An open letter to vapers, politicians, researchers and the anti-nicotine crowd

I found this to be a good read...a bit long but thought provoking and well worth the time spent...
Link to the original blog post: An open letter to vapers, politicians, researchers and the anti-nicotine crowd The Original Electronic Cigarette Social Media Network

by Terraphon

Please feel free to share this. Re-post it, link it, spread it to the four corners of the universe. As long as you leave it in its original form, with no edits.

This isn't something I do. I am not a blogger. I am not, by my nature, an activist. I don't go around shouting through bullhorns, holding up printed signs, handing out fliers or standing, silently, with my fist in the air.

Why? Because there aren't too many things I really care about to that degree.

So why am I writing this letter? Because I think there are some things which need to be said to all of the people out there who are involved in what I will term “the nicotine war”, henceforth “the war”.

The war is being fought in the media at this point. There is propaganda flying around from both sides. Some doctors say vaping is safe. Some doctors say it is not. Some politicians say it is safe, some say it is not. Most vapers say it is safe, some say it's not.

Wait? Some vapers say vaping is unsafe? No. It's not that it's unsafe. It's that it's not safe. That is to say that it is not entirely without its drawbacks. But guess what? It's a lot safer than smoking!

Moving on;

To the vapers, I will break you down by category.

To those who turned to electronic cigarettes as a way to get away from tobacco cigarettes and increase your health; Keep it up. You're doing what you think is right for YOUR BODY. Don't let the politicians or the uneducated healthcare “professionals” or the anti-nicotine crowd tell you what to do with your lungs. They are yours. They aren't owned by anyone but you. They were given to you in the womb and you've been using them since you were born. Nobody else can claim them. It is your right as a human person to do what you want with your lungs. Use them in whatever way you see fit. Also, stop buying your products from shady vendors. If your vendor can't tell you EXACTLY what is in your juice, you shouldn't be giving them your money. If your vendor can't explain ohm's law to you, in depth, you shouldn't be giving them your money. If your vendor doesn't know the laws of thermodynamics, you shouldn't be giving them your money. If you vendor EVER says that vaping is “safe”, calls it “smoking” or says that it is “healthy” you shouldn't be giving them your money. Stop it. Buy from the people who aren't out for a quick buck. Buy from the people who really care about you.

To those who use electronic cigarettes for the fame and recognition that comes from “blowing huge clouds” and making YouTube videos about it or fogging up the local restaurant, pub or market (cloud chasers): You're idiots. All of you. You are going to be used as a weapon in the war and you're not going to be used by our side. You make all vapers look bad with your arrogance and devil-may-care attitude. Also, when one of you makes a booboo and has a battery detonate in your face, you're going to be plastered all over the news and used as the nuke which will end the war, devastating all of us. Stop it. It's silly. You're really not as cool as you think you are.

To those who started vaping because they think it's “cool” or “hip”: You, too, are idiots. The lot of you. If you weren't addicted to nicotine and you started using it to be cool, you need to have your head examined very closely.

To the vendors and juice makers: Get your heads out of your asses. If you're making juice with questionable ingredients, you're screwing it up for all of us. You care more about the money you're making than the lives you're effecting and that makes you a useless lump. A boil on the backside of humanity. We, the vapers, will identify you. We will boycott you. We will vote with our wallets and we WILL shut you down. Save your money because you're going to need it when you have to lock your doors and shut down your website.

To the politicians:

You think you know how my body feels when I wake up in the morning? You don't. You think you know how much of a change I have undergone since I gave up smoking and started vaping in January of 2009? You don't.

But I do; and nothing you say in a meeting or write on a piece of paper is going to change what I know.

You are also not in control of our bodies. Sure you can all sit around in your offices and pen legislation which will allow or disallow the use of electronic cigarettes in your districts or regions or counties but our bodies are ours and we should, as human beings, be allowed to do with them as we please. If you try to stop us from doing what we feel is the best thing for us, you're wrong. You don't know what is best for us, we do.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Think about those words the next time you sit down to write up some new legislation.

Also, it's time to put an end to this “tobacco product” nonsense. Electronic cigarettes are not “tobacco products”. They are nicotine products. They are fundamentally no different from patches, gums or inhalers. They do not contain tobacco. There is no combustion. Stop it. You look silly when you say “tobacco”.

