''t engage in a serious conversation with a semi-intoxicated or not so semi intoxicated jerk.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

When I first started vaping, back when there used to be those things we called designated smoking areas, I used to vape with smokers.

I had too many smokers tell me vaping was going to kill me so, between that and the fact that smoking stinks and suffocates me, I no longer seek out a designated smoking area (if there even is one) to vape at. I'd much rather walk further away so I can avoid smokers and even just people in general, but especially smokers.

I have also tried to explain vaping to smokers who were (or seemed) genuine back in my early days of vaping, but I realized within a year that it's really hard to convert smokers. They really have to want to switch to vaping in order to be successful and if that's the case there is a ton of info on the internet to get them started on that path. And especially with juices, they need to be willing to spend a small fortune in order find what they like (some are easier to please than others).

Smoking is too damn easy and many (most?) smokers like that and don't want to change that. Even the simplest vaping device can be more of a pain than smoking in many (most?) smokers' minds.

So be it, let them smoke...but away from me. I just want to enjoy my vape in peace without smelling/inhaling their smoke when I do it and without the NPCs telling me how I'm going to die while they are inhaling their smoke . As for the non-smokers/vapers who "care" about me, they can pi$$ off, too.

 

[pt91]

Going back 12 years I have seen a lot of changes at my office. About 1000 people in the office.
The first few years I was alone and just vaped in my big office.
As a few others joined in we got pushed outside with the smokers.
I would say as of today 85% of outside smoke area visitors are now vaping. Only a small handful still smoke.
This week I noticed two more converts and I would guess they have smoked for decades until converting.
About 60% pod people and the rest small or big mods/tanks.
Only two other people build and usually they just fall back to pop in coils.
It has been interesting to watch.

 

[Butch]

My answer to all criticism is. Ok , perfect person throw your rock but be careful of ricochet you might get hurt.