Thoughts on Vaping from an old man.

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sofarsogood

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When I went with the coworker to help him buy vape stuff I could have taken him to any one of 4 different nearby vape shops but instead I took him to a tobacco chain store that sells vaping stuff and mixes their own liquid. (Among other reasons, that was the only way to get liquid at 18 mg.) A troubling thing has happened, vape shops are now about the vaping scene, culture, whatever, not so much about quitting smoking. When a tobacco shop sells vape stuff the focus is helpinng their smoking customers deal with smoking. Ironically they have more credibility than the vape shops. The vape shops around me have few of those customers lately. Business is so slow they are diversifying into elaborate glass pipes for that other stuff we aren't allowed to mention.
 

AXIOM_1

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    Welcome @TedP ..... This was a good thread to read for sure .... There have been many good points made by most folks on this thread .... The problem is that on a forum like this one (or any forum), you will find many folks with ideologies and perceptions that vary greatly..... Different folks will view your supposition with completely different perceptions....... Some folks may think that the "tattooed, younger crowd" that is cloud chucking as not harming the vaping industry in the least........ Other folks will be in agreement with you and find those folks vaping style as being distasteful ..... Other folks are on the fence and could care less one way or another.......

    So, who is correct? ......... I am a person who is very much into facts and figures, and I don't let tattooed, cursing, cloud bellowing folks, (nor anyone else) cause me to stray from what I know to be facts..........

    Yes, I too have my own thoughts and opinions about the young cloud blowers and the current state of the vaping industry ....... But, I am not going to share my thoughts with you folks.... The reason why is because my opinion doesn't effect the spin of the global vaping world nor do I plan on being an activist and try to make my opinion count......... Also, my opinion would be just like everyone Else's on this thread...(just that, an opinion).....

    The FACTS as I know them to be is that inhaling commercial tobacco smoke is very hazardous to one's health, especially if done for a long period of time.... That being the case, I could care less if a vapor has 10 arms, 2 heads, tattoos over their entire body and cusses like Satan as long as they were able to give up the tobacco..... Yes, there are lots of vapers who never smoked tobacco .... I am GLAD they never smoked tobacco, and thanks to vaping, they were never sucked into the lure of smoking tobacco.....Everyone who half-way pays attention knows that the USA Government is corrupt and so is the FDA and they are going to be corrupt and cause problems no matter what the young vapers may or may not be doing....

    The fact that some vapers have tattoos and curse every other word has very little to do with the cloud blowing that this thread is centered around.......... There are plenty of folks who are older, do not have tattoos, and do not curse, that like to blow clouds..... Tattooed, pierced by metal, multi-colored hair, and whatever else they do that is different from my generation, has little to do with vaping.... If older folks cannot look past the way REALITY is in this day and age, then they are stuck in the past and have a problem.... I am an "older" person and I also don't care for the way many of these younger folks look and behave..... But that doesn't mean that they don't possess vaping knowledge.......... I can remember when I first started vaping..... There were some of those freaky young people that pointed me in the right direction.......... In other words, I looked past their differences from my own and I LEARNED from them......... Just because their appearance or vaping style does not appeal to lots of older vapers does not mean they are killing the industry... There is a h*ll of a lot more of them than there is us old duffers.

    I am not a cloud blower (I was at one time)..... I also smoked about 3 packs of smokes per day for over 40 years and so I am well versed in the dangers of tobacco.
     
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    stols001

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    Well I like tattos and piercings just *fine* (not the ox nose piercing, I don't think I'm ever going to adjust to *that*), it's more that I don't like how the media uses them and manipulates vapers images.... I'd venture to guess that at LEAST half of vapers don't sprout major facial tattoos and piercings, and like it or not, the media KNOWS that is going to make vaping unappealing, often to the older crowd who may most NEED to vape due to health issues and are a political force. If we could get every baby boomer smoking to transition to vaping, I'm going to bet that they'd up and have a fit.

    I think it would be nice if more vape shops were more willing to recommend or at least OFFER multiple modes of vaping, as many people just aren't going to like cloud chasing as much, due to lung function, cost, juice costs and everything else. I think my kiddo probaby went through at LEAST a 250 ml bottle of juice a month, if not more. That said, maybe some vape shops know some things we don't and are wanting to lower their inventory. But, I don't think so, because UNLESS you say you don't want to cloud chase and vape at high wattage, you'll get sent the newest, greatest tank, without too much education, though I do like that if I ask the *right* questions, I'll get a reasonable answer.

    To be fair, the vape shop I go to offers many options, including pod systems and smaller tanks, it's just that you need to know enough to wander around, looking at stuff, and asking questions. It's also a fairly hopping place, Tucson appears to have a *high* percentage of vapers (I can't say that scientifically, I base it on what I see, wandering around) and the vape shop near me is a pretty hopping place at least for now. It will also let you go up to nic WHEREVER you want, at max VG, which I like....

