# Ok, I give up (Electronic Cigarettes) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 16, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451 "2011-09-16T00:21:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![quedefuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/48db29/32.png) [@quedefuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quedefuk)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/21 "2011-09-17T05:19:51Z")
I have been using an electronic cigarette for a year and a half now. Ok big deal I’m embracing my addiction. It beats the hell out of that pack and half Marlboro addiction that I carried for thirty five years. I don’t have the smoker’s hack any longer, my breathing feels clearer than it has in many, many years. I walk into professional settings now and hear comments such as "I can’t smell anything, so obviously you’re a non-smoker (That felt good). My dentist says my gum disease has become remarkably better, and my doctor is fascinated when he listens to my chest. I catch some negative comments from people, but don’t give a shit. It’s been a blessing for both my wife and I. To hell with the haters. Leave me the hell alone and let me live my life. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/22 "2011-09-17T17:33:11Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Really? It’s not actually smoking. It would be illegal because the airlines say they are not allowed. Failing to obey the instructions of a flight crew is illegal and, I believe, a federal offense. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/23 "2011-09-17T17:42:34Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I was seated near a woman who topped this - applying nailpolish remover. It takes a special type of moron to subject fellow passengers to acetone fumes in an enclosed space. I have a rule: if it makes my corneas itch, it’s bad. And there have been people with perfumes that have done that. Acetone would be up there too. I’d say electronic cigarettes are almost nonexistent, comparably, on the toxic emissions annoy-o-meter. ---
**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 18, 2011, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/24 "2011-09-18T12:31:43Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > From the link: > > _“The principal liquid ingredient (in e-cigarettes) is propylene glycol, > which is widely used as a moistening food additive and an aid to > vaporization. However, some research, conducted on non-asthmatic > people, has shown that exposure to propylene glycol mist from > artificial smoke generators may cause acute ocular and upper airway > irritation, and in a few cases people reacted with cough and slight > airway obstruction. See G Wieslander, D Norb[auml]ck, and T Lindgren, > `Experimental exposure to propylene glycol mist in aviation emergency training: Acute ocular and respiratory effects,'' Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2001; 58:649-655. Further, in a recent New England Journal of Medicine article, `E-Cigarette or Drug-Delivery > Device? Regulating Novel Nicotine Products,‘’ it was noted that the > safety of inhaling propylene glycol has not been studied in humans. > 365;3: 193-95.”_ The artificial smoke generators referred to are not e-cigs. It looks to me as if the study focused on levels of PG that create a mist “commonly used in artificial smoke generators in discotheques, theatres, and emergency training.” Picture the fog that covers the stage at a Broadway show, or the effect at a dance club. A fog bank, IOW. Also from the cite: “The exposure concentration of PG (geometric mean 309 mg/m3) was quite high, compared with other exposure measurements of this compound in work environments.” It was a study of occupational exposure to PG, and anyone who expands the conclusion to cover the sliver of vapor emanating from an e-cigarette is stretching things, ISTM. IMO, if someone finds the meager tendril of vapor coming from an e-cigarette offensive, it is purely psychological, “anything that looks like someone enjoying tobacco near me is EVIL” knee-jerk nonsense. The vapor from an e-cig bugs you? Really? That tiny plume of water vapor? That says something more about you (the generic “you,” not Jackmanni) than the person creating the imaginary pollution. I don’t use e-cigarettes, and obviously one must follow the rules in places like airplanes, but I would use it wherever else I felt like, and if anyone didn’t like it, tough shit. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/25 "2011-09-18T13:56:24Z")
If you go [here](http://www.regulations.gov/#!home), and select the _Smoking of Electronic Cigarettes on Aircraft_ link, you can submit a comment about the proposed regulation. I submitted a comment roughly mirroring my posts here, but **Stratocaster** , your post above could mostly be copied and pasted as well. I doubt it will make a difference, but it wasn’t hard to comment. ---
**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 18, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/26 "2011-09-18T14:13:59Z")
ZenBeam, I might if I get a chance, though I agree, it won’t change anything, not when it relates to the self-righteous hysteria associated with anything that even suggests tobacco use. BTW, when I mentioned the cite, I should have clarified that I went to the source, not just the DOT’s highly selective reference to it. [Here it is](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1740047/) if anyone is interested. Full text is in a pdf. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/27 "2011-09-18T14:18:08Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > It would be illegal because the airlines say they are not allowed. Failing to obey the instructions of a flight crew is illegal and, I believe, a federal offense. To play devil’s advocate, though, the crew never make an announcement over the PA, and there’s no guarantee that anyone reads the instructions in the airline magazine, and so unless one is (a) caught and (b) told to stop, it’s probably not illegal unless you insist. FWIW I know this person who recently quit smoking again and also frequently flies 12 hour to 15 hour flights, and because these long flights are always business class in a pod where no one else can see him or her, has never had an issue with his vaping on personal vaporizers. ---
**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 18, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/28 "2011-09-18T14:40:11Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > IMO, if someone finds the meager tendril of vapor coming from an e-cigarette offensive, it is purely psychological, “anything that looks like someone enjoying tobacco near me is EVIL” knee-jerk nonsense. The vapor from an e-cig bugs you? Really? That tiny plume of water vapor? If it was just “water vapor” there’d be no issue. If there’s propylene glycol and other chemical vapors being exuded into an enclosed, poorly ventilated space like a airliner cabin that could be a problem. > [@](#): > > I would use it wherever else I felt like, and if anyone didn’t like it, tough shit. Remember when we used to hear about there being no problem with indoor smoking, since gentlemanly smokers would gladly extinguish their smokes if anyone complained? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/29 "2011-09-18T15:35:21Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Remember when we used to hear about there being no problem with indoor smoking, since gentlemanly smokers would gladly extinguish their smokes if anyone complained? 🙂 The Gentlemanly Smoker went extinct when non-smokers started acting like dictatorial butt-hats and began stomping (figuratively) all over them with hobnailed jackboots ---
**Author:** ![gerthearcejor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ad7895/32.png) [@gerthearcejor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gerthearcejor)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/30 "2011-09-21T03:22:23Z")
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**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 22, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/31 "2011-09-22T02:25:09Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > If it was just “water vapor” there’d be no issue. If there’s propylene glycol and other chemical vapors being exuded into an enclosed, poorly ventilated space like a airliner cabin that could be a problem. Unless the e-cigarette is billowing out a cloud bank of mist, I think the concern is nonsense. PG is legally used today in a multitude of products–cosmetics, shampoo, deodorant, in certain foods. Apparently it only became an offensive health risk when it took on the appearance (only the appearance, mind you) of someone enjoying tobacco. The PG emanating from an e-cigarette is miniscule, and I’m not aware of any studies that show that level of PG poses any form of health risk, and I also must have missed the protests over people being permitted on airplanes after using deodorant (frankly, I think forced deodorant is a better policy). > [@](#): > > Remember when we used to hear about there being no problem with indoor smoking, since gentlemanly smokers would gladly extinguish their smokes if anyone complained? 🙂 You miss my point, then. I’m not saying “I’d use this harmful product, others be damned.” This product poses no harm and any outcry against it, IMO, is manufactured, knee-jerk nonsense. Someone complaining over a cigarette has a beef, and only a jerk would ignore it. Someone bitching about an e-cigarette is hallucinating, apparently. I wouldn’t indulge that, just as I wouldn’t if someone complained that I was drinking a soda or reading the newspaper or any other activity that poses no harm and is none of his business. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_Kirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Capt\_Kirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_Kirk)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-electronic-cigarettes/596451/33 "2012-07-05T16:00:29Z")
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