# Are you bothered if someone 'vapes' next to you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 2, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797 "2013-09-02T13:09:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/1 "2013-09-02T13:09:48Z")
In a non-smoking area? Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700934). Say you’re in an area where smoking is clearly prohibited, a nice restaurant for example. You’re enjoying your meal while a stranger on the next table takes out an e-cigarette and gives it a couple of puffs. Are you bothered? By which I mean, would you rather they had not? Apologies for the word ‘vape’, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/2 "2013-09-02T13:47:22Z")
It’s water vapor. I have zero issue with it, and good on the people trying to quit the real thing. IMO (I repeat, IMO), the demonization of tobacco users over the last decade plus has led to the “controversy” over this. Anything that has _anything_ to do with smoking, even if only by appearance, is a weakness not to be indulged and the default assumption is that it offends and harms the non-user. That tiny tendril of water vapor ain’t hurting anyone, ISTM. If scented versions bother you, that’s a different issue and (again, IMO) you have as much right to be offended and push back as you might with someone using too much cologne. Which is to say, you have some right, but not to the point where you get to outlaw it or call the police or something. Vape away! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/3 "2013-09-02T13:49:16Z")
It would be impossible for me to care less. It does not effect me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/4 "2013-09-02T14:07:38Z")
So far I’m the lone “other” vote. I don’t mind the act (of using the e-cig) but I think using a e-cig at all is stupid. The people I know who use them also buy e-cig liquid that has more nicotine in it than an actual cigarette would. I have yet to see anyone stop smoking, i.e. stop using nicotine, because they used an e-cig. The people I know personally seem to think it’s okay to have an addiction, even a serious one, to nicotine as long as they aren’t using tobacco to feed it. So, I don’t mind that they use one because it’s certainly better _for me as a non-smoker_ than tobacco, but I think they are idiots for simply transferring their addiction from one form of nicotine to another. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/5 "2013-09-02T14:11:21Z")
I’m the second _other_. Never had someone vape next to me, so I don’t know if there are smells from it that would bother me or not. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/6 "2013-09-02T14:16:03Z")
Second thread in just a couple of days. I guess this is vape month. \*d&r ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/7 "2013-09-02T14:26:18Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I’m the second _other_. Never had someone vape next to me, so I don’t know if there are smells from it that would bother me or not. I’ve never been able to detect a smell from anyone using one near me. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/8 "2013-09-02T14:38:32Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in use, does the vapor smell or pose a second hand health risk? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/9 "2013-09-02T14:40:03Z")
We just had this experience at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. There was a slight odor, but I stopped noticing after a while. I’d say I’m OK with it as long as it’s not being blown right at me. Not my preference, but it’s tolerable. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/10 "2013-09-02T14:41:46Z")
They actually do kind of have a feint smell, but as far as I can tell the smell doesn’t linger on clothing or hair. I use an e-cig in my 9x9 office and I can smell it when I come in the next day after opening the door. My mom said she could smell it in my car when I was smoking with her in the passenger seat. But, it’s more of a close quarters thing. I had a guy vaping near to me at a baseball game and couldn’t smell a thing, even though I was clearly in the path of the vapor. FWIW I smoke nicotine-free vanilla stuff, but have also smoked full nicotine and they smell the same to me (other flavors may differ). ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/11 "2013-09-02T16:08:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’ve never been able to detect a smell from anyone using one near me. People in the [Can You Vape In Non-Smoking Areas?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700934) thread have reported that they have been able to smell them. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/12 "2013-09-02T16:13:34Z")
I’d prefer that they didn’t–chiefly because everyone I know who vapes uses scented fluid, and I don’t like the scents. (They tend to smell like cheap car “air fresheners” to me.) It certainly beats them smoking real cigarettes, though. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/13 "2013-09-02T16:19:56Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > People in the [Can You Vape In Non-Smoking Areas?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700934) thread have reported that they have been able to smell them. I’m sure that’s true, since some of them are flavored. I just don’t think we all have some unlimited right to “not smell anything I’d rather not,” regardless of any health risk associated with it. “I can smell your e-cig!” “Well, I can smell _your_ cologne!” Mexican standoff! 😃 Seriously, I think some people have now developed a sense of entitlement (largely justified with real tobacco products) that means they get to demand you not do anything that even\* looks\* like smoking. (Not referring to those in this thread. Perfectly reasonable to answer the question posed in the OP with “I’d rather they didn’t,” which is not at all the same as saying, “and it should not be permitted.”) ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/14 "2013-09-02T16:27:30Z")
Maybe we should consider doing something about those weak-minded caffeine addicts who allow the vapors from their coffee cups to invade public breathing areas and cause untold and unknown dangers to the well-being of millions of children every day. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/15 "2013-09-02T16:27:39Z")
I’d prefer they didn’t, specifically in a restaurant, simply because if it was scented it would bother me just as if someone spritzed air freshener while sitting at their table. Just not something I want happening around my meal. At a bar, on the bus, other places? I probably won’t mind unless it’s some gross scent. So far, in my limited encounters, it’s been OK. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/16 "2013-09-02T16:28:49Z")
I’ve only been around one once and I thought I could smell it but I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination. This was at the pharmacy and this loud woman in pajamas was leaning all the way over the pharmacy counter talking/shouting to the poor pharmacist, while blowing the vapor stuff in the woman’s face. So I didn’t know if there were just too many things wrong with the scene and my mind was filling in some other likely contenders. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/17 "2013-09-02T16:51:37Z")
Couldn’t care less, and in fact, I kind of like the smell of some of the scented ones the guys use out on the boat that I work on. The unscented ones, I can’t smell at all. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/18 "2013-09-02T17:01:43Z")
I was sitting next to someone doing it at a ballgame. I couldn’t smell it. At first, I was shocked to get a face full of what I thought was going to be smoke but it stopped bothering me as soon as I realized what it was and that it didn’t have any odor that I could detect. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/19 "2013-09-02T17:18:15Z")
I can smell it, very faintly. It reminds me of hookah smoke, which I find generally inoffensive. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/20 "2013-09-02T17:26:41Z")
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