    If every vape shop in Tucson closed, I'm going to bet that not too many of the other kind of shop(s) open, there's one on every street corner it seems like.... I think many of them are laundro-money-mats, given the pricing on some stuff.... That said, I don't really frequent them, dealing with the staff is too hard *waves face in front of staff member with red eyes, listing to the side, to wake staff member up*. So, I wouldn't enjoy it, but if I had to get a mod quickly from one and call it an incense pipe, I would except that I'd feel skeezy. Ain't anyone in town going to mess with some of those places, either, they know who's running them and they don't want to start turf wars.

    Maybe it is good, living in the most border-y border town of them all (or one of them at least). Vape *anywhere* is the motto in my town, including some stores and restaurants that don't care.... Except Walmart, which seems to want to assert its business power over vapers and anyone else. I don't vape at Walmart. AFAIK Walmart is... Well, I've had few young clients who were fined over $500 for *accidentally shop lifting*. Like, drinkng a beverage and being forgetful about scanning it. They call it "Security Costs" and then if you don't pay, they prosecute you. Other than that, however, I've seen vaping a lot of places.

    And other things. One time this very, ah, excitable and sketchy dude came zooming around the corner saying, "Bless you! I bless your eyes!" to me, then speeding away, followed by another sketchy looking guy who stood on his head right in front of me, then started waggling his legs around. :) As a yogini I did not feel blessed, though I was slightly amused and also thinking "Sudafed is way too easy to get here, or at least GET to here."

    Back in DC, we had Blevis "Black Elvis" who was this homeless guy who'd approach you, ask you for a topic, and then sing you *whatever* Elvis song was relevant. He was awesome, I miss Blelvis.

    Anna
     

    BrotherBob

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    I would like to give you some background on me. I am 71 years old and have smoked since I was 13. I quit tobacco 5 years ago and turned to vaping. Before that I was a 4 pack a day cigarette smoker then switched to a pipe while in the Army and smoked 42 years inhaling the pipe. Fortunately my lungs are clear and have not contracted COPD. I found 2 of my best friends dead in their homes. I was the first person to find them. They died 3 years apart. There is a legion of gray haired people who can be of assistance in countering the FDA. The vaping community is ignoring us.
    I sit at the VA and see many of my fellow veterans on oxygen and know there are many more who will be in that state in the future. The vaping community is now in the hands of the young and I feel you are destroying the benefits of getting people to quit tobacco. The vaping community is turning into a cult. I am not insulting the community but looking at it from the perspective of one person on the outside looking in.
    Do you want the older, gray haired grandpa and grandma's on your side then take a good hard look at the vaping community. Go on YouTube and all you see are wanna be Grimm Greens and Pete(Phil) Busardo's. Some of them need to be strangled to be honest. I would do it but it's only a video. Nick Green changed his format and has also gone over to the dark side.
    So if you want to help the vaping community get the Baby boomers on your side. Get Grandma and Grandpa into vaping. You will have them around for much longer and hopefully you never have to see them on oxygen. It is an ugly thing.
    Me, criticize me if you want. I don't care. I care about getting people off tobacco and the way I see it the message being given is not a positive one. Thanks for listening .
    Welcome and glad you joined.
    Thanks for your comments, Some folks who have never had a health debilitating habit before may never understand the advantages of vaping. Just hope our legislators look into vaping seriously and do their jobs (part of the legislators job is to recognize fringe elements). VAPING SAVES LIVES - it's a no brain'r.
     

    AXIOM_1

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    Except Walmart, which seems to want to assert its business power over vapers and anyone else. I don't vape at Walmart....

    Don't get me started on "floor-mart" lol ......... They have become one of the most socialistic conglomerations I have ever seen......... The Walmart here actually cards people who purchase cigarettes/chewing tobacco and they say that you have to be at least 40 years old to purchase those products!! Can you believe that?!........ I know of no state or federal laws that stipulate that a person has to be 40 years or older to purchase tobacco products.... That is just plain ridiculous... Obviously, their selling policy is their own socialistic invention.
     
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    stols001

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    LOL, I can't remember if it was Walmart or McDonald's that actually *set up* areas during recruitment to "assist" their workers in gaining benefits such as food stamps and medicare, which was clearly needed given their pay/hours schedule.... Only THEY CHARGED THEIR WORKERS TO DO IT. Yes, let's pay everyone minimum wage for 25 hours a week, then TAKE A CUT for providing them with state funded resources that are easy to access, I mean, they could have handed them an information packet. I think it was McD, because I have vaguely had in the back of my mind that I *never* eat there, and I'm not sure why (other than the "food"). I don't vape in there either, because the employees are justifiably *cranky as anything*, I don't want any interaction with the Tucson Police Dep't more than I *have* to.

