We still have a long way to go....(Public opinion on the long-term safety of vaping)

[jersey_emt]

I rarely vape in public, so it's not often that I am able to interact with smokers. But my father needed a chaperone to the VA hospital for a procedure under sedation, so I had a few hours to kill. And eventually I made my way to the "smokers' pavilion" outside to vape.

I thought we had made it to the point where, at worst, the public believes that vaping is equally as harmful as smoking, or that it is probably safer but still unknown over the long term. Unfortunately I was wrong.

In the usual small-talk that smokers tend to engage in, one of the four smokers says to me, "I don't know why anyone would even bother with that crap. It's got to be way worse for you than just smoking cigarettes."

I asked him why he thought that, and he said "Because of all the chemicals and other crap they put in that stuff, you have absolutely no idea what you are inhaling."

I could have simply responded by saying that I mix all my own juice, so I do know exactly what I am inhaling, but figured that wouldn't really do anything to further the conversation. So I just said that regulations require that ingredients are listed, that all ingredients are recognized as safe by the FDA, and so on.

I didn't expect him to budge (and he didn't). But what shocked me is that all the other smokers agreed with him. The best I got out of one of them was, "We don't know whether it is safer, so I might as well just keep on smoking until we do know for sure."

So yes, we do still have a long way to go.

 

[dom qp]

This attitude is partly how you justify smoking. Or any other bad habit really.

It's defensive. People resist change.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Typical words from typical smokers who still enjoy smoking cigarettes. You'd get a different reaction from a group of smokers who were as sick of smoking cigarettes as we eventually got.
Water off a ducks back.

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Some folks find it easier or more comfortable to beileve lies than the truth, fiction when it aligns with what they want to hear is easier to digest than fact.
You can't fix people.

 

[nicotineisbomb]

That is the dumbest statement I've heard from the public. So what they are telling you is taking REAL dry leaf tobacco in a PAX device and vaporizing that is WORSE than COMBUSTING real dry leaf tobacco? No logic at all.

 

[Asbestos4004]

That is the dumbest statement I've heard from the public. So what they are telling you is taking REAL dry leaf tobacco in a PAX device and vaporizing that is WORSE than COMBUSTING real dry leaf tobacco? No logic at all.

Ummmm....ok, yeah.... pretty sure that is EXACTLY what the op said they said .

 

[nicotineisbomb]

Ummmm....ok, yeah.... pretty sure that is EXACTLY what the op said they said .

I know that but if you explain to them that vaporizing tobacco eliminates most carcinogens maybe they will understand better?

 

[Asbestos4004]

I know that but if you explain to them that vaporizing tobacco eliminates most carcinogens maybe they will understand better?

Sometimes we just want to enjoy a vape and move on.....especially when someone we care about is in the hospital?
We can save the world tomorrow.

 

[nicotineisbomb]

Sometimes we just want to enjoy a vape and move on.....especially when someone we care about is in the hospital?
We can save the world tomorrow.

Of course, do what you enjoy and I'll do me.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Of course, do what you enjoy and I'll do me.

We did a pretty good job on you, apparently. Was it a week ago that we were all stupid and you were going to smoke your 5 cigs a day? Now, PRESTO, you're a vaping advocate. Proud of you, brother.

 

[nicotineisbomb]

We did a pretty good job on you, apparently. Was it a week ago that we were all stupid and you were going to smoke your 5 cigs a day? Now, PRESTO, you're a vaping advocate. Proud of you, brother.

Thank you for that kind comment, I realized that saving money is a must and my NET tobacco juice is arriving Thursday which I am more than excited to try. Boba's Bounty should be here by Friday the latest as well.

 

[Asbestos4004]

Thank you for that kind comment, I realized that saving money is a must and my NET tobacco juice is arriving Thursday which I am more than excited to try. Boba's Bounty should be here by Friday the latest as well.

My pleasure....I'm nothing if not kind.

 

[ScottP]

I'd just say, "well, it's your funeral".

 

[sofarsogood]

Smokers are annoyed because they know you are right, everybody knows. People who don't smoke benefit from all the taxes smokers pay and benefit when smokers die young and don't get as much social security, and, last but not least, we are threatening a global business that rakes in a trillion dollars a year world wide. You shouldn't be surprised we arent popular.

 

[Canadian_Vaper]

I tell them what I do know. I breathe better, I have better stamina, I can taste and smell better, it has fewer toxins, I got a pay raise for increased performance and if it happens to turn out to be worse for me than smoking I don't care because I ENJOY IT MORE than I ever enjoyed smoking.

*edit also almost all smokers will lie to themselves and just keep smoking even though there's better options because theu believe that nothing could be possibly be as enjoyable as a cigarette.

 

[ScottP]

theu believe that nothing could be possibly be as enjoyable as a cigarette.

Actually I think it has more to do with them not wanting to admit they have an addiction. So they convince themselves they do it solely b/c they want to and they can quit at any time. Needing to vape to quit forces the admission.

 

[untar]

I think smokers might also be a bit touchy, let's not forget the "war on smoke" that's on for decades with propaganda and laws designed to make them feel bad and guilt trip them into quitting.
When they see a vape they may just percept it as "so you're trying to force me to quit" or "you think you're better".

 

[evan le'garde]

If you were to imagine for a moment a comic strip in a newspaper which illustrates the exact image the op is referring to.

There is no comedy like observational comedy. It's funny because it's true and people can instantly relate to it.

And the irony is off the scale.

A group of guys, all standing around smoking, telling a vaper they are afraid to vape, "because it may be harmful to my health".

 

[Zakillah]

Also, in my experiance, telling them you mix your own juice translates to "I cook my own ...." in their heads.
Edit..Oh, I didnt realise I cant say "certain drug".
Test: Damn, ...., .....

 

[crayfishx]

Smoking is an addiction, smokers are addicts (vapers too), the biggest thing an addict fears is losing the thing they are addicted to - whether that be alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, drugs... so they create a belief system to give them security and reassurance. Vaping is terrible, smoking is better for you, carry on smoking then. It's a pattern of denial and false belief found in all areas of addiction.