Why are so many people against non-smokers vaping?

[unquiet]

Just remember, we were all non-smokers once. And we all had our own motivations for both taking that first drag and continuing to take them until we couldn't do without.
If the choice is between someone smoking their first cig or skipping right to vaping, well I know what my advice would be.

 

[Txrider]

most people see a drug addiction as a badthing, and most would argue against a non addicted person taking even a safe nicotine addiction

 

[jfango]

I could see a benefit for someone to start vaping 0 nic as a means to keep them from otherwise stuffing their faces with too much food, for weight loss as the reason for doing it. I certainly can't see any reason why that would be wrong or harmful in any way.

 

[thinkfastholsters]

I quit smoking and then tobacco use all together about 7 months before I started vaping. I was no longer dependent on nicotine but I chose to start vaping aftr my wife showed and interest to help her stop smoking. needless to say, I do believe my nic addiction is back but I dont regret picking up vaping. I was asked "but WHY start that after you were able to quit smoking" probably 4000000 times to which my reponse was "I tried it, liked it, and here I am" I would never degrade someone or play high and mighty and tell a non smoker not to start vaping if they were showing an interest. I would inform them of what I know about it and suggest trying 0 nic juice but leave the rest up to them.

 

[mkbilbo]

Hey I found your post very interesting! When discussing last year with my doctor about quitting smoking, we decided that since I also had some mild anxiety, that we would try Wellbutrin, which is another "we think it curbs nicotine withdraw..." drug.

Zyban is Wellbutrin. Just renamed and repacked. They saw dollar signs when they discovered people who were on Wellbutrin for depression were quitting smoking in surprisingly large numbers. And, to be fair, I have actually known people for whom it was a smashing success. It's certainly not something that should be used without near constant monitoring. Chantix is just off the scale. Last time it was suggested to me, I commented, "Well, yeah, suicide is one way to quit smoking."

Almost two weeks into taking it, I felt despair, complete and utter despair.. I wanted to just kill myself. Went to a HS reunion and was buzz killington, talked about not wanting to live anymore, etc.. Sadly, nobody actually did anything to stop me, but I realized late that night that it was the drug.. I took myself off it and was back to my normal, life-loving, laid back self with mild anxiety about 3-4 days later.

Yeah and you're supposed to self-monitor. Which makes no sense to me. If you feel despair, what would motivate you to report it? Can somebody explain this to me?

The FDA is a joke, and killing people is just a cost of doing business to the big pharma companies. I'm glad they don't have their hands in the vape industry, and pray they never do.. God knows what chemicals they would conspire to put in the juice!

Every year it seems more about money and less about health.

(I'm not in the health care field but most of my family is so I end up knowing way more than I think I'd care to about what's really going on in that realm. It ain't pretty.)

 

[Horselady154]

everyone is too worried about hurting feelings. if employers could bluntly tell people something like "hey, you eat nothing but garbage, never exercise, and smoke too much, and you're going to pay more for health insurance now because of it", labor attorneys would be swimming in pits of money, and it might actually get unhealthy people to take another look at their lifestyle choices. but they're being nice about it, and when the PPACA provisions about wellness, and using proactive services come into effect on 1/1/14, the healthy non-smokers will get a percentage discount off of their premium, and the unhealthy smokers will pay a non-discounted rate. similar to 'safe driving' discounts that car insurance companies are offering (all of what I mentioned about healthcare depends on the size of the employer and the state in which they are headquartered)

Interesting. Because I would opt for ending the collusion between the insurance/big pharma/hospital industries with government so that competition would again be abundant in these industries. The prices would plummet. No longer would people HAVE TO have insurance in order to avoid paying the over-inflated captive market ripoff prices, that were enabled by government legislation. No longer would people without insurance be charged FOUR TIMES the amount for said service than what the provider receives from those with insurance. And for those who choose to have insurance, opening up competition across state lines and actually having to offer a service on their own merits, to obtain customers, rather than paying off government to create a captive market for themselves, would revolutionize the healthcare industry and plummet healthcare prices.

