this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2023
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[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Regardless of the health effects, addiction (and related expenses) can cost you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. People go to counseling, join support groups, and buy nicotine patches to try and quit.

I say “try” because on average, former cigarette smokers had to try to quit several times before they were successful. Many former smokers say that quitting was extremely hard, maybe even the hardest thing they’ve done. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect the same is true with vaping.

I don’t like nicotine because it’s used to manipulate and take advantage of people. The product/delivery method is irrelevant.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The product/delivery method is irrelevant.

What absolute insanity. You see no difference between drinking water and drowning in it?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think comparing vaping to drinking water is disingenuous - it is not needed and has active harms. Just because one thing is less harmful than another doesn't mean we can't regulate both heavily.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It does mean that, unless we are stupid or have ulterior motives, we should not regulate them equally heavily.

Besides, the science shows vaping is nearly harmless. I think that, again unless we are stupid, we should not be regulating it "heavily" at all. Just ban it for under-18s. Enforce that ban. That's all.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It should be regulated at least as much as food though don’t you think? Not just ban it for under 18s but specify what can or can’t go into a vape product.

Otherwise you’ll get companies using cheap but dangerous to inhale substances over more expensive safer substances that do the same job.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Sounds perfectly fair.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I have no idea what point you’re trying to make.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The delivery method for vaping is water vapor. The delivery method for cigarettes is to wrap the nicotine in poison and then burn it. And you see no difference?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Ah.

Of course I see the difference. The fact that cigarettes are dangerous to your health is so screamingly obvious that I didn’t even think that was something we needed to tell each other.

My point is that nicotine makes it much harder to stop vaping or smoking once you decide you want to. That’s what I meant when I said “the product/delivery method is irrelevant”, and why I started my comment with “regardless of the health effects”.

It doesn’t matter how the nicotine gets into your system. It messes with you anyway. Regulating specific products is like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole. The industry will keep finding different ways to get you hooked.

We’ve tried regulating tobacco, so they found a nicotine delivery system that doesn’t rely on tobacco. Let’s attack the addiction problem at the source - regulate the nicotine. That way, when they come up with something new (like an energy drink or something) the existing laws still apply. The slow-moving government doesn’t have to play catch up. Consumers stay protected.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Nicotine addiction is not a PROBLEM though, no more than caffeine addiction. The problem is when the only legal way to get caffeine is by a cocktail of red bull and arsenic.

Nicotine is not the issue. The delivery method is the whole problem.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

That smoking is generally far worse for individuals and society than vaping is.