you didn't really quit smoking because you're vaping...

[metropolitan]

i'm sure i'm not the only one who has heard this: "well, you didn't really quit smoking because you're vaping."

it seems i've gotten that only from non-smokers and it's a bit of a disappointment. smokers seem to consider my switching to vaping as "quitting" but non-smokers seem to have a different, mostly antagonistic, take on it. i believe i would not get that reaction if i said i had gone so long without a cigarette while using the patch or nicotine gum, but there's this opposition to vaping.
i think it's partly because it gives off the impression that smokers are having their cake and eating it too. meaning a nicotine fix without the high chance of cancer, emphysema, etc. it just seems too good that somehow smokers found a loophole where they can still be breathing out clouds of something that looks like smoke with a pleasant taste, that takes care of your need for nicotine and (holy moly!) can even be used indoors in many non-smoking places. there's a certain "that can't be right" attitude i've gotten.
i've explained in detail studies on propylene glycol --particularly for those who bring up the "anti-freeze" meme and so on, but in return i get a reduction ad absurdum argument that turns into possible carcinogenics in both natural and artificial flavoring. --and this comes from people who don't avoid artificial flavoring in the food they eat. somehow i feel safe to say that i don't think these people would begin arguing with me about the fact that there are no long term studies on the adhesives used on the patch or similar hair splitting issues. the attitude is just that it sounds too easy for smokers. it looks like they are smoking so there must be something really bad about it, even if we don't know what.
hey, i'm all for further research on inhaling natural and artificial flavors, i do know that some artificial flavorings are bad for you and your lungs (such as some butter flavorings used in microwave popcorn), but i can't seem to get the idea across of the amazing benefits of harm reduction in switching to vaping. to me that's the most important thing. i realize that i'm still addicted to nicotine but i also think this is the farthest i've ever gone from freeing me from the smoking habit and that if it wasn't for vaping i'd still be smoking almost two packs a day and suffering the consequences.

so my question here is, how do you deal with this? and by that i mean other than arguing. you can never convince anyone of anything by trying to force them into a corner. you can possibly get them to admit that you are right on certain points but you just put them on the defensive and inside their opinions don't change much.
is there a good metaphor that people can understand easily? by that i mean something along the lines of vaping being the equivalent of sugar free candy for diabetics or soy burgers for vegans or something around those lines.

 

[subversive]

My SO has seen me be smoke-free for 2 years, but he considers me only "kinda" a non-smoker because I am still inhaling something. That's his logic, and he is a non-smoker. He supports my vaping 100%, though. I still feel like a smoker at times as well. My thoughts have been evolving on this. If I went to the doctor, I would mark down non-smoker. You're right; it is different with the smokers. My smoking family members think I am a non-smoker, and the e-cig is no different than long term use of NRT to them.

The only thing you can do is continue to vape. It doesn't matter what they think - YOU know you have found something that is much better for your lungs, and you can feel the difference. Just be polite and answer questions on vaping and let the matter go.

There are a lot of articles here, on CASAA's site, and also a Harvard study out there you can google. You can show that information to friends and family, but their thoughts are really more of an anti-smoking stigma thing than feelings based on cold facts.

 

[kdwycha]

The way I see it is that vaping is a healthier alternative to smoking. You are not taking in co2, tons of chemicals, smelling like an ashtray.

However you are still taking in as much if not more nicotine then smoking. With that being said I believe heart attack risk remains the same as a smoker due to increased blood pressure.

Still beats smoking.

 

[Pentarth]

"Condemnation without investigation is the height of Ignorance". Albert Einstein.
People are ignorant. How many years did we think the world was flat? Until presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary people will cling to their overopinionated, biased, uneducated, uninformed beliefs. There are a whole following of people that still believe we never went to the moon.
Present your side. Show study results to people or where the links to view them are. Then walk away because if you lower yourself down to an idiots level he will beat you with his vast experience at that level.
It's a free country to believe whatever you want, be it right or wrong, idiotic or educated.

 

[Beccca]

In a way it looks like your smoking something...........thats the rub

 

[tj99959]

I had no intention of quitting nicotine, I just wanted to quit burning tobacco.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Agreed with TJ99959.

Whenever I give people my schpiel (sp), I usually include the statement, "It's not necessarily a cessation tool, although you can lower your nicotine level to 0, if that is your goal. However, to me, it is a healthier alternative to smoking." I still enjoy the act of (well, I would say smoking here, but now I'll say...) vaping.

 

[subversive]

Cigarettes contain varying levels of freebase nicotine. Vaping does not. Cigarette smoke is easily absorbed by your lungs. Vapor is not. Vapor is a slower delivery system and a study has shown that experiences vapers got the same blood nicotine levels as smokers. I really don't think we're getting more nic from vaping.

Also, if you check out CASAA's articles, the temporary increase in blood pressure from nic ( I believe it drops after 20 minutes ) is not linked to cardiovascular disease.

I have been on the other side of this argument in the past, and while I consider my PV a substitute and still a monkey on my back, I have to think of it like this - I had 3 uncles who all quit smoking a decade or more ago. All of them used a combination of NRT for 10 years. One died, but the other two are still alive and well and using nicotine. Are they smokers? No. Nicotine addiction is not the same as smoking.

