# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/21 "2013-09-02T17:56:26Z")
Option #3: “Please don’t do that in here.” Followed by request to restaurant management that since I and other customers do not wish to inhale others’ secondhand nicotine and additive vapors, the safety of these products has not been established and regulations are being formulated by the FDA, they should take the initiative to not allow use of these products in the restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/22 "2013-09-02T17:58:49Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Second thread in just a couple of days. I guess this is vape month. > > \*d&r Groan. > [@madmonk28](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in use, does the vapor smell or pose a second hand health risk? It sounds like the jury is still out on that. If it is indeed just water vapour, then I don’t care. If it stinks heavily, I’d rather not smell it, just like I’d rather not smell someone who has bathed in cologne. > [@Balance](#): > > 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. True enough. Cigarette smoke is awful - it makes me nauseated (as does wood smoke - yes, I have a delicate sniffer). ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/23 "2013-09-02T18:01:57Z")
Does it matter what I’m vaping? Assume there’s no legal issue. ---
**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, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/24 "2013-09-02T18:16:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Option #3: “Please don’t do that in here.” Followed by request to restaurant management that since I and other customers do not wish to inhale others’ secondhand nicotine and additive vapors, the safety of these products has not been established and regulations are being formulated by the FDA, they should take the initiative to not allow use of these products in the restaurant. Interestingly there are [restaurants/clubs/bars](http://fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/news/2013-05-01/Business_News/Vapings_misty_future.html) etc that have banned e-cigs of their own accord. I wasn’t thinking that the hypothetical eatery in the OP was such an establishment though. > [@](#): > > There’s also the common complaint of those who worry about being exposed to e-cigarettes’ secondhand “smoke” in restaurants and confined spaces. When we called Manhattan’s prestigious Core Club to see if it would let in someone with an e-cigarette, we were told that “no smoking whatsoever” was allowed in the club. > > “But what if its not smoking?” We pressed. The employee on the other side of the line hesitated. > > “No, I’m sorry, it still wouldn’t be okay,” she said. > **[Butting Out: New Yorkers Vaping Up a Storm With E-Cigs](https://observer.com/2012/10/puff-the-magic-cigarette-new-yorkers-vaping-up-a-storm-with-e-cigs/)** > > Johnny Depp has switched. So have Kate Moss, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Robert Pattinson, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Lady Gaga goes both ways, and it’s been reported (though unconfirme… ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/25 "2013-09-02T18:28:16Z")
I voted “other” because I haven’t actually been in a situation like that. I think I’ve only seen someone using an e-cig once (and it wasn’t directly next to me, wasn’t bothering me, and it was in an area where smoking was allowed anyway.) Though I imagine e-cigs will become more common in the next little while, and maybe I’ll have an opinion later. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/26 "2013-09-02T22:20:13Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > 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. Nicotine isn’t what cause the most damages. Tar is. Getting a nicotine fix without tar is a major improvement re health. (Also many people smoke nicotine-free e-cigs) (Plus, “vaping” a honey-hazelnut mix is enjoyable in itself, regardless of health issues) ---
**Author:** ![Merejane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Merejane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merejane)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/27 "2013-09-02T22:43:18Z")
I voted that I’d prefer that they didn’t. A family member of mine smokes e-cigs in my house. I much prefer that this person smoke e-cigs rather than tobacco, so I allow it. But I can definitely smell it, and the smell really bothers me at times. (The e-cigs that my relative smokes are scented. I don’t know if there are unscented e-cigs.) If I were eating, it would bother me even more. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/28 "2013-09-02T23:14:26Z")
Mostly, I don’t mind smoking, much less vaping. If it’s a better brand of tobacco, i even like it. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/29 "2013-09-02T23:33:16Z")
If I know it’s an e-cig, nope, I don’t mind. But if I don’t know for sure that’s an e-cig and all I see is you blowing clouds out of your mouth, then it will probably annoy me…assuming we’re in a clearly marked no-smoking zone. But I would stay quiet about it. I was at a party a couple of weeks ago, and the host had implemented a “no smoking in the house” rule. Everyone was being real good about following it. And then a couple of late-comers started lighting up. Everyone was scared to say something to them (due to their age and lofty positions in the host’s family). Finally, someone pulled them to the side, only to find out that they were e-cigs. Hopefully such awkwardness will diminish as e-cigs become more popular. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/30 "2013-09-03T01:03:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Option #3: “Please don’t do that in here.” Followed by request to restaurant management that since I and other customers do not wish to inhale others’ secondhand nicotine and additive vapors, the safety of these products has not been established and regulations are being formulated by the FDA, they should take the initiative to not allow use of these products in the restaurant. I wonder why it is taking the FDA so long to figure out if it’s dangerous or not. With real cigarette smoke, it would take them all of five minutes to figure out, “Oh yeah, that shit is loaded with toxins. Of course it’s bad for you.” E-cigs have been main stream for nearly seven years now. Yet, no one has come up with a definitive answer if E-cigs are bad for you, or, if second hand vapor is bad for you. This leads me to believe that even if they do find it’s bad for you, it will be on the same level of diet sodas are bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/31 "2013-09-03T01:49:08Z")