 

[ppeeble]

I enjoyed smoking right up to the day i was diagnosed with angina. I now vape.
Would i ever recommend vaping to a smoker - hell yes, every time.
Would i ever recommend vaping to a non smoker - never.
Breathing chemicals into your lungs is not a good idea. To me it's the lesser of two evils and i chose to vape rather than live my life with a constant mood altering craving. I believe that vaping is not risk free but is a better alternative to smoking.
I do take the moral high-ground here and am not ashamed to do so. I would gladly give my advice to anyone who asks for it but could never recommend vaping to a non smoker.
That doesn't make me anti vaping, i believe everyone has the right to do whatever they (legally) please. If non smokers want to vape then let them vape, but i will never ENCOURAGE non smokers to take up the habit.

 

[RosaJ]

Indeed, and thus none of our business until such time as that Individual asks for one's opinion or seeks advice, at that point does one sit back and say: Hell it's as safe as houses, or, does one ask the individual to consider the choice they are about to make?

If you're going to quote me please don't add "Hell it's as safe as houses" because that phrase is nowhere in my post.

 

[Orobas]

Tomorrow the whole world could start eating nothing but tofu and drinking spring water and your premiums would still go up. The insurance industry is almost as brilliant as commodity speculators when it comes to making up reasons to charge more for their product.

And cave men got plenty of exercise, ate all organic produce and free range meat....

Spoiler

.... and their life expectancy was 30 years, max

 

[patkin]

I enjoyed smoking right up to the day i was diagnosed with angina. I now vape.
Would i ever recommend vaping to a smoker - hell yes, every time.
Would i ever recommend vaping to a non smoker - never.
Breathing chemicals into your lungs is not a good idea. To me it's the lesser of two evils and i chose to vape rather than live my life with a constant mood altering craving. I believe that vaping is not risk free but is a better alternative to smoking.
I do take the moral high-ground here and am not ashamed to do so. I would gladly give my advice to anyone who asks for it but could never recommend vaping to a non smoker.
That doesn't make me anti vaping, i believe everyone has the right to do whatever they (legally) please. If non smokers want to vape then let them vape, but i will never ENCOURAGE non smokers to take up the habit.

I with ya except that if a non-smoker was contemplating vaping INSTEAD of smoking, I would recommend vaping. Had it been around when I decided to smoke my first cig, I would have vaped instead so its an honest, non-judgemental, response. Its usually youth that falls into this category and, frankly, the more of them that vape INSTEAD of smoke the better in my view.

 

[Ravensfan]

And cave men got plenty of exercise, ate all organic produce and free range meat....

Spoiler

.... and their life expectancy was 30 years, max

I think Fred Flintstone did do a cigarette commercial though.

 

[Kabooma]

In their defense, most cave people died from things like trips & falls (broken bones), being trampled by wolly mammoths, or the common cold... however, we all know how dinosaurs became extinct.....

 

[eratikmind]

It's human nature . . . Most people are against and afraid of what they do not understand.

 

[Mountain_Rain96]

Or maybe some people care about other people?

I'm almost 50, I don't think I need anyone telling me how to live my life. So you're cool with it, I take it? People telling you what you should and shouldn't do?

 

[RosaJ]

I'm almost 50, I don't think I need anyone telling me how to live my life. So you're cool with it, I take it? People telling you what you should and shouldn't do?

Ditto, what he said!

 

[nicnut]

I will explain why they are against it using a story

On my screen saver there is a picture of a baby dressed as a evil doer with a train and tracks in the background. There is woman tied to the tracks. My work mate came in my office and says 'Poor baby he is going to get hit by the train!'. The baby has a smile on his face and is laughing, I asked her if she saw the woman tied to the tracks? Nope. People will see what they want and only that!

