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I think these are great. They have definitely helped some people move away from smoking, and any argument that they pose a health risk is fairly moot given the
by leoedin 13y ago
I think these are great. They have definitely helped some people move away from smoking, and any argument that they pose a health risk is fairly moot given the alternative.
However, I do think that there needs to be some legislation surrounding them. We should ensure that children and teenagers can't easily buy them - just because they're not as harmful as cigarettes doesn't mean that they're completely harm free. I'm also deeply suspicious of allowing marketing of an addictive product - much like cigarette marketing I think it has the potential to destroy lives.
I do think that the people (mostly middle aged men) I see wandering around with a large e-cigarette around their neck on a cord look like complete idiots though.
- dkuntz2 13y ago> any argument that they pose a health risk is fairly moot given the alternative. What? You mean the alternative to not smoking?
- freehunter 13y agoE-cigs are marketed pretty strongly towards current smokers. In that group, not smoking is a fairly difficult alternative to accept.
- dkuntz2 13y agoIs it not still an alternative? It may be a difficult alternative, but it is still an alternative.
- EpicEng 13y agoNot if we don't want to quit. I like smoking, always will.
- dkuntz2 13y agoAre you saying that not smoking is not an option, ever? Because that seems highly unlikely. You may enjoy it, that doesn't mean that stopping isn't an option.
- freehunter 13y agoHow effective has the "stop smoking cold turkey" campaign been? There are still people who smoke, massive numbers. In this wake is billions of dollars of smoking cessation products. Still, some people smoke, for reasons they have and are comfortable with. So why not have a middle ground? E-cigs are cheaper, seem to be safer, and help people out (including those who don't smoke). So why get all worked up over it? It's legitimately helping the problem. Smokers who use e-cigs are no longer affecting your life in any way. Put it this way: cars are dangerous. Lots of campaigns exist to keep people from driving. Driving has economic, political, and environmental issues pushing against it. But still people drive, despite the risks. So rather than trying to force everyone to bike or walk, what's the harm in lower emissions, electric vehicles, and improvements in vehicle safety? Make it safer to drive, safer to be around drivers, and better for the environment when people do drive. Is that not an acceptable alternative?
- dkuntz2 13y agoI'm not getting worked up over anything, I'm merely stating that not smoking is an alternative, which is something leoedin left out. Everything that's followed is my insistence that not smoking is an option. I have made no claims to the ease or feasibility of it as an option. I've made no claim for or against e-cigarettes. I've made no claim for or against smoking in general in this thread. The only claims I've made are that not smoking is an option. The reason I made that claim was, as stated above, the original comment failed to mention that not smoking was an option. On the car front, yes, cars are bad, I agree, wholeheartedly, but America made a decision to emphasize cars over trains post-WWII, which is why I use one. As for biking and walking, those are infeasible options for long distances. Fascinating that you neglected to include trains.
- EpicEng 13y agoNo, the alternative is cigarettes. The people who use these (myself included) tend to enjoy smoking and don't want to quit. We do however enjoy an alternative which leaves healthier and odor free. Hell, it even tastes better, assuming you're not using one of those cheap cig-alikes (Blu and pals, looking at you here).
- dkuntz2 13y agoJust because you don't want to quit doesn't mean you might have to, or that it's not an option.
- steverb 13y agoAs a middle aged man wandering around with a large e-cigarette around my neck on a cord I know I look like an idiot. I'm okay with that though since that large e-cigarette cost me $30 and tends to get broken if you keep it in your pocket. Totally agree about keeping it out of kid's hands. Let's make them wait until they're adults before they choose to get addicted.
- makhanko 13y agoKudos to this comment for pointing out the addiction angle. There are definitely much more dangerous products being sold than even traditional cigarette, but hardly there is a legally marketed product more addictive than nicotine. The sale of such products should be strictly regulated, not only it because of the human costs but because it undermines the the principle of free market exchange when a customer is not at will to buy or not buy the product or alternatives. On the other hand the benefit of converting traditional smoker to e-cigs is undisputed.