Ignorance about vaping - I need to be careful - no reference to drugs

[Kay1959]

As the wife of a retired police officer, I feel I need to come to the defense of cops here. Hey guys...ease up! Most people who even KNOW what ecigs are in the first place, know them as those tiny cig look alike minis....not a Lavatube, Provari, eGo etc....So while they might pass over a mini thinking 'oh, that's one of those new electronic things', anything bigger is going to get their attention! Why? Because they've never seen one before. Since they've never seen one before, they are really obligated to 'check it out'. Checking it out requires them to stop and talk with you about it and yes, maybe even confirm that you aren't doing something illegal. That's their JOB people! What we, as U.S. tax paying citizens, pay them to do! We have a tendency to grip when they don't do their job and we have a tendency to grip when they DO do their job, if it is of any inconvenice to US.

 

[leftfeild]

I think in my case it is my area and not the police in general. This is the same police station that accused me of breaking down a fence. I pulled my passport out of my pocket (which I needed for ID way back when to get cigarettes) that proved I was in Australia at the time for a month but they still insisted I did it.

I would have been ok with them about my ecig if they didn't only ask me over and over if I do or sell drugs. There was nothing else. One minute of "what is that" and they barely listened as I explained it then they just asked over and over, the same two questions like I had something to hide. They had to cheek to say I wasn't local as well - even though I've lived here my entire life in this tiny village where everyone knows everyone. No, they aren't local if they don't know me

I'm sure other police officers are by far more responsible and professional than the jokers I seem to encounter. It just felt like they were enjoying keeping me there and they had very little interest in the ecig - seemed more of a reason to stop me to try to get me to confess to something I'm flat out not doing.

It could have been a good conversation and a chance to get to know me instead of genuinely trying to intimidate me. I don't have much respect for them after that and yeah, it put me off using my ecig outside at all because it's going to be a pain if the next pair of plonkers in a police car do the same thing because there's nothing else to do around here. Effort yo

 

[sailorman]

Nothing against police in general. I'm sure that 99.9% of them know what an e-cig is by now, even if it doesn't look like a cigarette. My comments are more about what they could do if they wanted to because of the various court decisions that have been handed down in the last 30 years or so. It's a credit to cops that most of them don't take advantage of the legal cover they've been granted and engage in all manner of harassment and abuse. Although the cops in some localities are less worthy of that credit than others, and it seems to be getting worse.

 

[Kay1959]

I can't speak for cops in Scotland...all I know about them is from old movies I've watched lol! And in those, they do seem to get their panties in a wad pretty easily lol! But I don't think they offer Vapiing 101 classes to cops here in the states...so what little exposer they will get, comes from us.

 

[Kay1959]

Actually I'm thinking, we as vapers, could have a big impact on personal lives of cops. I know alot of cops smoke (when they aren't eating their doughnuts of course!) And they aren't allowed, atleast around here, to smoke in their patrol cars...that was banned several years ago where my hubby worked (he's a smoker)..with so many cops being smokers, we could really help them, as a person by explaining to them when they ask about vaping vs smoking (we might get some converts)...this would help not only them as an individual, but other vapers out there..by letting cops know what these devices are.

 

[Warren D. Lockaby]

Years ago I learned if I was perceived to be at ease the police and most everyone else would leave me alone no matter what I was doing. OTOH if I appeared to be nervous, fidgety, anxious, afraid, antisocial, angry, etc. it was clear to *everyone* that I was unquestionably guilty of something; the prevailing wisdom among authority figures was, and probably remains, to keep me close by until they could figure out what it was. Once I learned this, I learned to have fun with these people. When they stopped me to explore my mind, I'd explore theirs - but not for anything they'd expect me to seek. I didn't care what I found in there... heck, I was just playing, like a kid on a log with a hammer & chisel. They wanted to shoot the breeze all day? No problem, I had as much time as they did, maybe more.

There are many mindsets available and each of us can choose any one we like. The one I chose allows me to *insist* upon having a good time whether anyone else does or not. I try to spread the fun around but I'm realistic about this: misery is optional, and no matter how hard you try to cheer 'em up some people will opt for misery every time. I can't fix this so the best thing I can do is try to have enough fun for both of us.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Lucky you. I got a warning for discussing @#$% even though I do not partake

Hmm... Seems I broke a rule with my last post because I mentioned illicit drugs.

Important enough to me to repost, with out the mention of drugs.

Twice today, someone thought I was doing drugs with my KGO. This made me pause, as I had not considered what it may look like to those that were unfamiliar with Vaping. I have a responsibility to make sure that people see it for what it really is if I am vaping in public. That's all.

My hand sort of stings.

 

[DedTV]

I doubt it. People who saw those movies know better. Nobody who saw those movies learned anything they didn't already know. They weren't documentaries. The only people who openly use them in that way are a tiny group, most of whom are fairly affluent, have prescriptions and reside in one of just a few states.