 

[nicnut]

It's human nature . . . Most people are against and afraid of what they do not understand.

this for the win

 

[Adelwolf]

I understand that the biggest - or at least the loudest - pushback around here regarding non-smokers vaping is not giving the FDA any (more) ammunition against vaping. Fruity/candylike flavors, the easy availability, all these things being a gateway to kids smoking. It's utter BS, or else they would've banned menthols along with candy cigarettes already. We're in the midst of the fight for our rights to vape, as melodramatic as that sounds, and we have to be careful. I know all of this, but it's still frustrating.

I could see a benefit for someone to start vaping 0 nic as a means to keep them from otherwise stuffing their faces with too much food, for weight loss as the reason for doing it. I certainly can't see any reason why that would be wrong or harmful in any way.

This is right on the money, here. My partner quit smoking years ago, and has been trying on and off to get me to quit as well. I succeeded for a while (thanks to Wellbutrin, actually, as a happy side effect to helping with my depression) but it didn't last because I was missing the hand-to-mouth and flavor components so badly. So when I decided to vape, we went to the B&M together, and as I was getting my kit, she wanted one too. Purely 0nic juices, mind you. Immediately, a happy side-effect of us vaping, besides me giving up cigarettes, was that we weren't snacking as much. We're both overweight, we both eat when we're bored/stressed/happy/depressed, and having that hand-to-mouth craving sated, having the good flavors of our separate juices... we don't snack anymore. A bag of chips that would normally only last a few hours now lasts us days.

No, we don't fully understand the physical, long-term effects of vaping... but there are other benefits to it besides just quitting smoking.

 

[Ryedan]

I understand that the biggest - or at least the loudest - pushback around here regarding non-smokers vaping is not giving the FDA any (more) ammunition against vaping.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Snip~~~~~~~~~~~

So when I decided to vape, we went to the B&M together, and as I was getting my kit, she wanted one too. Purely 0nic juices, mind you. Immediately, a happy side-effect of us vaping, besides me giving up cigarettes, was that we weren't snacking as much. We're both overweight, we both eat when we're bored/stressed/happy/depressed, and having that hand-to-mouth craving sated, having the good flavors of our separate juices... we don't snack anymore. A bag of chips that would normally only last a few hours now lasts us days.

No, we don't fully understand the physical, long-term effects of vaping... but there are other benefits to it besides just quitting smoking.

I think you got that absolutely right Adelwolf. There is also the notion that nicotine is terribly addictive. I don't think that's true for the majority of people. I think it's inhaling all the burned c**p in cigarette smoke that is so addictive, but I have no data to support this. In any case, vaping zero nic takes this issue out of the picture. And last, there is the majority opinion that vaping has not been proven to be safe. These three things are the crux of it IMO. I am not one of the people who are automatically against non-smokers vaping.


I do not encourage people who have not smoked to vape. If they ask I explain the risks and let them decide for themselves. If they decide to go for it and they are half way reasonable I will gladly help them. Trying to look cool, fit in with the 'in crowd' or being underage would cause me to say sorry, you're on your own. Weight loss, stress relief, medical issues that may be helped with nicotine consumption and a simple mature interest in experiencing vaping will all work for me.

Of course, not inhaling anything other than air or doing any activity that might become addictive is always the best course of action. I served a glass of wine to a 16 year old with Easter dinner last weekend. Her parents OK'd it. Was I wrong to do that? Were her parents wrong? Will she become an alcoholic because of this? We also served a very sweet desert later in the evening which all the kids ate (and really enjoyed). Do these kids now have increased risk of being overweight, having high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol later in life? A mature interest in experiencing vaping is no different from any of these things from where I stand.

 

[D4rk50ul]

They are selfish and think that it will somehow worsen the FDA regulations by showing that this is a recreational product and not a cessation device. If the trend continues vaping will be the new smoking so get used to non smokers trying it.

The simple fact is that we have the right to smoke, vape, drink, etc. The public health zealots want everyone to do nothing but sit in a white padded room watching leave it to beaver but it isn't realistic. I enjoy vaping just like I enjoyed smoking and others enjoy drinking. Demonize us all you want it just shows you lack self confidence and are weak minded.

I welcome anyone who wants to vape, beats then getting the cold shoulder and smoking instead.