E-cigarettes are 'much less harmful than smoking' and smokers should be encouraged to quit or switch to vaping.
That was the message of last week's Royal College of Physicians report.
Given the lack of evidence that e-cigarettes pose any serious risk to the user and the frequent abuse and disinformation hurled at smokers, why would anyone choose not to switch?
To be clear, I'm not suggesting smokers should switch. I've been around smokers long enough to know that many enjoy the ritual, the taste or simply the act of inhaling or exhaling smoke from a combustible cigarette.
I'm just curious what smokers think of bodies like the RCP urging you to switch to e-cigarettes and what reason/s you would give for sticking with combustibles when every public health campaigner in the world seems intent on denormalising and stigmatising you for that decision.
I asked this question on the Friends of Forest Facebook page. Here are some of the responses:
EJ wrote:
I don't smoke as an addict. I do it for enjoyment and don't smoke most of the time. Maybe once a month. I think the fact that MANY smokers live to 90+ is enough evidence to debunk whatever theories people have about smoking being a cause of premature death or chronic illness. My grandma was on about 40 a day and lived to 85. It's far more about the hand you've been dealt than anything else.
JB wrote:
Seen as a way to quit smoking, yes, sure, e-cigs are probably the best method out there but it's just not for me. I don't like e-cigs, that's about it. It feels nothing like burning tobacco. I will carry on smoking my moderate dozen cigarettes a day, the occasional pipe or cigar, for as long as possible. I hope to reach 70 that way. If not, never mind.
JN wrote:
Why would I want to switch to a product that hasn't been tested long term? I know the risks of smoking cigarettes. (I don't believe all the bullshit.) I enjoy smoking and have done for 50+ years and have no intention of giving up :)
LB wrote:
I tried e-cigs for a couple of weeks but they gave me a tight chest and sore throat so went back to rollies. Better the devil you know. It's entirely up to the individual. It works for people I know but not for me. I didn't like the feel of the plastic filter either. Been smoking for 35 years. I know the risks. It's my life therefore my choice.
SB wrote:
I smoke. I enjoy it. Have smoked for 46 years. Switched to roll-ups due to cost about 25 years ago. Use an e-cig when I can't (not allowed to) smoke. Fed up with being told what to do and told what and how to think. I don't take any notice.
MS wrote:
I tried e-smoking. I didn't like the taste. It's not what I want from smoking. I also need the routine of hand rolling my cigarette.
I can't remember where I read it (it may have been on this blog) but someone else commented that they like the fact that the time taken to smoke a cigarette is finite - approximately five minutes - unlike vaping.
The elephant in the room is of course the issue of addiction. Do you smoke because you're addicted, because it's a habit, because you enjoy it, or is it a combination of these and other factors?
Further thoughts welcome.
Update: Over on Facebook HJ has added this comment:
I enjoyed smoking. I expected it to be the last thing I would ever give up. I feel so grateful now that I was one of those who took to vaping as a fish to swimming. I had no intention of quitting but just became aware that I enjoyed vaping more than tobacco – and I had been a smoker for 45 years! Strange world.
Vive la différence, I say.