# The Struggle Continues



## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

I had a bad experience today. Not really "bad" bad, but something that bothered me a bit.

Since I started vaping I generally feel better. Physically, emotionally, mentally etc. I'm also somewhat pleased that I no longer smell like a 3 day old ashtray. But before I get to the point, allow me to give you a little back story so that you understand the place from which this comes:

Last week I was out and about and found myself somewhere in Germiston. I could smell the tobacco as soon as I walked into the building, but hoped that it was perhaps coming from outside. I should have known however that I was going to be wrong. It wasn't that freshly lit cigarette smell. It was the kind that had had time to soak into everything. The curtains, carpets, chairs and probably even the wood.
As I ascended the stairs the smell became more pronounced, until I was saturated in it. Every single office was occupied by a smoker. The windows were closed, the heaters were on and all of a sudden I couldn't breath. It was a cloying, thick and muggy stench that even after I left the building, I could smell clinging to my clothing.
Not only this however, but the smell of being in that space made me feel physically ill.

Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against smokers. I was part of the crowd for close on 2 decades. But given the choices that I've recently made in my life with regards to my future as a smoker, I don't really wan't to be around it anymore. Perhaps this is how all non smokers felt about me when I walked into a room or got into a car with them. I'm rather sure it was. I have no issue with stepping outside to have a vape either. Even if it's in the smoking section. The natural movement of air means that I'm somewhat removed from the full impact of what is going on.

So imagine my shock when I was told today that I had to go into the "smoking room" to vape on Nthabiseng?(For those of you who don't know, Nthabiseng is my stunning Reo Woodvil.)That vaping was considered to be smoking and as such I was to be segregated and quarantined, despite my protestations that vaping is not smoking.

There were two things that bothered me about this suggestion. The first ties back to my experience in the dingy Germiston office as mentioned above. The second was my concern about the health implications of being in an enclosed space, in a veritable miasma of second hand smoke. (For the record, I never smoked inside my home or in any enclosed space if it could be avoided. It was unpleasant for me even as a smoker)

It was at this point that the penny really dropped for me in terms of how strongly non smokers must feel about second hand smoke. Why we have the laws that we do to protect them, and how oblivious most smokers are to this fact. I know that I was completely unconcerned during my smoking days for the wellbeing of others. It's funny how people in general and myself included only become concerned when things impact us directly. Prior to today's experience I had given little thought to the plight of vapers save that we might end up having to stand outside in the cold during winter to have a toot. All of a sudden, it became apparent to me that the issue goes far deeper. 

We vapers have made a conscious decision to start a new chapter in our lives. One without cigarettes and all of the health implications that are attached to them. And truth be told, based on recent articles I have read; many of them by way of @Alex (thanks for all your hard work!) even medical professionals are now advocating the use of e-cigarettes as a significantly healthier alternative to smoking. Regardless of the propaganda that Big Tobacco continues to throw into the media, the truth is that these devices that many people still shy away from do in fact work! They get people off cigarettes, give them back a chance at a life without all of the ill effects of cigarettes and have created a strong community of like minded, passionate people who want to spread the word and help others achieve the same success that they have in putting cigarettes down. 

A new age is dawning, and it is one in which cigarettes are beginning the slow but inevitable slide towards extinction (ex-stink-tion! HAHAHAHAHA!). But where do we vapers stand? I'm quite sure that we know exactly where we stand. We are no longer smokers and do NOT want to be treated as such. Society at large however does not seem to share this view. We currently reside in societal purgatory.

"Not smokers really... I don't know? Are they? It looks like smoke. It contains nicotine. Must be bad for you! But they don't really smell like smokers... And that smokey stuff that they expel from their nostrils like a great angry dragon doesn't irritate my sinuses... But it looks like smoke. And there was that article in Huis Genoot that slammed E-cigs, and Huis Genoot doesn't lie!"

All of the stigma currently attached to vaping is based on (IMHO) two things. The first is ignorance and I don't think that I really need to elaborate on the dangers of ignorance to anyone who has read this far. The second is the use and abuse of ignorance to circulate propaganda that is damaging to vapers. Why? Because all of a sudden Big Tobacco has a serious competitor. For the first time in history, a viable, healthy alternative to smoking is readily available. And guess what? The smokers are lapping it up! The revolution is coming, not in a slow plodding ascent, but with the speed and ferocity of a bullet train. So Big Tobacco is really scared. And so is Big Healthcare and Big Pharmaceutical. Imagine a world where smoking related deaths no longer existed? Then imagine the financial implications for the latter two players that I just mentioned. I could go on and on...

