# Why on earth are people still smoking without trying to switch to vaping? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062 "2018-02-18T18:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/21 "2018-02-19T03:05:55Z")
The smokers I have asked told me that they don’t get a buzz from e-cigs that they do from real tobacco. It’s genetic. Some people get a buzz, others don’t. I am grateful that I don’t, because I spent enough time with smokers to smoke a few times, and I could never understand the attraction. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/22 "2018-02-19T03:08:26Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I don’t smoke cigarettes but: > a) I am not convinced its all that much better/safer than conventional cigarettes in the long-term > b) I drive a manual transmission, use hand tools when power tools are available to do the same work, and shoot flintlocks. Some people are just funny in what they like and enjoy and I can live with that. a. Do you have any basis for that “convinced”? Why do \*you \*think you know better than conventional science? Conventional science has narrowed in on what’s toxic in cigarettes, and it’s a buncha stuff. And those substances are either absent or only in trace amounts in vape fluid. So what logical basis do you go from “mostly it’s purified nicotine, water, and propylene glycol, warmed up” to “I am _convinced_ this isn’t safer”. I think a more realistic view would be “it probably is safer, and it’s worth the risk. However, it’s not risk free and if I \*could \*quit smoking entirely, I would”. (if you were a smoker) As a side note, dip was supposed to be risk free. It turns out to cause throat cancer. But a lesser known fact is the absolute risk is still _half_ that of cigarettes. Doing dip is bad, but half as bad as smoking in terms of potentially dying from it. b. I guess you can’t be “convinced” that bolt action rifles are a superior weapon to a flintlock in every combat scenario where you need to fire more than once, eh. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/23 "2018-02-19T03:13:47Z")
> [@Swampwolf](#): > > I often wonder myself why people still smoke. I switched to vaping almost 4 years ago, and it really was the best decision of my life. Of course it doesn’t taste the same. After 33 years of smoking, I acknowledged that burning tobacco tastes disgusting. It really does. Now, I smell like waffles instead of an ashtray. I spend as much on a year’s worth of juice (I make my own) as I would for two weeks \* two weeks \* worth of cigarettes. How do you make your own? Do you start with tobacco leaves? ---
**Author:** ![Swampwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Swampwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swampwolf)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/24 "2018-02-19T04:02:42Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > How do you make your own? Do you start with tobacco leaves? I order flavour and “base,” which is nicotine (I prefer organically grown tobacco, cold-pressed) at the strength I want, in vegetable glycerin. The right proportions, and I can make however much I want. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/25 "2018-02-19T12:21:58Z")
I’ve never smoked tobacco, but the tech involved in vaping has made me almost wish I liked nicotine’s effects. When I ask my smoking friends why they don’t vape they tell me they _like_ _smoking_. Not just the effect of nicotine, but the entire process. I can understand. I smoke cannabis on a daily basis. I own several vaporizers. While I may pull out a vaporizer for guests, on a day to day basis I prefer traditional smoking. The feel of a favorite pipe, the act of rolling a perfect joint, the burble of a bong, the taste of burning weed, it’s all a part of the experience. Vaporizing is “too sterile”. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/26 "2018-02-19T13:10:14Z")
My husband (2-pack a day smoker if he doesn’t pay attention to it) tried vaping a few times. He gave up in part because, for him, it doesn’t come close to delivering the nicotine _hit_ he wants/needs. From what I understand, with vaping, one doesn’t’ need to _draw_ it as hard nor as deep as one does with cigarettes. I don’t know anybody who vapes. To me, it seems to be more of a _kid_ thing, much like what pot paraphanalia stores were to my generation (ooh, forbidden and therefore desirable!) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/27 "2018-02-19T14:00:59Z")
