E-Cigarette and Vaping, For and Against

[Lisnpuppy]

 

It's well known that kicking nicotine is harder for some heroin addicts than kicking heroin. Studies also indicate virtually nobody starts smoking tobacco after the age of 18, it's almost exlusively a peer-pressure thing as teenagers, or due to family environment etc. If we can keep teens from starting, they rarely do as adults.

There are a LOT fewer smokers now, than there were back when I was a teen....... Although, you would never guess that by the number of tobacco shops around here..... (they sell vaping supplies as well.)

 

 

Yeah....we watch a great deal of Adult Swim in the house...and just about every commercial break there us an anti-smoking teen ad..paid in part by the tobacco companies lol.

 

I honestly *knock on wood* may hopefully dodged a bullet with lung cancer. I had a trache to breath (little tube in your neck) from 6 to 15. And my parents both smoked every day around me. I think if I got something my Dad wouldn't be able to take it. Of course none of us wore seatbelts either but still.

 

@The Materson- Yep..when you work in a treatment facility you learn all that. I worked both long-term and short-term detox and treatment. Sure met some interesting and wonderful people...sad though. I knew a woman that was a heroin addict (and she was old-surprisingly old to a heroin addict.) She had lost the tips of three fingers cause she just couldn't stop. They ask her once why she didn't do crack and she claimed (to much sad laughter) that "that s***'s bad for you!" She finally lost to the heroin.

 

They say weed is a gateway drug...if it is then cigarettes are also. First it is that then a bit of beer then....

 

I know all my friends in high school took great glee at smoking right before first period and being a bit high. People forget that nicotine is a DRUG as is alcohol.

 

I will never understand how so many Americans can make the excuses they do to refuse to see that. Personally (and this is a whole other debate) I would rather it be all legal, controlled and the crap taxed out of it. Then you can pour that cash onto treatment, mental health treatment ( just about everyone I ever met in treatment self-medicated with the stuff) and domestic violence. The side bonus, like during Prohibition..you get rid of that and the violence goes way down. But again I digress....

[HeyYou]

 

 

It's well known that kicking nicotine is harder for some heroin addicts than kicking heroin. Studies also indicate virtually nobody starts smoking tobacco after the age of 18, it's almost exlusively a peer-pressure thing as teenagers, or due to family environment etc. If we can keep teens from starting, they rarely do as adults.

There are a LOT fewer smokers now, than there were back when I was a teen....... Although, you would never guess that by the number of tobacco shops around here..... (they sell vaping supplies as well.)

 

 

Yeah....we watch a great deal of Adult Swim in the house...and just about every commercial break there us an anti-smoking teen ad..paid in part by the tobacco companies lol.

 

I honestly *knock on wood* may hopefully dodged a bullet with lung cancer. I had a trache to breath (little tube in your neck) from 6 to 15. And my parents both smoked every day around me. I think if I got something my Dad wouldn't be able to take it. Of course none of us wore seatbelts either but still.

 

@The Materson- Yep..when you work in a treatment facility you learn all that. I worked both long-term and short-term detox and treatment. Sure met some interesting and wonderful people...sad though. I knew a woman that was a heroin addict (and she was old-surprisingly old to a heroin addict.) She had lost the tips of three fingers cause she just couldn't stop. They ask her once why she didn't do crack and she claimed (to much sad laughter) that "that s***'s bad for you!" She finally lost to the heroin.

 

They say weed is a gateway drug...if it is then cigarettes are also. First it is that then a bit of beer then....

 

I know all my friends in high school took great glee at smoking right before first period and being a bit high. People forget that nicotine is a DRUG as is alcohol.

 

I will never understand how so many Americans can make the excuses they do to refuse to see that. Personally (and this is a whole other debate) I would rather it be all legal, controlled and the crap taxed out of it. Then you can pour that cash onto treatment, mental health treatment ( just about everyone I ever met in treatment self-medicated with the stuff) and domestic violence. The side bonus, like during Prohibition..you get rid of that and the violence goes way down. But again I digress....

 

Exactly my position on the whole thing. The "war on drugs" is obviously a losing battle. At least if it was all legal, they would actually have the money to set up, and run the treatment centers properly. Think that would go a long way toward relieving some of the problems.

 

Marijuana being a schedule one drug is also farking ludicrous...... Worse than coke? Crack? Etc??? Seriously? You KNOW that was a political decision.

[TheMastersSon]

Well from what I've read, tobacco use has now caused over a billion deaths worldwide. In terms of numbers, tobacco companies make the Third Reich look like Girl Scouts.

 

IMO it's not coincidental that studies indicate drug abuse rates among teens are actually lower in countries that have no or fewer drug laws. That's not to say I think drug dealers should be allowed to line up at our schools, but imo countries like Spain have a much more enlightened approach to drug abuse: the government lets people live their lives in their own homes as they see fit, but they come down like a ton of bricks on those who cause threats to public safety (everything from selling drugs to minors to DUI etc). IMO it's a happy compromise between personal liberty/responsibility and public protection.

 

The U.S. now has more of its citizens incarcerated, both in total number and per capita, than any country on Earth. Even China, with a totalitarian government with no individual civil rights and a population four times our own. And last I checked, 38% of our federal prisoners were there for non-violent drug offenses. Here in California, thanks to our former and inane "three strikes" law, murderers and rapists were being released early from prison to make room for coke snorters and bicycle thieves. No I'm not kidding. It's what happens when reactionary stupidity wins in a state, or country.