They don't know better. It's not that think you're using an Ecig to treat your Glaucoma. It's that they don't think of "Electronic Cigarette" at all.



Most people, even those who have never "treated glaucoma" themselves, are familiar with the device on the left and what it's used for. Thus, when someone who isn't familiar with Ecig mods see the Empire Mod on the right, their minds automatically associate it with the device on the left because popular culture has trained their minds to make that association for decades.

6 months ago, if I'd have seen an Empire mod, I'd have made the same association. I had no clue what E-Cigs were. Even after using Blus and Njoys, I still would have made that association.
It wasn't until I came here and started educating myself that I started training myself to automatically recognize the difference between the two. But there's no one educating the public to do the same as Ecigs, and especially ecig mods, have not become a part of popular culture as of yet so it's only people like us, using them in public and explaining them to people that can train other people to start thinking differently and no longer make the automatic association with herbal use when they see someone using an Ecig.

 

[Ratchet]

I get the ...pipe jokes all the time.. LOL! I'm vaping on my Lavatube, and yes, I'm doing it in public, so thoughts of ilicit drugs are always in someone's head...... most of the time, you'll just see it in the looks they give you, sometimes they'll say it out loud. I've learned to ignore it. Even my brother commented to me on Skype: "If I didn't know better, I'd think you're smoking some.....". LOL!

 

[bodrell]

Welcome to ECF Alliebar and I'm sure it's no biggie...there's a good reason for the "no drug talk" rule but it wouldn't have occured to me either, had I not read it in the rules first.

I make a point of telling people what it's about (just matter-of-fact, not getting all evangelical) if I have PV in hand somewhere public. So far nothing but a totally positive response and I joke that it's simply my "inhaler". I've managed to convert two people and have planted the seed in others that vaping is a viable alternative to smoking.

 

[Harplayr]

It is all good. I am not upset at all. I just felt I was wrong in how I was portraying myself and had never thought about it before. I will be more careful in the future.

I had a similar situation to yours both with the perception from “the unenlightened” not knowing what I was doing, and making an ill-advised post regarding the incident.

Yes, it would be GREAT if the general public became more aware of what we actually are doing with some of the “strange looking” devices we tend to use, but I just don’t have the personality to be that ambassador. That is one of the reasons why I carry around a cig-lookalike with me to both use as an emergency backup and a more inconspicuous vape in certain situations.

I know some here are a bit more militant, and I’ve been told that by using a cig-lookalike, or vaping outdoors I’m doing a disservice to the vaping community, but I say to each his own, and just do as you’re comfortable doing.

 

[YoMa!]

I opened the front door to my sister while I had my stardust on an ego a while back. She said, "Uh, High?" You should have seen her eyebrows. I thought they were going to fly off her head.

 

[HawkeyeFLA]

For what it's worth, both to this thread, and being out and about in general, I ordered a 50pk of the free info business cards that ECF stocks. I must say, I was quite impressed with the quality. It's high end card stock it feels like. I like that they have a professional look to them and don't look like I ran them off on my ink jet at home. (Hmmm, wait, do I even still have an ink jet, not sure. ) Keep some in my pocket and a stash in the car.

The other night while I was at House of Blues' outside bar having a beer before a movie, the bartender asked me what I had, and once he got a good look at it, he asked if it was a cigar version of an electronic cigarette. Turns out a guest a few seats down had what appeared to be an 808 look alike. I basically explained how it's just the same concept, only a larger battery that lasts me longer. Then the other guy and I compared notes. He's been vaping for 2 years. Sadly his wife who smokes never got into it, but such is life I guess.

 

[islancka]

I don't usually even think about it but I just use a standard non-white 510 or an eGo. If anybody thinks anything illicit about it, they haven't felt the need to mention it.

 

[Jason_ESV]

Welcome to the world, Allie. Everyone makes mistakes, that's why they put erasers on pencils. ( I feel like a broken record.)

 

[Randy C]

Ha Ha...I get some really strange looks when I vape in public. I get a whole lot more looks than I do get questions. I'm sure to some people, my extended Provari (with a 6ml tank) must look like some kind of futuristic weapon- until I take a drag off of it

My wife and I were waiting for a table outside of a nice restaurant last night. An elderly couple was sitting down next to us. As I took a drag off of my Provari and I heard the man whisper to his wife- "What the hell is he doing, Gladys? For God's sake,what the XXXXX is that thing?"

 

[Cherryblossom]

I always feel self conscious when vaping at stop lights on base. I get some funny looks sometimes. I keep the little booklet I got with my first ego in the jeep with me, to show if I ever get stopped. Lol. People tend to be highly suspicious of the unfamiliar, and it's all too easy for some of them to make the wrong association.

***I should also add that it concerns me that in our society so many people seem to feel it is their right to stick their nose into other people's business, and that those people often are very confrontational in public. Being a small female, drawing that kind of attention worries me. Because of this, I tend to be careful where I vape. Just because we know it's harmless doesn't mean other will view it as such, or be willing to listen to reason.