I’ve smoked hand-rolled cigarettes on and off for years, but rarely smoking more than one a day. There were some periods where I didn’t smoke tobacco at all, and some when I’d have an occasional cigar. It really varied. In the past year or so, I’ve smoked one hand-rolled cigarette each morning with my coffee. The cigarette is rolled with thin rice paper and the tobacco is either a Burley/Virginia blend, or [Samsun.](http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/2892/mcclelland-classic-samsun) For the past few years, I have also “vaped” occasionally. At one point I used to just buy Blu disposable e-cigarettes and puff them from time to time…if I was sitting in traffic and bored, if I was at my desk and felt like a little nicotine hit, that sort of thing. Never went through them habitually. I guess I have some kind of immunity from becoming full-on addicted to nicotine. It’s like, I can use it selectively without needing it all the time. I recently went to a vapor store where you could sample many different kinds of e-liquid. I mean MANY kinds…innumerable “craft” blends as well as more name-brand ones. I’ll tell you, there’s a goddamn plethora of flavors available for vaporizers. But none of them, NONE of them, are similar to tobacco. I left the store with a basic vaporizer about the size of a Magic Marker, with interchangable tanks, and a bottle of “Tobacco” flavored liquid. It tastes like somewhere between coffee, vanilla, butterscotch, and a slight hint of freshly baked bread. This isn’t altogether bad, and I’ve enjoyed puffing it here and there…usually while driving, or at work in my office (which is in my house, hence the relaxed rules.) Some mornings I puff the vaporizer with my coffee, some mornings I smoke the cigarette. I think that, eventually, as they refine the technology and develop the flavor profiles, vapor can be made to be _much_ more similar to tobacco - maybe even virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. If this happens, I expect vaping to almost completely replace cigarettes. But only if it happens. Until then, the vapor is just too unlike real tobacco smoke for those who prefer the latter to give it up. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/28 "2018-02-19T14:18:03Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > My husband (2-pack a day smoker if he doesn’t pay attention to it) tried vaping a few times. He gave up in part because, for him, it doesn’t come close to delivering the nicotine _hit_ he wants/needs. From what I understand, with vaping, one doesn’t’ need to _draw_ it as hard nor as deep as one does with cigarettes. > > I don’t know anybody who vapes. To me, it seems to be more of a _kid_ thing, much like what pot paraphanalia stores were to my generation (ooh, forbidden and therefore desirable!) I suspect your husband was really just not getting the “throat hit” that he expects as you can get pretty high nicotine level juice. It really isn’t a kid thing. I see middle age people in the vape shop all the time. I am sure the forbidden/desirable thing happens with kids to some degree, just like smoking regular cigarettes only with a cooler gadget. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/29 "2018-02-19T14:44:10Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > I don’t know anybody who vapes. To me, it seems to be more of a _kid_ thing, much like what pot paraphanalia stores were to my generation (ooh, forbidden and therefore desirable!) I think that’s a big part of it. It’s widely viewed as an obnoxious Millennial thing so older people aren’t interested in (a) figuring out the gadgets and (b) dealing with the kids. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/30 "2018-02-19T15:06:39Z")
Have any tobacco smokers tried using one of those dried herb vaporizers? With that kind of device, it heats up loose tobacco to release the nicotine without actually burning the tobacco. It might be closer to the actual cigarette experience without all the weird hydrocarbons from combustion. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/31 "2018-02-19T15:14:44Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I think that’s a big part of it. It’s widely viewed as an obnoxious Millennial thing so older people aren’t interested in (a) figuring out the gadgets and (b) dealing with the kids. No, I am pretty confident that is only a small part of. Of course there’ll be slightly more adoption of vaping by young people, their smoking habit is less entrenched. From the [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db217.pdf): Percentage of adults who currently use e-cigarettes 18-24 \> 5.1% 25-44 \> 4.7% 45-64 \> 3.5% 65+ \> 1.4% ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/32 "2018-02-19T15:36:39Z")
25-44 has a pretty decent generational divide in there. It’s an 8% drop-off between the first and second group and a 25% drop between the second and third. I suspect the second group is front-loaded. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/33 "2018-02-19T15:44:24Z")