[vixsyn]

There have been multiple studies all over the world looking at the link between legalising drugs and crime and addiction rates. The general conclusion does seem to be that relaxing drug laws does not lead to higher rates of addiction. I find it interesting that given the amount of evidence that's been compiled in this case over the years more countries haven't tried legal drug pilot schemes. Think of the tax revenue potential if coke was sold over the counter!

 

In the UK the smoking ban in buildings had a fairly dire effect on the entertainment business and coincided with many pub and club closures. It's probably not the only cause, given supermarkets were also lowering the cost of booze at the time, but it's a factor - many smokers aren't going to go and hang out at the pub with their friends for a few hours if any time they want a cigarette they have to find somewhere outside they can smoke; some places did try to aid their smoking customers with heated patios but some went the other way and made their entire premises, gardens included, smoke free. Perhaps if vaping was allowed it would have seen a bigger uptake here but there are plenty of places that have banned that now as well, because "the effects aren't known" yet.

[Dazaster]

Yes, the smoking ban had a huge impact on people going out to do their drinking, especially the older generations over 35 or so.

In the village where I live, most of the pubs allow vaping, as do the workingmen's clubs. But a few miles up the road in Durham, it's banned.

I do most of my drinking in a workingmans club that nearly died the death when smoking was outlawed, now it's starting to fill up again, and I've noticed a steady increase in the number of vapers, especially amonst the young, coming in.

 

I'm sure non smokers will read that last bit with disdain, but, going into a pub where people are vaping is nothing like the old smoky places, where you came out with red eyes, a burning throat and all stinky. If anything, you'll come out smelling better than you went in due to the sweet and fruit vape varieties that people use.

(In case you don't know, vape juice comes in a thousand and one different flavours like strawberry, watermelon, cola and lemonade, not just tabacco.)

Edited September 6, 2016 by Dazaster

[Lisnpuppy]

Thesmells remind me of pipes people would smoke and they would have like vanilla...as apposed to cigarettes they were awesome smelling.

[Signette]

Several times in my life I tried to start smoking nikotine cigarettes, never could enjoy it, still don't get it why people smoke this stuff, I mean you develop a habit to smoke it very often, you don't get even slightly high, it hurts your health ALOT... what's the point?

 

By the way I have a few friends who gave up nicotine smoking very easily, funny thing is they thought it would be tough to break this habit, put aside that moment many times, but in fact it wasn't.

[HeyYou]

Several times in my life I tried to start smoking nikotine cigarettes, never could enjoy it, still don't get it why people smoke this stuff, I mean you develop a habit to smoke it very often, you don't get even slightly high, it hurts your health a lot... what's the point?

 

By the way I have a few friends who gave up nicotine smoking very easily, funny thing is they thought it would be tough to break this habit, put aside that moment many times, but in fact it wasn't.

I have tried to quit many times..... Drugs, patches, gum, hypnosis, the whole nine yards...... most of the drugs had some rather rude side effects.... patches/gum give me some TRULY well structured nightmares....... I got tired of waking up in a cold sweat, screaming.... Oddly enough, my wife didn't much care for it either. :D I tried to quit 'cold turkey', and after two days, my wife bought me a pack, threw them at me, and said: "Here, smoke these, you are too much of an asshole without them."....... I missed a golden opportunity when I was in basic training.... Didn't get a smoke break for a week.... Should have quit then, but, the smokers got more breaks than non-smokers...... (this was back in the 80's.)

 

I have been smoking too many years.... I am quite thoroughly addicted.. And it isn't necessarily about 'getting high', it is more about getting used to the endorphins nicotine releases, and you miss them when they aren't there...... badly. I have cut back quite a bit on my smoking..... still smoke though. I spend less than 20 bucks a month on it..... so, vaping is actually more expensive..... I am going to die from something else stupid anyway, so, not really worried about cancer.

[vixsyn]

I started smoking when I was... about fourteen I think? It was quite easy for me because I had pretty laid back parents who were also smokers and whilst they weren't pleased about it, they didn't outright ban me from doing it either. I was a chubby kid and smoking became meal replacement therapy (no, this is not a good idea!).

 

I quit in my early 20s for about a year but took it up again during a rampant bout of PMS :| Quitting the first time wasn't that hard - I was in London with some friends for a few days, ran out of tobacco and was so busy and scared of the big city (/wimp) that I didn't buy more. Plus being in London is a bit like smoking fifty a day anyway... Still, I've found it stupidly hard to quit since. Like HeyYou, I've tried almost all the things (except hypnosis, which I've been thinking about). It just isn't sticking. Sometimes I think you need to really want to quit, like REALLY want to quit, for your willpower to overcome the nicotine cravings. I'm sometimes baffled that cigarettes are legal when something like cannabis isn't, nicotine is brutally addictive whereas cannabis seems to only be addictive to some people, not all.

 

I've tried vapes/e-cigs, spent a lot of money on them in fact, trying everything from cheap and cheerfuls to expensive custom kits, but I've never managed to stick with them. I often find even the "best" ones seem to leak and I end up with the liquid in my mouth which is apparently a very bad thing. Also I smoke rollups and most vapes, and normal cigarettes for that matter, are so huge I feel like I'm sucking off a giant Tampax.

[TheMastersSon]

> I am going to die from something else stupid anyway, so, not really worried about cancer.

 

My grandma never smoked, drank alcohol or overate, but suffered horribly for 15 years before passing away. So lesson learned. As Denis Leary once said, 'smoking takes ten years off your life -- the wheelchair/adult diaper/kidney dialysis years'.

Edited September 7, 2016 by TheMastersSon