Now, say what you will about nicotine as an addictive stimulant, I won’t argue (much, tell me, how do you take your coffee?).  I have vaped for nearly ten years.  When I started, all that was available on the market were ecigs that looked like cigarettes, they call that style ‘pen’ now.  These were refillable 1ml cotton filter atomizers that came in regular tobacco, menthol and a small variety of other flavors like chocolate and apple and strawberry, attached to an LED lit rechargeable battery that had a single setting.

I smoked for 22 years before that.  I started when I was 11, was hooked by 14 and by 18 was a pack a day smoker.  I suffered from asthma, annual bouts of bronchitis and lowered lung function in general.  I watched cigarette prices rise and rise until a single pack was $10 after tax.  I tried quitting, managed it for over a year when I had my daughter.  But by the time she was four months old, I was back at it.

The cost was high, the damage was being done and I was fully aware of it.  But it was my one vice.  I don’t drink other than the occasional social glass of wine or beer.  I don’t do any recreational drugs.  I don’t eat too much junk food or drive recklessly or feel the need to get involved in online discourse or drama.  Nicotine is it for me (I am not suggesting anyone should smoke, vape or chew, it’s bad for you kids, don’t ever start).

Let me tell you something about electronic cigarettes.  Way back in 1985, they were invented by a German guy who watched his wife die a painful death of lung cancer, because she just couldn’t quit.  He wanted there to be another option for those addicted to nicotine.  He didn’t want anyone else to watch a loved die if there was an alternative that didn’t involve guilt tripping someone who already knew how bad smoking was.

My husband and I switched to vaping in 2010.  We found a brand we liked, some flavors we liked, a nicotine level that wasn’t too high and I never looked back.  I haven’t had a single cigarette since.  And in that time, my asthma has gone away, I haven’t had bronchitis or pneumonia more than once in the last decade.  My measurable lung function (carefully monitored by my doctor who always tried getting me to quit entirely) went up 60%.  Read that again.  Sixty percent, in just four years.

This ban is only going to hurt people like me.  It’s going to force us to either turn to the black market for flavored juice or back to smoking.  And you know what?  I think that’s what our governor wants.  Sales of cigarettes have dropped enormously in NYS.  Billions of tax dollars are no longer rolling in.  Instead of doing the smart thing and actually getting vaping recognized as an FDA approved alternative (and therefore federally taxable), he’s decided it’s just all bad and screeching ‘think of the children vaping all these cool flavors being marketed to their demographic’.  For the record, I’ve never seen vape advertising outside of vendor websites, like...ever. 

This isn’t about a health crisis.  It was already shown that those folks who got themselves sick and died from vaping were using poor quality, additive enhanced CBD fluids that were not rated for the mods they vaped them in (specifically a Vitamin E supplement that was never intended to be inhaled).

Now, I get that not a lot of long term testing has been done on the effects of vaping.  And I get that not everyone has the same experience that I have had.  But overall, vaping is much, much safer than smoking.  It’s more cost effective.  It doesn’t stain your clothes, your skin or your surroundings.  Base vape fluid is made from the exact same components in fog machines - vegetable glycerin and food grade propylene glycol.  The vapor dissipates in about 10-30 seconds, depending on the ratio of VG to PG.  And yeah, it comes in flavors that are far more appealing than overwhelming taste of ashtray or mint.