But let me wrap this up. As vapers, we need to be active about standing up for our rights and freedoms."NO! I will not be forced to stand in a smoking room where I have to inhale second hand smoke because people are too ignorant to differentiate." "NO! I will not stand idly by as an apathetic observer and watch as my rights are destroyed through political and capitalist agendas."

We need to be pro-active, not re-active. We have already seen what is happening in the USA and Europe regarding how vapers are treated. Let's not allow it to happen to us here, in this democratic South Africa where we have beaten all of odds at building a society where fair treatment of all is one of our core beliefs and principles. 

Please take a look at the below thread. This; Community of South African Vapers™ is one of the closest groups I have ever been a part of. We all come from different walks of life, but our common passion has brought us together. Let's use it to make a difference. No-one else is going to do it for us.

http://www.ecigssa.co.za/threads/what-can-we-do-to-keep-on-vaping-in-rsa.4023/

The Struggle Continues...

Reactions: Like 12 | Winner 9


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## Metal Liz (6/8/14)

WOW, WOW, WOOOOOW 

Dude, such an amazing read, thank you so much for sharing your experience and views!!!

I agree 110% with you, we must take a stand!!! 

PS - do you mind if I share this on my vaping facebook group? with a link to this page?

Reactions: Like 1


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## Alex (6/8/14)

Agree 100% mate

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Metal Liz said:


> WOW, WOW, WOOOOOW
> 
> Dude, such an amazing read, thank you so much for sharing your experience and views!!!
> 
> ...


 
You are more than welcome to! The more people who rally to our cause the better!

Thank you so much for the positive feedback. Makes writing an article like this worth it!

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!!!!!

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## Metal Liz (6/8/14)

Done!

Reactions: Like 1


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## johan (6/8/14)

Great post @Chef Guest - the vape ignorant content of your post in a pic:

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 3 | Winner 2


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

johan said:


> Great post @Chef Guest - the vape ignorant content of your post in a pic:
> 
> 
> View attachment 9293


Very appropriate!

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## annemarievdh (6/8/14)

Wow!!!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Paulie (6/8/14)

Great post!!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Morne (6/8/14)

Awesome read!!! Well done and very TRUE!!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## bones (6/8/14)

Awesome write up.

Smoking cigarettes is like owning a Blackberry.... Awkward!

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 2


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## BumbleBee (6/8/14)

wow, that's quite a chunk of text..... where can I download the audiobook?

Reactions: Funny 2


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## BumbleBee (6/8/14)

ok, all jokes on a stick..... This is a brilliant article, you have put into words what a vast majority (surely all) of us vapers are thinking. Well done, hats off and kudos (hate that "word")! This needs to be seen by everyone, it needs to be published!

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Thank you. I'm truly humbled... 

Sent from the Dark Side of The Force

Reactions: Like 1


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Thank you. I'm truly humbled... 

Sent from the Dark Side of The Force


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## Stroodlepuff (6/8/14)

Chef Guest said:


> Thank you. I'm truly humbled...
> 
> Sent from the Dark Side of The Force


 
I stole this for Vape Kings Faceboom page  fantastic writeup bud


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Stroodlepuff said:


> I stole this for Vape Kings Faceboom page  fantastic writeup bud


Thanks @Stroodlepuff!


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## bones (6/8/14)

*"Hasta siempre, Comandante!"*
*Until forever, Commander!*

Reactions: Like 1


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## johan (6/8/14)

Maybe @*Chef* Guest should change his name to *Che* Guest, but that's just my suggestion.

Reactions: Agree 2 | Funny 1


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## BumbleBee (6/8/14)

Shared on FB also


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## johan (6/8/14)

Doesn't this suit our @Chef Guest?

Reactions: Like 3 | Winner 1


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!

Sent from the Dark Side of The Force


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## MarkK (6/8/14)

@Chef Guest excellent read! Really enjoyed it! You are not alone sir, we will just have to educate 1 by 1


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## Chef Guest (6/8/14)

Thanks @MarkK

Sent from the Dark Side of The Force


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## JakesSA (6/8/14)

Well said @Chef Guest!

If I may add one point, whilst there is a lot of nonsense about the dangers of vaping doing the rounds it is also a side effect of a much deeper problem.

To illustrate, in today's eco-friendly world people generally feel uncomfortable using paper. Trees were cut to make that paper after all, cutting trees are bad and we all 'know' that. The global warming brigade, which is itself now a multi billion dollar industry, have subtly convinced the general populace that using paper is bad. In reality, the paper industry plants two trees for everyone they cut and, transport and manufacturing wastes aside, we should all make at least 5 paper jets a day in order to expand our forests. Perhaps I oversimplify, but the point being that there is now a subconscious irrational fear a lot of folks have about wasting paper. 

