I want to give my perspective on smoking/vaping that is purely from my own experiences. It's unlikely many agree with me, but I wanted to share my thoughts as someone who smoked and vaped and has since quit.
To provide context, I started smoking before later finding vapes. I regularly switched between the two throughout the day - depending on the context. For a period of time I smoked four packs a day and vaped 50mg nicsalt in between that.
Others have said that quitting is a matter of will, and that things like patches or vapes are ineffective gimmicks. I disagree with this notion, and the logic behind it. I used patches to quit, and they were very effective. I also believe that we have to accept a lot of people aren't at the right place to quit smoking entirely.
Vaping is a much better alternative to smoking tobacco. It does not have tar, monoxide, or any other chemicals. It is three chemicals - VG, PG, and Nicotine. If you are a person who smokes a pack a day, switching to vapes will still add time onto your life.
Yes, quitting entirely is still the best outcome. But are we really gonna tell people not to bother minimizing risk just because they arent ready to quit entirely? It's arrogant, in my opinion.
The US in particular vilifies vaping to a greater extent than European nations. I think this is likely because Europe still has a strong smoking culture, but it also shows that they understand there is still a benefit to risk mitigation.
We need to stop pretending like there is a one and done strategy to quitting. Smoking rate decreasing and vape usage increasing are not exclusive outcomes. These are people on a journey - and we should encourage them along the way.
To provide context, I started smoking before later finding vapes. I regularly switched between the two throughout the day - depending on the context. For a period of time I smoked four packs a day and vaped 50mg nicsalt in between that.
Others have said that quitting is a matter of will, and that things like patches or vapes are ineffective gimmicks. I disagree with this notion, and the logic behind it. I used patches to quit, and they were very effective. I also believe that we have to accept a lot of people aren't at the right place to quit smoking entirely.
Vaping is a much better alternative to smoking tobacco. It does not have tar, monoxide, or any other chemicals. It is three chemicals - VG, PG, and Nicotine. If you are a person who smokes a pack a day, switching to vapes will still add time onto your life.
Yes, quitting entirely is still the best outcome. But are we really gonna tell people not to bother minimizing risk just because they arent ready to quit entirely? It's arrogant, in my opinion.
The US in particular vilifies vaping to a greater extent than European nations. I think this is likely because Europe still has a strong smoking culture, but it also shows that they understand there is still a benefit to risk mitigation.
We need to stop pretending like there is a one and done strategy to quitting. Smoking rate decreasing and vape usage increasing are not exclusive outcomes. These are people on a journey - and we should encourage them along the way.