To think you don't vape in a waiting room full of pregnant ladies?

[QuestionableMouse]

Just been to my sister's scan. While we were waiting a couple came in. The 'gentlemen' (and I use that term very loosely) either had his hand in a huge bag of crisps or was vaping. We went in just after he came in but I wish I'd said something! AIBU?

Thanks for the info on flavours Plenty.
I was concerned that it attracted youngsters but as a smoker since the age of 14, I hardly have the moral high ground here. I suppose teens vaping as a pose to smoking is the lesser of two evils.

It's the lesser of 2 evils but as PP said upthread since you can't smoke in a waiting room your not actually missing anything

Think people who vape should just go out for a vape same as those who still smoke go out for a fag

Buzzardbird, Which hospital is this then?

I'd rather not say because it's my local and would out where I live! You sound like you don't believe me though?

He was obviously hiding it because you aren't allowed to smoke in the hospital, so it doesn't matter which one it was.

If there are no signs you can vape all you want, where you want.

I smoke in our park, there are signs asking not to, I ignore them because there's no law says I can't.
A woman had a go cause I was in the playground, only my dd and hers there and they were in a toddler area miles away from the teen section.
I asked her how on earth my smoke would bother her so far away and then told her her ugly face was bothering me and could she leave please.

I do not litter the place with fag ends, I dispose of them correctly.

You say your not a huge fan of vaping! Do you prefer real fags then

Not at all Mouse, I was just astonished that there are hospitals (I know it isn't illegal in England to vape in hospital) that still allow it. Can only imagine as someone who suffered dreadful sickness during pregnancy to sit in a room with someone vaping, especially fruit flavoured ones.

I asked about the hospital so that I could avoid it. Have been in 4 different hospitals recently and luckily no vaping allowed.

pigeonpoo although they may look similar at a very quick glance, smoking and vaping are quite different in lots of ways. Nicotine is absorbed much more slowly from vaping than it is from smoking. Because of this, vaping tends to be far more of a little-and-often thing than smoking and new vapers especially can struggle if they have to go outside each time, especially as they will likely be stood next to smokers.

Obviously there are situations where it's impolite to vape and the man in the OP had very bad manners. It's a matter of etiquette rather than public health though and there's no logical reason to send vapers outside as a matter of course.

We should be doing everything we can to support smokers' attempts to switch to vaping because they are massively less likely to die early or spend their last decades disabled and in pain. They're also no longer a health hazard to those around them.

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties don't know the ins and outs but a stronger smell, and more smoke, definitely. Its not like vapour, more a plume of smoke. I wonder if they use real tobacco mixed with whatever flavour is their choice? Edgware Road in London has a lot of Lebanese "hookah" cafes (not as bad as it sounds, hookah is the name of the pipe they use to smoke..! ). I can remember trying shisha around 20 years ago. But there are quite a few Shisha cafes here and there in London, and you do see young people going there.

Of course it's etiquette

I quit smoking by vaping myself. I went outside if I felt the need. I didn't sit at my desk vaping imposing it on my colleagues and certainly wouldn't sit in a waiting room doing so

There are two different things called 'shisha'.

One is traditional shisha which is fruit flavoured tobacco burnt on a charcoal block and inhaled after bubbling the smoke through water to cool it. This is really bad for you and impractical on a school bus.

The other sort - e-shisha - is a nicotine-free ecig with flavours based on the traditional shisha flavours. It's exactly the same as an ecig, minus the nicotine.

I go outside sometimes, when I fancy a blather. Other times I just stealth it indoors and cause no nuisance. I'm quite comfortable in situations where I can't vape now but I wasn't in the early days. Loads of people relapse because they're sent to stand with the smokers and it's just easier to accept the constantly offered fag than work out what's wrong with the newfangled kit this time.

Even ASH don't advocate blanket indoor bans but instead go for a more nuanced approach based on what employers are trying to achieve with their ecig policy.

Thats interesting. The charcoal one is what I call Shisha, the nicotine-free vape stick I just call Vape. Traditional shisa is meant to be just as harmful as cigarettes, and can scorch the lungs

I was on the tube the other day and there was a bloke vaping. It was rank! Clouds of stinking fruity smoke like a mini dry ice machine. He looked like a proper nut job so no one said anything to confront him but it was super yucky.

I thought people weren't meant to vape anywhere they couldn't smoke?

It would have knocked me sick when pregnant, artificial fruit smells (body spray, food, vape) were the one thing that really set off my morning sickness.

My concern is we don't know the long term affects of passive (or active) vaping

I think its inconsiderate considering pregnant women are more prone to smells but it was probably just an innocent mistake. You could of politely said something.

So if someone is wearing very strong smelling perfume or aftershave that induces pregnancy sickness should they be told they can't use this particular perfume/aftershave?

I vape but I only vape where I know everyone is ok with it. My parents are fine, my sister is and so is the local pub. Everywhere else I assume no and go outside. I have been assured that my liquid doesnt smell, but I use mint/menthol so that might be why. The sickly fruit ones make me heave and I am not pregnant!

HWBU to do it in a waiting room as a lot of people really dont like the smell, but I dont think that the fact it was an antenatal clinic makes any difference.

He's a slob. As a PP said he is a guest there - as indeed is OP as she is not pregnant. Which leaves me wondering how anyone on this thread would react to another patient vaping!

But banning vaping in the grounds sounds absurd to me. Do they have telescreens to catch you if you do it?

Vaping is treated the same as smoking at my Trust and the other local ones. Staff and patients must not do it on or in the premises. I believe it's largely because lots of people/patients have given up or are trying to and are unable to go and smoke in the case of vaping. Oh and that the chargers are dodgy, that makes them very unwelcome on wards too.

Very shortsighted of your Trust, jevoudrais. There was a massive consultation on vaping in hospital grounds in Scotland late last year. All but one health boards had previously included vaping in their 'smokefree' policy but now many are reviewing that decision.

My trust is the same... completely banned on any trust property. Went down a treat when the ban came in last year since lots of our patients (it's a mental health trust) had used vaping to stop smoking and now have to have leave off the hosptial grounds in order to Vape so most just started smoking again since its treat the same way.

Not sure on the general etiquette for vaping as its a relatively new trend but in my midwife waiting area it says please refrain from using e cigarettes of our buildings, they aren't regulated and the risks are at this time unknown and untested, for the same reason they discourage use during pregnancy.

The best is the enemy of the good. Better they vape in the open air than smoke anywhere.

Here is the latest guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) re E-Cigarettes and Pregnancy - " The evidence shows that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can help people to stop smoking and are similarly effective to other cessation options such as a combination of short- and long-acting nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The expert committee agreed that people should be able to use e-cigarettes as one of several options to support smoking cessation if they so choose."

www.nice.org.uk/news/article/nice-and-phe-publish-comprehensive-draft-guideline-to-tackle-the-health-burden-of-smoking