In both my opinion and experience of vaping to date, the argument is a losing battle. For those who say don't vape indoors. With the politics and superficial judgment of how can we possibly manage vaping among civilized society, it may appear like a win if it were banned. No real doubt about that. But it would be superficial in the sense that it really wouldn't prevent many from doing it, and many (many) more from never knowing it was done all around them.
It is that kind of activity.
ONLY when second hand smoke was proven (dubious at best) to be harmful, were all the laws banning it created. When I was a child, you could still smoke on a plane. Check out the movie Airplane or better yet Airport for a real shock to the system.
There is absolutely no reason vaping should not be given the same benefit of the doubt. You can smell my vape? Well I can smell your Old Spice...we're even...
In my experience, this is not even. Was hanging with the fellas tonight playing cards and for umpteenth time I was openly vaping around all of them. All people who would never allow someone to smoke indoors around them in their own house. I not only know this as a current smoker, but when I was the one that was cold turkey (for 8 years) and 3 or 4 of them smoked, they then had attitude of okay in own house. Me, as non smoker, allowed them to smoke in my house. Designated area, but I had very little issue with that as a non-smoker, quitting for a substantial amount of time. Yet, none of these people vape now, and only a couple smoke still but not regularly. None would allow smoking and of all people I currently know, I pretty much know no one that allows smoking indoors in their place. Yet, at cards tonight I asked for my 4th or so time if my vape ever bothers them, and all said no, not even a little bit. One said sometimes the smell but rarely.
IMO, it is more like BO, and not the OMG is that bad BO, but the kind that no one else in the room can smell it, but that one person claims they can, and so that ought to be enough for the person, with BO, to have to depart the area. Which doesn't happen. We don't live in that world. But that is equivalent to what vaping is like in terms of how pungent of an odor are we actually talking about whenever anyone discusses the topic of vaping around other humans. Sometimes, rarely, it can be like the pungent OMG bad BO, most of time it is not. And in my experience I'm vaping Cinnamon, Cucumber, and umpteen other flavors that vapers know, has a distinctive taste. But non vapers don't truly, nor always, detect it like a vaper could or does.
Though, one could say BO is involuntary....
The maddening thing is that e-cigs are being banned and regulated PRIOR to studies being performed. This doesn't happen to suppliments, this does not happen to any other consumer good at all. It's the other way around....Never in history has an item, made of ingredients already classified by the FDA as generally safe, been banned. And even legislators are smart enough not to argue this point scientifically. Instead they use half truths about glamorizing smoking, normallizing nicotine use, and targeting children. All while out of the other side of their mouth they continue to decrminalize and in some cases legalize the recreational use of another commonly smoked product...
Some how a apple flavored e-liquid is marketed to children, but an apple flavored vodka is not.
It's complete horse crap, and the worst part is, fellow vapers are buying into it. This is NOT about me not being able to "wait" until I leave the store, or resturaunt. This is about my right, like any other persons right, to enjoy an activity that I enjoy in public that does not harm anyone around me. I'm not a drinker, but I don't tell someone who drinks to not drink because children are present and I don't want to "glamorize" drinking...
I do currently stealth vape in that I don't exhale a cloud. The sad part is, I shouldn't have to. The battle I am fighting is that one day, I WON'T have to.
To me, the bold part is the worst part and most maddening part. Not only buying into it, but openly blaming us who hold the position of 'vape everywhere' or somewhere where smoking is not permitted. And best as I can tell, there is NOTHING we could say to have that position conclude otherwise.
Yet, it is quite simply the tip of the iceberg. Cause let's take flavors for example. Let's say 85% to 100% of the people on this forum are on the pro vaper side when it comes to 'should an abundance of flavors be legal in the vaping world?' At best it is 100% that we all here agree on that. I'm think it could be slightly less. But we all understand the politics, the tactics, yadda yadda yadda. People who vape and don't ever go online might not hold to the view we do on that and could, I would say quite plausibly, be swayed by the position of, "it is very disrespectful to the norms of society to have that many flavors. Especially kiddie flavors. Yep, that's just wrong. I hope they change that. That's one issue where I think vapers are giving themselves a bad name and shooting themselves in the foot."
Again, none of us here probably look at it this way, but I'm think some, fellow vapers, for sure do.
And right on down the line. Some vapers truly think nicotine ought to be limited. "Heck," they might say, "I never go above 6 mg, so why would anyone need more than 12. That is the place to draw the line, otherwise vapers are just giving themselves a bad name/character to think a human needs that much at one time. I mean pushing on that issue just makes us all look like addicts."
And gear, we all debate that endlessly here, so that's an issue we could roll over on, I'd say easily. I do cigalikes, but if those were banned tomorrow and rest of the devices were deemed hunky dory (for now), I reckon 80% of vapers would be like, "that stinks, how dare they" while 20% (at least) would be like, "sucks to be a cigalike user, but doesn't hurt me. Cigalikes just gave the whole vaping thing a bad name anyway. Good riddance."
There's no issue we 100% agree on as a community and so it's maddening to me that it could all be taken away (de fact ban) and at least some vapers would be like, "well I saw that coming given that those certain vapers gave us a bad name."
Or more maddening, that many vapers could be like, "regulations on x, y and z are smart for the future of vaping (i.e. limiting nic) and the bans on p, d and q are all good moves for the future of vaping. I'm proud as a vaper that they made all those changes. People don't need to be vaping indoors anyway. And all those flavors were just asking to be banned, how could you not see that?"
And with all that said, I still see the anti-vaper as fighting an ultimately losing battle. People are going to vape for the rest of your lifetime, and your great grandkids lifetime. They will be vaping flavors of all sorts. They'll be doing the activity indoors, outdoors, everywhere (hospitals being one prime example). They'll be able to get whatever level of nicotine they desire. And people not currently 18, who have never ever smoked, and never ever will, will at some point be vaping. Not even born yet, and some day they' will be vaping.
Yeah, I'd say the battle is a losing one when confronted with reality. Regardless of a (superficial) political ban.
People can be vaping all around you, and yet be hidden so easily, non-vapers may never have a clue.
It's that kind of activity.
