# Do you consider e-cig users smokers? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112 "2013-09-05T21:02:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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 5, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/1 "2013-09-05T21:02:54Z")
Contributing to the many e-cig threads we have now, I was wondering something. I’ve read about many people who say they’re former smokers, who now use only e-cigs. So, I’m asking all of you (smokers, e-cig users, nonsmokers, everyone), do you still consider e-cig users smokers? Why or why not? I was considering posting a poll, but I suppose some of you may have more complex answers than could be chosen in a poll. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/2 "2013-09-05T21:03:53Z")
No, I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/3 "2013-09-05T21:07:46Z")
Well, nicotine is going into the bloodstream, from superheated tablets of tobacco, so… Kinda, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/4 "2013-09-05T21:08:06Z")
No, because you must have smoke to be a ‘smoker’. E-cigs only have vapor. ---
**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 5, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/5 "2013-09-05T22:17:02Z")
Yes ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/6 "2013-09-05T22:21:30Z")
Nah. I’m an ex-smoker and/or vaper. > [@Trinopus](#): > > superheated tablets of tobacco wut ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/7 "2013-09-05T22:44:16Z")
How about candy cigarettes? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/8 "2013-09-05T22:57:52Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Well, nicotine is going into the bloodstream, from superheated tablets of tobacco, so… Kinda, yes. Can you please explain where the ‘tobacco’ is in the e-juice? From Wikipedia > [@](#): > > Liquid for producing vapor in electronic cigarettes, commonly known as e-juice or e-liquid, is a solution of propylene glycol(PG), vegetable glycerin (VG), and/or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) mixed with concentrated flavors; and optionally, a variable concentration of nicotine. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/9 "2013-09-05T23:03:34Z")
Hell, in Canada you can’t even get e-juice with nicotine in it. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/10 "2013-09-05T23:05:20Z")
No, because there’s no smoke. And often no nicotine…but even if there were nicotine, I wouldn’t consider it smoking…if I made tobacco tea and drank it (don’t do this) would it be smoking? ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/11 "2013-09-06T00:06:51Z")
It doesn’t matter what I think they’re called, but I think there must be some clear was for medical professionals to ask patients whether or not they’re habitual inhalers of nicotine. People who chew tobacco and people who use snuff or smokeless tobacco suffer tobacco-related problems even though they don’t smoke. Nicotine, all by itself without smoke, is a highly addictive stimulant. If your doctor asks if you smoke, you’d damned well better mention your nicotine habit, no matter what you feel like calling it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/12 "2013-09-06T00:35:36Z")
I mostly care about the smoker-nonsmoker dichotomy because I find smoking to be noxious. I do not have enough experience with users of e-cigs to know whether they are noxious. Thus, I don’t really know whether I would consider e-cig users to be smokers. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/13 "2013-09-06T01:39:26Z")
> [@KermitTheFrig](#): > > If your doctor asks if you smoke, you’d damned well better mention your nicotine habit, no matter what you feel like calling it. Doctors have always asked me if I “use nicotine.” I assume if the answer was yes, there would be follow-up questions. I haven’t really thought about whether I consider it smoking. Haven’t encountered vaping much. I guess I don’t, none of the awfulness of smoking applies to vaping. ---
**Author:** ![KermitTheFrig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/47e85d/32.png) [@KermitTheFrig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KermitTheFrig)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/14 "2013-09-06T02:05:15Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Doctors have always asked me if I “use nicotine.” I assume if the answer was yes, there would be follow-up questions. I was at my doctor’s office yesterday for a routine check. The nurse checking my recent history before the doctor came in asked, “No smoking?” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/15 "2013-09-06T22:05:50Z")
As a former smoker who occasionally vapes and uses other tobacco products, yes, I consider one who vapes a “smoker.” My insurance specifically asks for tobacco/nicotine use, so even though I don’t “smoke” in the conventional sense, I do have to answer “yes” for the few times a year I do use tobacco products. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/16 "2013-09-06T23:27:06Z")
I know a lot of people who use e-cigs. I don’t consider it smoking and I’m glad they switched to e-cigs. I think they do look a little silly though I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/17 "2013-09-06T23:29:29Z")
> [@sahirrnee](#): > > I think they do look a little silly though I’m not sure why. 'Cause they look like steampunk pacifiers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/18 "2013-09-07T00:54:09Z")
I consider them smokers if they’re using e-cig (with nicotine or without) to get rid of a smoking habbit, non-smokers if they got rid of the smoking habbit (and use liquid without nicotine). FTR, I smoke both cigs and e-cigs. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/19 "2013-09-07T02:19:32Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 'Cause they look like steampunk pacifiers? 😃 That’s one way of putting it LOL ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2013, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112/20 "2013-09-07T07:27:09Z")
Yes, because I assume anyone using an e-cig to be either using one because they are in a no smoking area or they are trying to give up. I think you can call yourself an ex smoker when you no longer need a nicotine replacement to avoid having a cigarette. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-e-cig-users-smokers/668112.md?page=2)