Vaping has to catch on in rural America or it will not save lives.

[memeticengineone]

Now that I work at a convenience store as the only tobacco dealer within ten miles I see how steep a hill vaping has yet to climb.
This dude Gary (I’m using his real name because there are at least four Garys in this small island community and they are all similar looking old white men) came in to buy tobacco and I asked him about his favorite Rolll your own brand and he said it was the organic American spirit tobacco we sell in the red pouches, because it was the closest to the way the Native Americans that this land was stolen from smoked it, and “they didn’t get cancer.”
I asked him if he would like to try vaping some time and he said that he was suspicious of e liquid and especially of synthetic nicotine, he said he wanted the “whole tobacco leaf”.
When I told him about naturally extracted tobacco e liquid and about how people say that whole tobacco alkaloid (WTA) e liquid is the way to quit smoking, he asked if that was what I used and I awkwardly said no. I was currently vaping some chocolate e liquid from Crown Seven which has synthetic nicotine, diluted with vegetable glycerin for sub ohming. It’s the only vape juice we sell and it sold so poorly that my manager isn’t ordering any more.
There are a only a couple bottles left and I’m pretty sure I will end up selling them to myself when it’s slow during my shift over the next month or so. Which would be good because it’s terrible e liquid but it isn’t good because the only other vape product we stock is Blu cherry flavor cigalikes and cherry flavor cartridges, and even that is back stock from an order way back when.
Basically the store I work at has completely stopped selling vape gear, and instead of trying to get long time smokers like Gary interested in WTA e liquids and other harm reduction methods, the owners of the store are content to sell cigarettes and make just a few cents per pack sold, since state taxes are so high, missing out on both potential profit from the growing vape market and the potential to help smokers stay alive by switching to vaping.
Gary even told me that he was glad about the FDA tobacco deeming for vape products, when I told him about it, because he is the sort who trusts the FDA to tell him what is safe to put in his body, even though propylene glycol and vegetable glycerine and synthetic nicotine have been in FDA approved products (though not at the same time, and in inhaled form) for years


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[mattiem]

Sadly there are millions just like Gary. Folks that do think the government really does only want the best for their servants so will accept what they say as gospel
Maybe calling what we vape, synthetic and talking about WTA was a bit more information than was necessary. As far as I know synthetic nicotine is just now coming to the market and the majority of those that switch to vaping won't need WTA e-liquid. The WTA became available when some folks needed more than just the nicotine.
The only vape shop we have here is in a corner of our local smoke store. Fortunately it is well stocked with a variety of products so that is good. The owner seems to be very well versed on the products she is selling and I wish her well during these trying times.

 

[Baditude]

Almost two years ago, I left a relatively large city (Cincinnati) which had approximately 30 vape shops, to go live in my original hometown in very rural NW Ohio. When I got there, the closest vape shop was 20 miles away; the owner made his own e-liquid and quite frankly it wasn't very good IMHO.

About a year ago, a small chain vape shop (three locations in three different small towns) opened its doors with a large line of pre-made e-liquids. It's closer, about 9 miles from my home. Since the FDA regulations went into effect last month, the owner told me he was gonna try to stay open for a couple of years, but if regulations don't improve for vendors he would probably be forced to close up for good.

The future of vaping in the US looks pretty bleak because of the FDA regulations and local/state government regulations/taxes. I feel extremely sad that smokers who could be potential vapers will not have the opportunities that I had when I began.

In a couple of years, the only vaping equipment available might be limited to cigalikes like Blu and Vuse. Although I did begin my vaping journey with a cigalike, I moved up to a mod within a month's time. I'm not convinced that had I tried to stick it out with a cigalike that I would still be a nonsmoker.

 

[sketchness]

There is a mountain of misinformation out there about vaping when talking with smokers. With non-smokers it is even more ridiculous. I can't even tell you how many times a smoker has stated that the cigarette has much fewer chemicals than a vape.

The only thing i have found that sort of breaks the ice is a super cool mod. I have a copper box mod and all my non-smoking friends were like what is that? Highly intrigued.

I also agree I would probably still be smoking if I had to rely on starter gear. It wasn't until I got a mech mod and an RDA that i was able to quit for good.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

It always helps to write a success story for the local newspapers. They publish them in the Editorial/Opinion page. Usually, they are limited in the number of words, though. But, the idea that quitting smoking using medications not working and vaping working, does put an idea forward.

There is a sub-forum here for success stories, although, they tend to be longer.

 

[JCinFLA]

About your discussion title:

"Vaping has to catch on in rural America or it will not save lives."

Huh??? I beg to differ with you. It's likely that it's doing exactly that already...for the millions worldwide who've gotten off the smokes by vaping up to now. Also, how about those people that many of us have helped to switch to vaping locally and those we're yet to help in the future (ie. friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.)? If those people in turn help others as well, and so on, and so on...it's definitely saving lives!

 

[memeticengineone]

Lol my title was pretty clickbait-y. It's more like rural Americans need to see vaping as not just some weird thing hipster kids from the city do. I have seen plenty of old timers vaping in urban areas but none here.

Here I was told by an old coworker that his mother got pneumonia supposedly from using a clearomizer to try to quit cigarettes. "The moisture it puts in your lungs" is why he is afraid of it.

That and people are really afraid of inhaling flavoring even though they're inhaling straight up tar and formaldehyde when they smoke.


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[Baditude]

It's more like rural Americans need to see vaping as not just some weird thing hipster kids from the city do. I have seen plenty of old timers vaping in urban areas but none here.

When I began vaping in the big city (5 years ago), I rarely saw another vaper in the flesh. Over the years it became more common, but still was pretty rare to see in public unless it was around a vape shop.

I remember getting some strange looks when people saw me vaping on my mod. Some people mistook me using an illegal drug device, but more were simply curious and asked questions about it.

Living in the country now, I rarely see other vapers unless it is at the small vape shop. Just yesterday while vaping outside of the local library, a young driver in a car pulled over and asked what I was vaping. I was rather taken aback. He was an 18 year old high school student who said that he had been vaping for a year and was very happy that he wasn't a smoker any longer.

 

[ScandaLeX]

If you were trying to introduce me to vaping like you did "old white man Gary" I don't think I'd have been over the moon either. Much of what you said was completely overkill for someone whose never vaped & clearly set in his ways!
If nothing else, why didn't you talk to him about what you were using instead of hyping up stuff you weren't?
I bet Gary ran as fast as he could from you with his American spirit tobacco!

 

[Ariben]

I can really appreciate what you wrote. I am 65 . I swore by tobacco cigarettes, I was always the one to say...give me tobacco or give me death. I was firmly entrenched in the whole thing. A month ago I joined the forum and for at least the last 3 weeks I have only used the vape. I feel 20 years younger now.. I always smoked KOOL and somebody recommended Vapor God s. Arctic Wolf. WOW ! It is a blast from the North Pole ! If it had been here in 1965 I would have used it then.