 

[ossojones]

This is a tough subject. Vaping isn't quitting, it's switching. Many vapors who don't plan ahead will go have a cigarette if they don't have vape supplies or their batteries all die at once. Most people here agree that non smokers shouldn't try or start vaping. The reason for that is we all know what the addiction does to you and don't want someone else to experience that even if vaping isn't harmful. People who never got addicted to nic are lucky. The only thing we should breath is air and they know that and can do that without a problem. For us, this isn't "possible" because we are addicted to breathing something else and don't want to go through the process of stopping. I have met people who haven't smoked in 20 years who say they still feel like a smoke on occasion but they don't do it. It's not much different than people who only drink water saying you shouldn't drink soda. saying "I drink diet so there is no calories" doesn't make it right. There is still a bunch of crap in diet soda and all you really need is the water. So they are right even if you don't like it and are drinking something that is less harmful than regular soda.

I'll stop rambling. Just realize that they, as non smokers, view any form of nic delivery as "bad". They are correct in some ways and we need to realize that.

This is totally separate from someone not wanting you to vape around them because they think vapor is smoke. Those people just don't understand that what you are doing doesn't harm them in any way. They are just not educated and can only relate to current opinions on analog second hand smoke. I have 4 vapors in my office and one guy always complains about it. Luckily my boss and the owner both vape so his opinions don't matter.

 

[Robino1]

The way that I have dealt with the one and only person so far is to present my side, listen to their rebuttal. Since he didn't look like he was open to seeing a different perspective, I just said 'who knows if I will stop vaping. I will decide later down the road when I get my nic level lower'. Then smiled and called him a jackass in my mind and walked away.

You WILL run into people that WILL NEVER see this as a safer alternative. It isn't worth the frustration of trying to get them to change. Count the ones that do see not the ones that don't. There Are more people that will be open to understanding than not.

 

[metropolitan]

There are a lot of articles here, on CASAA's site, and also a Harvard study out there you can google. You can show that information to friends and family, but their thoughts are really more of an anti-smoking stigma thing than feelings based on cold facts.

does anyone have any links? i'm sorry to say but i googled "harvard study on e-cigarettes" and came up with some non-commital to negative results from a study at Harvard.

 

[Boiler]

Don't Bring Me Down!

 

[Rocketpunk]

My boss and kitchen manager are those very types of individuals. They see it as weird, plain and simple. They associate it with bad things. No matter the evidence we bring, no matter how we try to approach it in a scientifically-valid way, neither will listen to reason. They've made up their minds it's a freakish thing to do, and all us vapers are going to grow three balls and our kids will have four arms and suction cups. It's ignorance, plain and simple. Don't waste your time trying to convince them. Just vape on. Another poster in this thread dropped some Albert Einstein and Mark Twain quotes. Don't argue with an idiot, they'll bring you to their level and then beat you with their own ignorance.

 

[Kopfstimmen]

My coworker said something like that, too. I didn't say anything, and then it bugged me all night. The next morning, I said something like this:
"You know, you really ...... me off yesterday with that. You like subway sandwiches with meat, right? Like meat, beans also have protein, right? Then how would you feel about eating bean sandwiches instead of the ones you eat now?"
Not a word has been said since. It is notable to mention though, that my GF later said I should have compared .........ion to sex.

 

[kimbo55]

Verbage! Is "smoking" using nicotine? Vapor is not smoke.

 

[ShayBabe15]

I get statements like that all the time. Being so young, I get it more so than often. Especially at work.
One of my co-workers that I take "smoke breaks" with, who is an actual smoker, asks, "You haven't quit smoking, if you're going to smoke off of that silly machine, why not smoke like a man and use the real deal?" I always tell him, "I'm just extending my life span. I never said I wanted to quit nicotine, just my shortened path to death." We both laugh and continue.
On the street, I have people ask questions all the time. I politely tell them my reasoning, if they start to argue I just lay it out and say, "My decisions do not concern you, the vapor does not harm you. To each their own and oblige respect."

No one should judge you, but almost everyone does. Just be polite.

 

[p-doze]

i look at vaping as a safer delivery system for the same drug

 

[MaDeuce]

Just got back from my dentist about 30 minutes ago. He asked me if anything had changed since my last visit. I told him yes, I quit smoking. He asked if I used the patch or one of those "e-cig thingys", I told him I used an e-cig. He said that's good and when he wrote in my chart he spoke these words out loud, "Non-smoker, check".

I like my dentist.

 

[m1ke]

i'm sure i'm not the only one who has heard this: "well, you didn't really quit smoking because you're vaping."

This may be the biggest load of crap I've read all month.

so my question here is, how do you deal with this? and by that i mean other than arguing. you can never convince anyone of anything by trying to force them into a corner. you can possibly get them to admit that you are right on certain points but you just put them on the defensive and inside their opinions don't change much.
is there a good metaphor that people can understand easily? by that i mean something along the lines of vaping being the equivalent of sugar free candy for diabetics or soy burgers for vegans or something around those lines.

I haven't been faced with it, but I would just ignored them because I am not interested in changing someone's mind about this. I don't think it's worth trying.

 

[m1ke]

I get statements like that all the time. Being so young, I get it more so than often. Especially at work.
One of my co-workers that I take "smoke breaks" with, who is an actual smoker, asks, "You haven't quit smoking, if you're going to smoke off of that silly machine, why not smoke like a man and use the real deal?"

LOL, whatta loser..

Yea, smoke like a man.. suck tar deep into your lungs until you're coughing it up and can barely breathe after walking briskly.