Vaping areas - a good idea?

A vaping area could be a great place to meet
other vapers, or recruit new ones.

This weekend I spotted someone posting an article about the U.S. Military opening a vape deck on USS George Washington (http://goo.gl/16EZHe). I was pretty excited about this "news" and set out to write a blog post about it. In fact, I almost finished the whole post before I suddenly noticed the date.... 23rd of July. Damn that's old news, but still really good news though. Anyway, seeing that a lot of people have blogged about this already, I'm sure I'm the only one in the whole world of vaping that missed it, so I'm not going to bother you with that post now.

However, reading the article I especially took notice of something Aviation Maintenance Administration-man 3rd Class Zachary Dixon (damn, that is some title) said:

“I think having an E-cigarette smoke pit is a great idea and I believe it is a step forward, not just for the George Washington, but for the U.S. Navy as a whole,” said Dixon. “People like myself now have the option to avoid being exposed to cigarette smoke, and still enjoy our E-cigarettes in a similar environment.”

Thinking of it I don't see this argument too often: making vapers go to the smoking areas, or outside with the smokers, to vape, will in fact expose them to cigarette smoke. Of course I've seen it mentioned before, but I do feel it's not emphasized enough.

The most obvious negative effect of this is the exposure to secondhand smoke. The reason smokers have to go outside or to a designated area is to protect non-smokers from this. Well, a lot of vapers are also non-smokers now so why shouldn't they be protected?

Another negative effect, that in my opinion is just as bad, is that I do believe this will cause quite a lot of people relapsing and start smoking again. I think new vapers, or people that are on the verge of making the switch will be very vulnerable to this. A lot of people start out with poor performing cig-alikes. If they were allowed to vape inside, without exposure to cigarette smoke, this might just have been the one advantage that keeps them from switching back, and might encourage them to search for better performing equipment. If forced to vape with the smokers, the way back to cigarettes at this stage is not very long. I know this was the case with myself, as I started out with a crap set from Deal Extreme, and I have to admit that when I went outside with the smokers at work the cigarettes were very tempting. And yes, I had a cigarette once in a while... and it was great. At home, I didn't cause I used the crap set inside, and this inspired me to search for something better. Now I'm pretty much immune to this effect, since I've been vaping for so long and I've got equipment that makes vaping so much better than smoking. Cigarettes now taste so awful that I'd never go back.

Then there is the fact that vaping in non-smoking areas could encourage more smokers to try it out. Now this one is a bit tricky though. Making vapers "hang out" with the smokers could also get some more smokers interested. But then again, there is one less advantage for the vaper to boast of. To be totally honest I'm not sure whether forcing vapers to use the smoking areas or allowing vaping in non-smoking areas will trigger the most smokers to try it out, but I do think allowing vaping in non-smoking areas will increase the success rate of those who try.

I don't see any good reason that vaping needs to be banned in any non-smoking area. Of course there are some places I don't vape. In general I'd say I try to avoid vaping openly where there is a lot of kids. It's all about vaping responsibly, and using common sense. But I also think having special vaping areas, for example on ships or in airports, preferably combined a vape bar, is a good idea. You could do this without banning vaping in other areas, and I think it would still attract a lot of vapers. Such areas, especially if it offers smokers the opportunity to try it out, could be great for gathering vapers, sharing experiences and convincing smokers to switch. And it is certainly a lot better than forcing vapers to go vape with the smokers.




photo credit: lindsay-fox via photopin cc

Vapers coming out from their hiding places here in Norway

Currently I'm kind of on vacation. I'm not sure if vacation is the right term but at least I am off work, and I'm spending my time off trying to build a kitchen for the first time. It's amazing how many times you have to go to IKEA, to different hardware stores and to building supply stores to pick up things and tools you need. You would think IKEA supplied you with everything... but they don't. So I've spent a lot of this week driving around town picking up everything I've forgotten or didn't know I would need. So I haven't had much time to blog, but during the last week I've discovered something: I'm not the only (public) vaper in my town any more.

When walking home from work on my last day before the vacation I was surprised to see a middle aged man pull up an ego with a clearomizer at a cafe just as I walked by. Later that day I was out shopping for more kitchen stuff and I actually saw another one at a parking lot. Then a couple of days later my wife went to a cafe to meet a friend and she came home telling me that her friend had pulled out an e-cigarette as well, and it turns out that my wife's friend's boyfriend is also a vaper. Pretty hardcore one as well from what she told me. Finally, yesterday when I went to IKEA to pick up the last parts of the kitchen (yeah right!) I saw a guy outside with a big-ass mod and a huge tank filled with some green liquid, making some pretty big clouds of vapor.

It finally looks like the vapers are coming out from their hiding places here in Norway. Prior to this week I can't even remember seeing anyone with an e-cigarette here in this town. Well, actually I have some colleagues at work that I have convinced, but this is the first time I've seen some out and about. Maybe it's the weather (it has been fantastic the last week by the way) that has brought them outside? I don't know, but I hope it stays this way :)


photo credit: Casey Meshbesher Photographic via photopin cc