No, but I live in Nevada. I barely notice if a stranger lights a real cigarette indoors next to me (happened last night). I think occasional second hand smoke as a personal danger is overblown anyway, and I doubt e-cigs as a whole are bad. I do wonder if some third world factory is replacing an ingredient with something toxic in the next batch because it’s cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/32 "2013-09-03T02:04:43Z")
Other. I’ve yet to see one that wasn’t still in the package in person. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/33 "2013-09-03T02:48:48Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > \ > I think occasional second hand smoke as a personal danger is overblown anyway,\ Secondhand smoke is a “known human carcinogen,” and as such, there is no safe exposure limit. If you were exposed to a known human carcinogen in a worksite, you would be expected to wear personal protective equipment to eliminate exposure. [From the American Cancer Society website:](http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/secondhand-smoke) > [@](#): > > Secondhand smoke is classified as a “known human carcinogen” (cancer-causing agent) by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US National Toxicology Program, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization. ---
**Author:** ![BigNik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/73ab20/32.png) [@BigNik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigNik)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/34 "2013-09-03T02:59:56Z")
I’ve only seen them twice, but one pair insisted on lighting up across the aisle from me on the train. There was a sickly sweet and slightly chemically smell and I started to get a reaction - throat closing, eyes watering. I don’t know what it was, but “harmless water vapour” doesn’t do that. Put me down as definitely anti-. On the Judge Jon Hodgman podcast, Hodgman proposed a rule that you should only use an e-cigarette where you wouldn’t feel it impolite if you were farting - loudly and stinkily. I think that’s a fair rule of thumb until what’s actually in those things is known. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/35 "2013-09-03T04:25:36Z")
Other because I’ve never encountered it. I do think that it would be awkward to for someone to “vape up” in certain settings where one would not normally light up, like in the middle of Mass or at the theater during a performance. It would be distracting. ---
**Author:** ![Werekoala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7993a0/32.png) [@Werekoala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Werekoala)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/36 "2013-09-03T04:30:09Z")
Couldn’t care less. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/37 "2013-09-03T04:54:39Z")
Doesn’t bother me. MY SO uses ecigs, and I can’t even smell them unless I’m an inch away from the vapor stream. People wearing too much cologne or perfume is far more offensive and noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/38 "2013-09-03T05:56:45Z")
The vapor smells like burnt caramel. My wife uses one, and she only uses the tobacco flavor. Given a choice between her smoking and her using an eCigarette, eCigarettes all the way. But the whole “it’s just water vapor” thing is bullshit - it’s water vapor + nicotine + flavor, and it’s not as if all the nicotine ends up in their lungs, some of it is obviously expelled when users breath out. But in terms of harm reduction, I’m a huge fan. My father died of lung cancer, and my mother died of a smoking-related stroke. You’ll have to search far and wide to find someone who hates smoking more than I do. So anything that helps rid the world of this scourge, I’m for. That said at public venues, people who use them should follow the same rules as smokers. It’s only fair. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/39 "2013-09-03T05:59:53Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > No, but I live in Nevada. I barely notice if a stranger lights a real cigarette indoors next to me (happened last night). Nevada is like what Dave Berry said: Off-Track Betting parlors are the kinds of places where you never see signs that say, “Thank You for Not Smoking.” The best you can hope for is, “Thank You for Not Spitting Pieces of Your Cigar on My Neck.” ---
**Author:** ![ombre12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d26b3c/32.png) [@ombre12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre12)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797/40 "2013-09-03T13:14:33Z")
Curious as to what harm nicotine by itself (without tars and all the other crap …urea?.)…in regular cigs does to you. I understand I think that nicotine helps cause gum disease, restricted blood vessels leading to plugged arteries, higher blood pressure, strokes, facial wrinkles and maybe a few other things I can’t recall. So with e-cigs you would eventually have lungs as clean as a non smoker, and would lower your risk of lung cancer, you would have no tobacco cough and probably feel much healthier. So e-cigs and nicotine patches and nicotine gum have got to be better than smoking real cigs…but there is still a downside to all of them. Am I correct in all this?..that it is the nicotine that causes the facial wrinkling, the plugged arteries, gum disease, strokes, high blood pressure etc. The only thing that any pure nicotine substitute, whether patch, gum or e-cig does is clear up your lungs and make you less smelly. Right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-bothered-if-someone-vapes-next-to-you/667797.md?page=3)