Insofar smoking is concerned, there has been at least two decades of intense propaganda to convince the general public of the dangers of second hand smoke and I mean _second hand _smoke specifically. It was not the smokers that were targeted with this campaign but the people around them in order for them to ostracise the smokers. We, as smokers, were perhaps casually oblivious or only peripherally aware of this since, I suspect, we had bigger problems than second hand smoke, as in, first hand smoke.

I suspect however that this has left a subconscious and, in my view, irrational fear in many non-smokers' minds about anything 'smoke like' coming out of another's persons mouth, irrespective of its origin. One cannot alter an irrational, subconscious belief with mere facts and herein lies the problem that vaping faces.
Just my 2 cents ..

"Fear is the mind killer" - Frank Herbert

Reactions: Like 3 | Agree 1


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## BumbleBee (6/8/14)

JakesSA said:


> Well said @Chef Guest!
> 
> If I may add one point, whilst there is a lot of nonsense about the dangers of vaping doing the rounds it is also a side effect of a much deeper problem.
> 
> ...


You have a very solid point there, I've never even considered it this way


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## Chef Guest (7/8/14)

Agree with you 100% @JakesSA! The reality is that people tend to broadly apply what they think they know to what they see and experience, in order to rationalise it. This subconscious "boxing" of things is a learned behaviour that is tied directly to the society we live in, the media we are presented with, and they way in which people are taught to perceive the world around them.

For example, when I first moved to SA people kept referring to me as coloured. I immediately took offense as my upbringing had taught me that the term coloured was derogatory. I was only a boy at this time but suffice it to say this confused and upset me greatly. In fact the colour of my skin had never even mattered before coming here! I soon learned that the South African use of the word was not derogatory at all, but rather the name of a very specific and unique racial group with its own heritage and culture. So when i learned this then I would explain to people that I wasn't coloured as they understood it. The rebuttal to that was automatically "what race are your parents?" One Black and the other White, I would answer. "That makes you coloured then" was the response.

It's just an example from my life, but it highlights to me the fact that people will always label things in a way that makes them comfortable and easier to understand. Am I coloured? No. Does it matter to me anymore? Not really. Because the only thing that I care to be identified as now is a human being. The point here is that things can be unlearned and behaviors changed if the right tools and methods of behavioral reinforcement are applied.

There's no doubt that second hand smoke is bad for you. It's smoke. First or second hand it makes no difference. The argument is that as smokers we chose to do the damage to ourselves. Protecting the non smoker makes perfect sense. The whole process that you mentioned was educational and ultimately beneficial to non smokers. The fact that as a result it created a significant amount of fear and ostracism is an unfortunate byproduct of that process, but perhaps also a necessary one.

If we want people to look at vaping as being something quite separate and independent of smoking, then people need to be educated about what it really is, and how beneficial it had been to those of us who have changed over. And lobbying for rights will only be effective if there are indeed facts to back up the claims that vaping is harmless. In order to break the stigma, I believe that the approach has to be both different and appealing enough to get people's interest. It works for smokers because most of us want or wanted to quit anyway but like with most things we wanted to have our cake and eat it. In that sense vaping as an industry is very clever. The addiction isn't broken, just the method of delivery. But I can tell you as someone with experience in these things, that 80% of addiction is psychological and 20% physical. So then why do I still vape with nic? Because my body will tell me when I've had enough and end up doing a @Silver on my living room floor! 

I was giving it some thought earlier and considered the possibility that if the tobacco industry dies away as a result of vaping, then what happens to vaping? What we do exists only because we are the target market. Smokers who don't want to smoke but who also don't want to kick the habit. Will young people pick up ecigs instead of cigarettes? I don't know. Do we discourage them from doing it? Of course! But why? Why do we tell young people who want to vape to rather leave it alone? Probably because we know what it was that led us to vaping in the first place. But the fact remains that we are a niche market of smokers comprising of the privileged few who know about and have access to the best that vaping has to offer. 

In order to change peoples perceptions about vaping, I believe there has to be an end game. A reason for doing all of this. Maybe a tobacco free world? Which may lead to a vaping free world... If there aren't any smokers left does vaping still have a place in our society? I'm asking myself these questions as I type and know I don't have the answers, but it's something I'd definitely like to explore further and try to understand better. 

P.S. So glad there's a fellow Dune fan on the forum!

Sent from the Dark Side of The Force

Reactions: Like 2


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