And lastly : We know who you are. We see what you write. We hear what you say. We know who gives you money. If you start railing against the use of electronic cigarettes, we will research you. If we find out that you are getting contributions from tobacco and pharmaceutical companies, we will dime you out. We will post the proof on every piece of social media imaginable. We will call the papers. We will call the news stations. We will call the radio hosts. We will expose you for who and what you are. Which do you think gets more air time? "E-cigs may be unhealthy" or "Local politician involved in corruption scandal!"? You're going to need to find another way.

To the researchers:

You clearly think we're stupid. You do these “studies” where you give mice and rats and cockroaches insane amounts of nicotine or place them in chambers filled with as much e-cig vapor as an adult human uses in 20 hours. You inject them with bacteria, viruses, carcinogens, poisons other than nicotine (oh, yeah, that's right. We know nicotine is toxic. We've always known. We also know caffeine is toxic. So is potassium. And so is OXYGEN in the right conditions.). You treat these harmless, defenseless animals in a manner in which we vapers would never treat our own bodies and then you stand up, wave your hands like chicken little and scream “THE SKY IS FALLING!!!”. We know better. We're pretty smart and we know what you're up to. We also know who is paying for these tests.

Next time, do a real test. Don't assume the conclusion and then change the parameters of the tests to meet that conclusion. Instead, use real scientific method. Form a hypothesis and then do reasonable and legitimate testing to answer that hypothesis. If you're right, publish the results and show how the testing was done. If you're wrong, publish the results and show how the testing was done. Either way, be honest with yourselves, honest with the public and have some integrity. We're watching you, too, and the word gets around. If you're out to lie and cheat, we're going to hang you out to dry.

And, finally, to the anti-nicotine movement:

You know you can't tell us what to do with our own bodies. You know you can't claim that we're killing ourselves. What you've done, instead, is try to claim we're killing you, instead. Where's your proof? I can't speak for the rest of the vapers in the world but I can promise you that if you show me irrefutable proof that my vaping is effecting you, I will stop vaping in any place where other people are present. While we're at it, though, let's talk about what you've been on about.

You say that the vapor from my electronic cigarette is getting into your lungs and effecting your health in a negative fashion. Now I want you to ask yourselves a very serious question. What about your car? What kind of poisons and carcinogens and environment impacting stuff comes out of the back of your car during your daily commute? What about that big diesel truck that just drove past, spewing black smoke into the air? What about that hairspray you use, which is full of chemicals which break down the ozone layer and increase greenhouse gasses on our planet?

Oh...you don't want to face that question? You want to make excuses about why those things are necessary and how they're really not that bad? Then tell me this:

Would you rather sit in your closed car, with a hose running from your exhaust pipe, in through your window, for 1 hour or in that same closed car, with someone using an electronic cigarette for a full day? Now, tell me again who is guilty of effecting other people's health. If you wake up after reading this and drive to work, you're a hypocrite and you should be utterly ashamed of yourself.

And now I'll address the vapers again. Stay strong. Do the right thing. Advocate. Get active on twitter and facebook. Call out the politicians. Call out the researchers. Call out the anti-nicotine crowd. Do your own research. Educate yourselves. Stand up and look these people in the eye and yell, from the very depths of your souls “LEAVE MY BODY ALONE!”.

Almost everyone I have ever loved died from health problems caused or complicated by tobacco use. I am choosing a path I believe is far safer. Not safe, only safer. Vapers, politicians, researchers and anti's...please don't condemn vapers to death by forcing us back to something we know is vastly more harmful to our...and your...bodies.

 

Hmmm, I have to disagree. We became addicted to nicotine whilst smoking cigarettes. As a delivery system, I believe that cigarettes are far more harmful but the substance being ingested, nicotine, is the same whether consumed via a cigarette or a personal vaporizer. It's also generally accepted that nicotine is addictive (although there are some who don't subscribe to this theory). We've switched to vaping because we believe it's a safer nicotine delivery system. However, the point he's making is that anybody who wasn't already addicted to nicotine and takes up vaping because it's "cool" (maybe unless they vape juice with no nicotine although he doesn't state this) isn't thinking straight. Why else would you start doing something that puts you at risk to becoming addicted?

 

Because coil-building is fun?