the name "electronic cigarette"

[kimran73]

Having been a vapor for 2 1/2 weeks now and loving it (completely quit smoking analogs), I'm kinda wondering why they are called electronic cigarettes as they are no where near being a cigarette. In my personal opinion this name itself is causing some of the uproar and misunderstanding as to exactly what it is. I don't have a good suggestion for an alternate name, just food for thought. I do like saying "vape" or "vaping" instead of "smoke" or "smoking" and that also completely distinguishes the difference. When we say we quit smoking but use an electronic "cigarette" I think it really confuses people. I'm really nervous about government interference because of this misunderstanding. Any suggestions out there about how this could be changed????

 

[smacuser]

A lot of people here take the stance of calling it a PV, personal vaporizer. Too me, that sounds kind of druggy. But it's PV for now.

I'd call it my Flavonicostick.

What are your thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Ref Minor]

Because it's the battery powered alternative that you chose to give up smoking cigarettes using.

 

[KenD]

I totally agree. Been struggling with what I should call it in Swedish though as "vaporisatör" is incredibly clumsy...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

[jpargana]

(...)
When we say we quit smoking but use an electronic "cigarette" I think it really confuses people. I'm really nervous about government interference because of this misunderstanding.
(...)

Think of it like someone saying "I have quit drinking (as in alchool abuse) by using non-alchoolic beer".

A NA beer mimicks regular beer. When you drink it, it appears you are drinking regular beer. Except, there's to alchool in it... so, the ex-alchoolic is being honest when he tells you "I've quit drinking", because, thanks to NA beer, he had not a drop of alchool for the last X years.

True, most e-cigs do not resemble cigarettes at all (I have never used a cigalike). But that's not the point: whatever the looks of it, we use it as an alternative to cigarettes, and the reason why it has been a success for most of us is exactly because it closely mimics the act of smoking (the 'hand-to-mouth', and the throat hit).
Besides, I have been confusing more people when I say I'm using a vaporizer, than when I say I'm using an electronic cigarette. People usually readily understand 'electronic cigarette', and get the right idea: an electronic, fake cigarette, used to keep away from the real ones. On the other hand, 'vaporizer' tends to make people suspicious...

As for 'government interference'... well, government does not give a rat's behind about how we call it. Believe me, there's no 'misunderstanding' at all. They have already understood this: the e-cig can actually put a dent on tobacco tax revenues. (Recently, an Italian MEP complained in the EU Parliament that the Italian government had already lost 7.6 per cent in revenues this year. This was before the EU tried to medicalize the e-cig)
Govenments are more interested in lining their pockets, than in our health. If our health needs to be sacrificed to keep the money flowing, so be it...!

 

[wheezal]

I say we have Australians make up a name for it, probably something like Banderwalladiggeradopod or something else creative like that.

Otherwise, as a user of a cigalike, it's easy to see where the term comes from. Most other names are too long and cumbersome or require more explanation than its worth. PV is good, until the 800th person asks "what does that even mean?"


Although i really like Smacuser's idea...Flavonicostick....not bad...rolls right off the tongue. like sandpaper.

 

[Recon Number 54]

The fact that we're blowing vapor, which to the average observer IS smoke.
Combined with the fact that the manufacturers chose to name the product "electronic cigarette" in order to encourage initial sales to smokers.
Added to the "common knowledge" that.... tobacco = nicotine = cancer = evil.

Well, that is three hard strikes right off of the bat. All of which can be overcome by education, information and knowledge. The challenge is that the general public doesn't WANT their mind changed, especially when they've already made their minds up, are comfortable and confident in their position, and feel good about their opinions, (even if they are flawed).

Convincing someone to change their mind, when they happen to LIKE their current mindset? Especially if it makes them feel superior? Well, that is one of the hardest things imaginable.

 

[wheezal]

if the name were to change, what would we call the wonderful website here we call home? 'ECF' is really catchy!

 

[Fulgurant]

How many of us would have started vaping if e-cigarettes weren't billed as e-cigarettes? Please read the following for an interesting discussion that touches on this topic:

E-cigarettes are a tobacco product, so please stop wasting time arguing otherwise | Anti-THR Lies and related topics

 

[madqatter]

In my personal opinion this name itself is causing some of the uproar and misunderstanding as to exactly what it is.... When we say we quit smoking but use an electronic "cigarette" I think it really confuses people.

I agree. When I'm out and about, I don't use the term "cigarette" for personal vaporizers without contextual pressure and qualification (e.g. "You may have heard of 'e-cigarettes,' but it's a misnomer because there is no smoke, etc.").

A lot of people here take the stance of calling it a PV, personal vaporizer.

I do. And I'd much rather explain what "vaporizer" means and what a vaporizer does than call it a "cigarette" and then try to fight all the implications of that word. I'd be willing to go with something else if it was better, but imo no term with the word "cigarette" in it would qualify.

Think of it like someone saying "I have quit drinking (as in alchool abuse) by using non-alchoolic beer".

That analogy might make sense if we were calling them "non-smoking cigarettes" (or "un-cigarettes" or something along those lines). Nothing about "electronic cigarette" suggests "not really a cigarette."

"Non-alcoholic beer" clearly expresses that there is no significant amount of alcohol in the beverage and that it cannot intoxicate me. "Electronic cigarette" does not inform anyone that I'm not smoking at all.

 

[madqatter]

How many of us would have started vaping if e-cigarettes weren't billed as e-cigarettes?

If someone told me what they really were, I'd have LEAPED ALL OVER THEM immediately. "Cigarette" was the term that disinclined me to try them. Fortunately for me, my curiosity was strong.

