A lot changed from the time I quit vaping to now when I'm trying to come back. It feels like I went through a time machine to the future. Its one of those things where if your not actively doing it you lose touch with the changing trends. Here are some things I've already noticed, and some things I haven't, your two-cents and additions please.
Things that seem different:
Competition - There are way more vendors now than I ever remember there being, this is good because it has resulted in
Lower cost - One of the benefits I was told before vaping was its cheaper. Back then, IMO, not by much. Back when someone gave me a link to a 70 dollar kit and THAT was a good deal and it had ONE atty. Things are a lot more affordable now. NOW it might be significantly cheaper to vape than to smoke.
More cautious data - For the most part. Still I did see a site that irked me with its talk about how nicotine by itself is no worse than caffeine. This simply isn't provable. Heart disease still kills more smokers than lung cancer and its possible nicotine's ability to release cholesterol into the blood stream may be the issue. E-cigs are safer. There not "safe". More vendors are being truthful about what the e-cig is and isn't than they were back then. I started before the FDA had really taken stern notice. And I know, screw them, but there were some wild claims being made back then.
More customization (non-mod): Back when I started, you got a battery, an atomizer, and a cart or a mouth piece. You could be a cart got or a dripper, and most people were swinging dripper, but that was it. All this Low Resistance attys, 510's with longer batteries than 510's normally have, and these funny little doohicky's called cones are all foreign to me. There are a lot more ways to customize your experience. VG seems more easy to find to. PG seemed to be the standard and only those who really knew where to look got VG, if they wanted it of course. It also seems that vendors more now than then acknowledge that most people who vape for any amount of time drip. Models and supplies seem to be suited more for this than they were. There are a lot less vendors who don't sell juice.
Public Knowledge - This I was being made aware of as time passed. I don't have to explain to people what an electronic cigarette is anymore. Everyone seems to pretty much know. I've heard more radio and seen more television commercials for them. We had saturation issues back then and getting the e-cig in the public eye was a bigger priority than I think it is now. Not that we are done with that part but at least we are at the stage where Bush would normally have raised a Mission Accomplished banner.
Two things I haven't seen that I was hoping I would:
Storefront sales: I'm still not seeing e-cigs sold in smoking stores. I've heard some people say they find them at gas stations and there is one vendor in my mall but its either SE still or something basically the same. Still not seeing genuine storefront suppliers springing up like I'd hoped. This is the key to me. Until e-cigs are as easy to obtain as analogs and there doesn't NEED to be a shipping wait on juice and gear, the risk of just having to get an analog still exist.
Predictable Atomizers: I don't know if this will ever happen, but I was really hoping we would have atomizers you could honest to god say this will last X number of weeks and then you will need a new one. Its still random. Along with this I was hoping we'd have attomizers that lasted much longer. For the most part, the life span seems about the same as it did and is still scattered and unpredictable.
Things that seem different:
Competition - There are way more vendors now than I ever remember there being, this is good because it has resulted in
Lower cost - One of the benefits I was told before vaping was its cheaper. Back then, IMO, not by much. Back when someone gave me a link to a 70 dollar kit and THAT was a good deal and it had ONE atty. Things are a lot more affordable now. NOW it might be significantly cheaper to vape than to smoke.
More cautious data - For the most part. Still I did see a site that irked me with its talk about how nicotine by itself is no worse than caffeine. This simply isn't provable. Heart disease still kills more smokers than lung cancer and its possible nicotine's ability to release cholesterol into the blood stream may be the issue. E-cigs are safer. There not "safe". More vendors are being truthful about what the e-cig is and isn't than they were back then. I started before the FDA had really taken stern notice. And I know, screw them, but there were some wild claims being made back then.
More customization (non-mod): Back when I started, you got a battery, an atomizer, and a cart or a mouth piece. You could be a cart got or a dripper, and most people were swinging dripper, but that was it. All this Low Resistance attys, 510's with longer batteries than 510's normally have, and these funny little doohicky's called cones are all foreign to me. There are a lot more ways to customize your experience. VG seems more easy to find to. PG seemed to be the standard and only those who really knew where to look got VG, if they wanted it of course. It also seems that vendors more now than then acknowledge that most people who vape for any amount of time drip. Models and supplies seem to be suited more for this than they were. There are a lot less vendors who don't sell juice.
Public Knowledge - This I was being made aware of as time passed. I don't have to explain to people what an electronic cigarette is anymore. Everyone seems to pretty much know. I've heard more radio and seen more television commercials for them. We had saturation issues back then and getting the e-cig in the public eye was a bigger priority than I think it is now. Not that we are done with that part but at least we are at the stage where Bush would normally have raised a Mission Accomplished banner.
Two things I haven't seen that I was hoping I would:
Storefront sales: I'm still not seeing e-cigs sold in smoking stores. I've heard some people say they find them at gas stations and there is one vendor in my mall but its either SE still or something basically the same. Still not seeing genuine storefront suppliers springing up like I'd hoped. This is the key to me. Until e-cigs are as easy to obtain as analogs and there doesn't NEED to be a shipping wait on juice and gear, the risk of just having to get an analog still exist.
Predictable Atomizers: I don't know if this will ever happen, but I was really hoping we would have atomizers you could honest to god say this will last X number of weeks and then you will need a new one. Its still random. Along with this I was hoping we'd have attomizers that lasted much longer. For the most part, the life span seems about the same as it did and is still scattered and unpredictable.
