Is smoking really about the nicotine? or is it about the culture?
It's about the nicotine. For me anyway, and many others. I don't know a single person who vapes but never smoked. Everyone I know that vapes used to smoke cigarettes, and the vast majority of them planning to quit even doing that after stepping down in nicotine levels slowly. There are a couple people you see in the ecig forum communities who pickup vaping who have never smoked, just because they think it looks cool or something. But hey, that's how people pick up smoking actual cigarettes too... My ecig is a cheaper and healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes. The culture is nice I guess, but I think it's just catching on that you can get nicotine and like 500 less chemicals and a better flavor, all for less money, out of an ecig. Also the stigma of using an ecig in public has gone away. I get far less "Is that drugs?" comments, and more "Hey, where do you get your ecig stuff?", or "where do you buy your juice from?". It's all nice. My and my fiancee both use ecigs. They are a godsend as far as I'm concerned.
That seems to be the way it goes, I think most people who vape came from cigarettes, and having tried an ecig without being in the smoking culture and I found myself thinking, whats the point? The question of whether ecigs were about nicotine or culture came from the articles quote about somebody going outside to vape instead of doing it inside. I would assume that there is some amount of culture between the people who meet outside while they are smoking. The example just struck me as something that identifies a culture that is created by smoking even if everybody is just getting their nicotine fix. So I guess in the end the question wasn't really about whether or not people are just after the nicotine in ecigs, but whether or not ecigs really caught on because it allowed smokers to stay involved in the culture or social circles surrounding cigarettes in a way that patches etc do not.
I guess that is kind of true, the culture kind of comes secondary. I still go outside to vape at work because we are not allowed to inside, which is understandable. So a few of us that used to smoke all go out together and vape. Still get to stretch my legs, get away from my desk, and not talk about work for awhile. So I guess that part of the culture is nice. For most it's more out of necessity because vaping is still frowned upon inside which again, is understandable. I always go outside to vape, even at bars. Only place I vape inside is at home.
I really like vaping, but if I'm honest, there are things I miss about smoking. I was with some relatives who used to smoke and then for a long time only smoked while I was around. I was their "get out of jail free" card, as it were. They let me use their place while they were traveling, so for old-times' sake, I got a pack of smokes. What I miss most about analogs is the ability to dangle it from my lip. And the throw-away nature of it. The only thing I had to worry about was getting more. When I'd get down to the filter, I'd flick that shit away and never think about it again, or if I was feeling responsible and respectful to the environment and my fellow man, I'd put it in the trash. There's a certain ornamental quality, a dramatic quality inherent in smokes that the e-cig doesn't have. When I've got my eGo out, I get lots of puzzled or concerned looks, mostly because people think I'm consuming a drug other than nicotine, but once in a while I get someone who asks me what it is or what kind it is, how I like it, etc. From the hobby side, I do enjoy the whole process of cleaning my e-cig and filling up the tanks. I don't really enjoy replacing coils or figuring out what may or may not be wrong with it and if a tank does indeed have a crack, or any of the other myriad, finicky things that go along with ecigs, but I think it's a healthier alternative. I think achughes is right to ask if there's more to smoking than simple nicotine consumption. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've lit up and talked about other forms of nicotine delivery, like snuff or chaw and the derision that many smokers have for smokeless tobacco. Also, I now feel a bit separated from Smokers as a group. I no longer have the same rituals as them, though I'm in search of the same buzz. Anyway, I have about a half pack of American Spirit Yellow (I was sharing, otherwise I'd have gone blue, or maybe Nat Sherman; Havana sweets or maybe Classics) which I am really trying not to smoke. The reason? Surprisingly (to me), it's not the health angle, since I don't really think at this point that a pack here or there will do much damage, is: I don't want to smell like cigarette smoke. When it comes right down to it, I love nicotine and most of the ways it can be consumed, except for smokeless. From my limited knowledge about e-cigs (I asked about them on hubski to get started) those Bedford Slim batteries look pretty weak though.
I mostly smoked cigars and occasionally a pipe in between the clove cigarette ban and taking up ecigs, so they actually require less work than I was used to. They are more fun if you're a compulsive tinkerer though, because there's a lot of room to play beyond what's strictly required. Making a mod out of some bit of junk is a fun project. Keeping a humidor from getting too dry or infested with tobacco beetles or mold is not a fun project. I never had anyone think I was smoking a bong, though I have had people think I had a dildo in my mouth. I stick with box mods in public now.
There certainly is a stigma of walking around with a dildo in one's mouth. Amongst such closemindedness, are we truly a "free" society? What's the advantage of a box mod as compared to an eGo? I don't check out vaping boards much, but when I do it's Provari this, Lavatube that, etc.
There's no inherit advantage (other than people not thinking you're walking around with a dildo in your mouth, which is an advantage not to be underestimated), they're just build as a box instead of a cylinder. They tend to be more stable, if you have a heavy tank. Some have interesting features because there's more space; the Reos are neat, though also way overpriced. I wouldn't buy one, but they're neat. There's a difference between egos and the disposables you find at the gas station, and between VV and non-VV (but VV egos do the job fine), but I don't think there's much functional difference beyond that. I think it's like pipes and bongs, it's really mostly aesthetic but people feel strongly about their choices.
Thanks for elaborating. I have a VV eGo and two non VV eGos for backups and the only real difference I can see, apart from size, is that the VV eGo works better with the tanks I use (Kanger T2 and MT3S). Wow, that Reo Grand is as expensive as other (dildo) mods that I've seen. I guess I'll stick to the eGo (tampons?) I've been using.
See, that's what I miss about smoking. You get a pack of twenty cigarettes, and every single one of them will work the same as the last. There's no leaks, or duds, or gurggling, or tinkering. A cigarette works every time. So I totally feel you here. I do miss smoking for the ease. Vaping is a little more work, but I'm like you. I don't tinker, I don't rebuild atomizers, I have a pretty simple setup that works for me. Ego and an MT3S. I had a Marb Mild at work earlier tonight, my old brand. First cig in weeks, it was delicious. But still kind of just "meh". I'm just used to vaping.From the hobby side, I do enjoy the whole process of cleaning my e-cig and filling up the tanks. I don't really enjoy replacing coils or figuring out what may or may not be wrong with it and if a tank does indeed have a crack, or any of the other myriad, finicky things that go along with ecigs, but I think it's a healthier alternative.
Yeah, smoking after so long wasn't enough to make me want to start again, especially at that price ($10). I like the MT3S, and have 2, but I never know when a coil is going to fail. I guess I could learn how to rebuild them, but it seems like a lot of work.