> [@SamuelA](#): > > a. Do you have any basis for that “convinced”? Why do \*you \*think you know better than conventional science? In my younger days “conventional science” also said smoking was fairly safe. Even as the dangers became more clear, habits are hard things to break. Heck, my doctor had an ashtray in every examination room and even to the mid-80s I could smoke in my hospital room. So all in all I’m not all that convinced. Come see me again in about 30 years; just bring a spirit board along. > [@SamuelA](#): > > b. I guess you can’t be “convinced” that bolt action rifles are a superior weapon to a flintlock in every combat scenario where you need to fire more than once, eh. But isn’t superior a little different from safer? A flint restricts me to one shot so I’m not as likely to toss lead around freely and the half-cock is a little more visual than most “safeties” on bolts. And that’s before we get into the ballistics and everything else. Combat scenarios ------ different consideration. But smoking or vapes are recreational making your comparison a little bit apples and oranges. Now if you are attacked and want to distract the attacker by blowing a cloud of smoke in his/her face --------- 😉 Don’t get me wrong; as a drug delivery system vapes are terrific technology. I just don’t think they are as safe as you seem to or that much better than conventional cigarettes. Doesn’t mean I want you to stop; it just means that I doubt you’ll ever see me using one. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/34 "2018-02-19T15:45:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Don’t go to a smoke shop or your local kwik-e-mart. Swampwolf, I’m glad to hear your life is saved - can you expand on what it is the vape shop needs to know/tell you? I never know enough about vaping to ask questions intelligently ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/35 "2018-02-19T15:46:09Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > 25-44 has a pretty decent generational divide in there. > > It’s an 8% drop-off between the first and second group and a 25% drop between the second and third. I suspect the second group is front-loaded. Or maybe you could just accept that it’s not widely viewed as an obnoxious millennial thing. As I said, I see middle age people in the vape shops plenty. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/36 "2018-02-19T15:59:34Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Or maybe you could just accept that it’s not widely viewed as an obnoxious millennial thing. How will that change the weakness of a data set ranging across multiple generations without any breakdown between them when trying to prove cross-generational acceptance? If we’re just going with anecdotes, I can safely say that the vapers (?) I’ve known were younger and viewed as obnoxious about it. I also know one guy closer to 40 who is super obnoxious about it (and people talk about him as such). ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/37 "2018-02-19T16:03:00Z")
I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure whatever it is you can fanwank it away too. I get it, you don’t like vaping. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/38 "2018-02-19T16:08:35Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I get it, you don’t like vaping. I quit smoking 15+ years ago and don’t really give a shit what nicotine-delivery method people use. Since you’re hanging around vaping stores, it seems you’re much more emotionally invested in this than I am. You seem to be confused as to what “fanwanking” means if you think it has something to do with poor use of statistics. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/39 "2018-02-19T16:15:10Z")
I don’t “hang around vape stores” for god’s sake. Yeah, I’m the one being emotional about this. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062/40 "2018-02-19T16:19:01Z")
From the [Surgeon General’s 2017 report](https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/documents/2016_sgr_full_report_non-508.pdf): > [@](#): > > The most recent data available show that the prevalence of past-30-day use of e-cigarettes is similar among high school students (16% in 2015, 13.4% in 2014) and young adults 18–24 years of age (13.6% in 2013–2014) compared to middle school students (5.3% in 2015, 3.9% in 2014) and adults 25 years of age and older (5.7% in 2013–2014). Your list before was lacking those under 18 (I guess those aren’t Millennials). But the primary usage of e-cigarettes is easily among those high school aged through 24. Whether or not they’re viewed as obnoxious is harder to quantify. > [@CarnalK](#): > > I don’t “hang around vape stores” for god’s sake. > [@CarnalK](#): > > As I said, I see middle age people in the vape shops plenty. Uh, ok. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-on-earth-are-people-still-smoking-without-trying-to-switch-to-vaping/809062.md?page=3)