 

[wheezal]

If someone told me what they really were, I'd have LEAPED ALL OVER THEM immediately. "Cigarette" was the term that disinclined me to try them. Fortunately for me, my curiosity was strong.

erm....i'm confused....you were curious...so it appears the name had SOME effect. now if they were called FlavorVaporNicotineDeliverySystems (FVNDS, trademarked! boom!) would that have been more appealing?

 

[Sickkboy]

I came across this topic last year and scalewiz call his PV as PISS (Personal Inhaler System Solution)

 

[stauglocal]

I call mine a "vapestick"

 

[madqatter]

erm....i'm confused....you were curious...so it appears the name had SOME effect.

Yes, the name kept me from giving into my curiosity for about a year or so.

now if they were called FlavorVaporNicotineDeliverySystems (FVNDS, trademarked! boom!) would that have been more appealing?

To me? Probably would have been better.

 

[jpargana]

(...)
"Non-alcoholic beer" clearly expresses that there is no significant amount of alcohol in the beverage and that it cannot intoxicate me. "Electronic cigarette" does not inform anyone that I'm not smoking at all.

True. But the thing is, among people who have asked me about it, many of them are already informed of what an e-cig is. People will usually ask, "Is that an electronic cigarette?", or better yet, "Is that one of those fake cigarettes?"

After confirmation that I am indeed using an e-cig, conversation will usually procedd to something like "Has it worked for you? Does it really keep you from smoking?"

If people just ask "What is that?", I assume they didn't ear about the e-cig, but I find it better to state "It's a fake cigarette I use to avoid smoking. Have you heard of electronic cigarettes?". The notion that it is fake gets readily across, and the term electronic will fire their curiosity: "An electronic cigarette?? Strange... how is that even possible?". By then, people will be ready to hear about non-combustion, no tar, yada, yada.. they will listen, because now they just have to know how such a strange contraption works. (Let's face it... what was our own reaction when we first heard of an electronic cigarette??).
And by the end of the conversation, even those people will ask me if that thing has kept me from smoking. So, either way, the message gets across.

When I stated that I was using a vaporizer, people would:
a) Dismiss it, and get suspicious, thinking it was something used to smoke 'other things', more disregarded than tobacco itself, or
b) Get confused, because I named 'vaporizer' something they have already heard by the name 'electronic cigarette', or
c) Not get it, at first, that it is actually a less harmful replacement for cigarettes.

But that is, of course, MY personal experience . YMVV

 

[CaliforniaGirl]

This is a tough question because honestly, if it had not looked and "acted" (inhale, then exhale vapor) like a cigarette, I never would have tried it. And I'm aware there are many other people who got started on vaping v. smoking for the same reason, I've seen it stated over and over again on this forum.

Honestly, I would NEVER have tried a non-cigalike...to me it looked like...well, another form of paraphernalia. And that I'm just not into.

I missed smoking. I miss the mechanics of it. I missed the feeling of it. I missed the taste of it. Then something came along that was called an e-*cigarette*. That's when I tried it.

I agree that it's not smoking because there's no actual smoke. I get that.

 

[Joe13]

I'm no longer a smoker - I'm a vaper. I like to vape. I use a vaporizer. If I'm in a restaurant and I want to vape, I ask the waitress if it's okay that I use "my personal vaporizer".

I've got my mom calling me a vapist. Anyone overhearing what ensues is sure to raise an eyebrow:

"I'm so proud of my son. He quit smoking and now he's a vapist. Oh, he'll vape anything. You can watch him some time."

 

[velocicracker]

My Spinner is silver/chrome with a clear and black T3, so I refer to it as my Lightsaber to those that already know what I'm talking about. Otherwise I call it a nicotine vaporizer or just vaporizer. Because... That's what it is. Since it doesn't light up at the end and you have to press a button to activate it, not to mention you don't have to light it and it doesn't get shorter with time, it's nothing like a cigarette as far as I'm concerned.

Also, I'm probably the only one, but I hate the term "vaping." I've never been one to use shortened versions of words. I feel I can spare the extra oxygen and lip/tongue motions to say a full word. But "vaping" just sounds like something some smug trendy hipster kid would say. And those that aren't familar wouldn't know what the deuce you were talking about. I'm not some old fuddy duddy either. 28, tattoos, soon to have dreadlocks.

 

[EvilZoe]

Think of it like someone saying "I have quit drinking (as in alchool abuse) by using non-alchoolic beer".

A NA beer mimicks regular beer. When you drink it, it appears you are drinking regular beer. Except, there's to alchool in it... so, the ex-alchoolic is being honest when he tells you "I've quit drinking", because, thanks to NA beer, he had not a drop of alchool for the last X years.

True, most e-cigs do not resemble cigarettes at all (I have never used a cigalike). But that's not the point: whatever the looks of it, we use it as an alternative to cigarettes, and the reason why it has been a success for most of us is exactly because it closely mimics the act of smoking (the 'hand-to-mouth', and the throat hit).
Besides, I have been confusing more people when I say I'm using a vaporizer, than when I say I'm using an electronic cigarette. People usually readily understand 'electronic cigarette', and get the right idea: an electronic, fake cigarette, used to keep away from the real ones. On the other hand, 'vaporizer' tends to make people suspicious...

As for 'government interference'... well, government does not give a rat's behind about how we call it. Believe me, there's no 'misunderstanding' at all. They have already understood this: the e-cig can actually put a dent on tobacco tax revenues. (Recently, an Italian MEP complained in the EU Parliament that the Italian government had already lost 7.6 per cent in revenues this year. This was before the EU tried to medicalize the e-cig)
Govenments are more interested in lining their pockets, than in our health. If our health needs to be sacrificed to keep the money flowing, so be it...!

The thing is, the word "cigarette" translates to "small cigar". That isn't a good description for most of the effective devices out there these days.

It just sounds silly, to me, anyway.