I have two elementary school age boys, and one day I complained about someone who was vaping and they solemnly informed me that vaping was more deadly than smoking. This is what they had learned in school; the anti-vaping hype was so aggressive that it had gone to the point and then right past it.
If you're going to use a nicotine product, please vape. Also don't vape. But smoking is so much worse that they're not in the same league.
kimbernator · 4h ago
I can't stand that this thought has permeated as much as it has. The magnitude is entirely different, and when I try to make that point I'm always seen as pro-vaping. The fact that barely any kids are smoking is a bigger deal than the fact that more of them are vaping. The vaping is still a problem, but it's a huge success that we've come so far from the problem it replaced.
darth_avocado · 5h ago
If you vaped the same amount as a cigarette then yes. Unfortunately vapes get you to vape way more. On top of that Social norms around cigarettes create barriers for smoking that don’t exist for vaping. Somehow smoking a cigarette indoors is extremely frowned upon but you could be sitting on a couch vaping all day and no one will bat an eye. The fact that you have to physically go outside to smoke is a sufficient enough barrier to reduce consumption.
extraduder_ire · 4h ago
At least where I am, vaping indoors is exactly as illegal as smoking indoors. Though, amending the law to include vaping took years.
pseudocomposer · 4h ago
I’m pretty sure it’s not illegal to vape on your couch, and again, there’s also not really a social stigma about it, nor a good way to detect it as compared to cigarettes.
moron4hire · 4h ago
They gotta catch you, first.
prophesi · 4h ago
I will also add to the discussion that disposable vapes (in the USA) tend to be outrageously high in their nicotine content. If you buy the juice yourself you have options to choose much lower nicotine per volume compared to these disposables (and will be a lot cheaper in the mid-term/long-term). A lot of devices these days curb the issue of replacing your own coils too, as that used to be a common issue.
But please don't start vaping if you don't already smoke. There's also the discussion of tobacco-less nicotine pouches that have hit the scene; on average they have higher nicotine content than regular tobacco pouches. And the same issue applies, as it's also acceptable to partake of them anywhere at anytime.
kimbernator · 4h ago
What's the common understanding of nicotine these days? I haven't thought about this much since the early e-cigarette days around 2011, but back then the common discourse was that 1. It's really hard to measure nicotine in a cigarette in a comparable unit to vaping due to the difference in how they are consumed, and 2. Nicotine itself isn't particularly harmful, and its addictiveness is dramatically accelerated by the other things in cigarettes.
Anecdotally, I vaped (at what might be considered a high amount of nicotine) for years and basically just decided it wasn't for me one day and stopped without any drama.
Given that vaping has come a long way since then I'm certain there is a more modern understanding of these things.
tornadofart · 5h ago
Dose for dose, sure. OTOH vaping does tend to increase nicotine consumption because it doesn't taste as bad as the alternative, or so I have read...
temp0826 · 5h ago
It's complex, other compounds in tobacco do potentiate the effects but (as an ex-smoker, n=1) I never found even the high-octane gas station vapes to be as satisfying (felt like a completely different experience). And the taste is definitely subjective (I know people who say the dirtier the better)- I definitely prefer a good tobacco to any vape, flavored or unflavored. (Oh how I miss it sometimes...why do we love things that want to kill us?)
DaiPlusPlus · 4h ago
Pardon my asking, but how do cigars compare?
temp0826 · 3h ago
Cigars can be great sure. As the sibling comment mentioned you typically aren't supposed to inhale the smoke- however I think being that they're unfiltered and a lot bigger, you can still absorb a lot of nicotine/etc through your mouth. Probably just as much (or higher) risk of mouth/throat cancers.
I've worked at traditional ayahuasca retreats and a lot of "mapacho" (a South American style of tobacco, unprocessed but from a MUCH stronger species of tobacco, Nicotiana rustica, something like 10-20x as much nicotine as Virginia tobacco) is smoked in ceremonies, but not inhaled. You can still get a heck of a buzz from it.
DaiPlusPlus · 1h ago
I should have clarified: I meant I was wondering how cigars compare to vaping when one is just looking “for flavour” - not for nicotine, sorry.
temp0826 · 1h ago
Not sure I totally get it but I think it's pretty subjective, some people really loathe tobacco smoke. I'd personally never go out of my way to use a vape just for flavor (but I've never really liked flavors anyways and only went unflavored when I did it). To each their own shrug . It does suck that smoke sticks to everything and makes you reek.
kimbernator · 4h ago
I'm not who you asked, but it's not typically comparable since you don't traditionally inhale cigar smoke and therefore don't usually absorb nearly as much nicotine.
lenerdenator · 5h ago
I was at a music festival last weekend and there were all sorts of vendors there, including Zyn. Obviously, those aren't vapes or cigarettes, but they're another nicotine product.
No one was interested in their booth.
That made me happy.
ge96 · 5h ago
I'm just fortunate it makes me nauseous, I tried to get into smoking when I was in school thinking it would help me concentrate. I was able to source the adderall but was expensive/tolerance.
The electronics in vaping tech is nuts though
tekno45 · 5h ago
is it? its just an atomizer and heating coil. Any good reading on the tech you find interesting?
ge96 · 3h ago
Some of them have a crazy display and I think an m4 cortex chip even
Edit: my bad apparently they're Chinese m0
jaian · 5h ago
Cigarettes are disgusting when you begin smoking them, but later they get really really good
loloquwowndueo · 4h ago
Humans can get used to all kinds of nasty crap. I guess the question is if they are so disgusting at the start, why would you keep going?
neom · 4h ago
I always found this funny too, I smoked half a cig once in high school and still to this day remember how awful it was, I've long wondered how it is people actually get into smoking.
jaian · 3h ago
I also found beer disgusting in middle school, I think it’s an acquired taste like cigarettes.
If you're going to use a nicotine product, please vape. Also don't vape. But smoking is so much worse that they're not in the same league.
But please don't start vaping if you don't already smoke. There's also the discussion of tobacco-less nicotine pouches that have hit the scene; on average they have higher nicotine content than regular tobacco pouches. And the same issue applies, as it's also acceptable to partake of them anywhere at anytime.
Anecdotally, I vaped (at what might be considered a high amount of nicotine) for years and basically just decided it wasn't for me one day and stopped without any drama.
Given that vaping has come a long way since then I'm certain there is a more modern understanding of these things.
I've worked at traditional ayahuasca retreats and a lot of "mapacho" (a South American style of tobacco, unprocessed but from a MUCH stronger species of tobacco, Nicotiana rustica, something like 10-20x as much nicotine as Virginia tobacco) is smoked in ceremonies, but not inhaled. You can still get a heck of a buzz from it.
No one was interested in their booth.
That made me happy.
The electronics in vaping tech is nuts though
Edit: my bad apparently they're Chinese m0