    That being said, to return to the topic, I might go to the administration of the biggest "Over 60" community around here, and offer to do a presentation on vaping versus smoking, they *might* bite, they're always looking for activities for their seniors. I'd be up for that, though also a bit terrified if they said yes. :)

    Anna
     

    LMS62

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    Don't get me started on "floor-mart" lol ......... They have become one of the most socialistic conglomerations I have ever seen......... The Walmart here actually cards people who purchase cigarettes/chewing tobacco and they say that you have to be at least 40 years old to purchase those products!! Can you believe that?!........ I know of no state or federal laws that stipulate that a person has to be 40 years or older to purchase tobacco products.... That is just plain ridiculous... Obviously, their selling policy is their own socialistic invention.
    Not to defend Wally World, but your information is not correct. The signs at Walmart state that if you are under 40, you will be carded....not that you have to be 40 to purchase the product. When I was younger, for extra money, I bounced at various nightclubs that had the same policy. We would card anyone that did not look like they were obviously at least in their late 30's or so. It works because in many cases, it can be tough to guess how old someone may be.
     

    AXIOM_1

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    Not to defend Wally World, but your information is not correct. The signs at Walmart state that if you are under 40, you will be carded....not that you have to be 40 to purchase the product. When I was younger, for extra money, I bounced at various nightclubs that had the same policy. We would card anyone that did not look like they were obviously at least in their late 30's or so. It works because in many cases, it can be tough to guess how old someone may be.

    Yeah that makes sense, but it is still very strange to a person such as myself who back in my younger days whenever we were carded a person had to be 18........ Then suddenly it's 40......... But I do understand what you are saying about carding vs purchasing ......... So far (knock on wood) Walmart is the only place that has ever done that to me on a continual basis...... When I first quit smoking before I discovered vaping, I was chewing tobacco to get my nic fix........ Every time I would go to Walmart I would get carded and asked if I was 40..... It gets real old getting carded at Walmart all of the time no matter if I can purchase the items or not...... At any rate, I still feel Walmart is a giant monopoly. My wife worked there at one time and she used to tell me about some of their internal policies and it was too much on the socialistic side for my taste.... At any rate, thanks for the info concerning the 40 year old carding policy.... I sort of figured that it was something that was a Walmart policy because it certainly is NOT the law.
     
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    AXIOM_1

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    LOL, I can't remember if it was Walmart or McDonald's that actually *set up* areas during recruitment to "assist" their workers in gaining benefits such as food stamps and medicare, which was clearly needed given their pay/hours schedule.... Only THEY CHARGED THEIR WORKERS TO DO IT. Yes, let's pay everyone minimum wage for 25 hours a week, then TAKE A CUT for providing them with state funded resources that are easy to access, I mean, they could have handed them an information packet. I think it was McD, because I have vaguely had in the back of my mind that I *never* eat there, and I'm not sure why (other than the "food"). I don't vape in there either, because the employees are justifiably *cranky as anything*, I don't want any interaction with the Tucson Police Dep't more than I *have* to.

    That being said, to return to the topic, I might go to the administration of the biggest "Over 60" community around here, and offer to do a presentation on vaping versus smoking, they *might* bite, they're always looking for activities for their seniors. I'd be up for that, though also a bit terrified if they said yes. :)

    Anna

    Yeah it disgusts me about the way some of these greedy companies operate for sure...... Hey, I would stay away from the Tuscon Police Dept. as well lol
     

    AXIOM_1

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    I got carded a WM trying to buy a can of spray paint. I pointed at my gray hair and said "There's your ID". It kinda ticked me off. Did they think I was gonna go out "tagging" at my age?

    LOL... yeah, that is exactly the point I was trying to get across in my original post......... I have asked quite a few cashiers why they card a person for tobacco products and the standard answer I would inevitably get would be "I don't know I just do what I'm told".......... There have been many times where it irritated me and I would tell the cashier that I am old enough to be their Father........ Like yourself, I have also pointed at my gray hair a few times lol..........
     

    AXIOM_1

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    :( :cry: What the????? You guys got hair?????? :cry: :cry: :cry:

    lol ... yeah believe it or not I do not even have receding hair as I have a full head of hair..... But, about half of it is gray now......... All the VG through the years must have settled in my hair follicles. :w00t:
     

    gpjoe

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    We're all vapers and need to put aside our differences and remain united, regardless of our vaping style.

    Unfortunately this thread is a perfect example of the intolerance towards cloud chasing - BY VAPERS - which creates a rift. I am a boomer closing in on fuddy-duddy status at 60-years and really see no good in bashing the youngsters that cloud chase. Hell, I like to fog up a room myself sometimes.

    Divide and conquer?
     

    AXIOM_1

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    We're all vapers and need to put aside our differences and remain united, regardless of our vaping style.

    Unfortunately this thread is a perfect example of the intolerance towards cloud chasing - BY VAPERS - which creates a rift. I am a boomer closing in on fuddy-duddy status at 60-years and really see no good in bashing the youngsters that cloud chase. Hell, I like to fog up a room myself sometimes.

    Divide and conquer?

    Well said
     

    Winchester

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    Howdy and Welcome! I am 67 and I smoked for 43 years. You should see the looks I get when I would walk into a vape shop full of young people that are too cool and full of them selfs. I was asked once "Are you lost sir!" Then I would pull out my SUPER T ELA with a Kayfun 3.1 and set in on the counter then I got a lot of respect. How shallow those people were. That was in 2012 and I never went back.
     
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