To tell those who lecture me on vaping to Fuck Off

[Dogsitterwoes]

AIBU. No, let them lecture you
YANBU - Yes, be rude to them

I'm in my 50s and was a long term smoker. I switched to vaping in January. I am considerate and only vape outdoors and move away from other people or into a smoking area. People sometimes
comment, there's a brief convo around my giving up smoking, and 9 out of 10 respond nicely in a 'well done you' kind of way.

The 1 out of 10 though start lecturing me on the evils of vaping. These can be complete strangers, or acquaintances. They go on and on.
Usual themes:

1. Just as bad for you or worse for you than smoking.
2. Children are vaping.
3. Environmental impact of disposables.

I respond politely. I acknowledge there is a concern around all of this, and
1 - I know they aren't exactly good for me but I think they are not as bad as cigarettes, and it's my intension to also stop vaping this year
2 - I agree the manufacturer's should stop targeting non-smokers with the sweet flavours
3 - I agree, I use a rechargeable, but there's probably a lot more all of us could be doing for the environment.

But they do not let it drop. I've literally been lectured at on and on.

YANBU to stop being polite after my initial response and tell them that if I stopped vaping today, I'd be back on the fags tomorrow so mind their own fucking business?

Maybe we shouldn't drink alcohol? Got to think of the younger generation.

There is no younger person looking at this middle-aged vaper thinking 'Look how cool she is, I just have to go and buy a vape now, so I can be just like her!'

@Mybusyday "Buying a cream cake doesn’t affect other peoples health"

Neither does vaping. It's water vapour that's exhaled, it doesn't contain all the nasty things that cigarette smoke contains.

It would be helpful if people could do their research before commenting.

Of course it does!! I beg to differ - it very much effects my asthma when I breathe in other peoples vape! It is vile and disgusting - why should other people be forced to breathe in this crap?!! Oh and I do know research thank you

Along with nicotine, nonvapers are also exposed to ultrafine particles from secondhand vape aerosol, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Secondhand vape aerosol also contains several known carcinogens that may increase the risk of certain cancers. These carcinogens include: lead.

@Mybusyday that's a quote from an American website in 2020
American E liquids and vapes are different, it's pretty heavily regulated here
I'm not exhaling lead. My liquid has PG, VG, flavourings and that's it

Public perceptions of harm from e-cigarettes remain inaccurate with only 17% of respondents correctly stating that e-cigarettes are a lot less harmful than smoking

Switching from smoking to vaping should be positively encouraged. Anyone succeeding in switching should be supported and congratulated.
For monitoring purposes, people who use e-cigarettes and do not smoke tobacco should no longer

Vapers should be able to vape away from smoking areas to avoid second hand smoke and also it helps if you've quit smoking to not have the temptation

https://breathe2025.org.uk/resourcefiles/6-vaping-in-secondary-care-guidance.pdf

And if you CBA reading anything else, this is a good summary with links

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2018/02/20/clearing-up-some-myths-around-e-cigarettes/

I've been cigarette free and vaping since 2018. Not a single health issue related to vaping, dentist and haematology both delighted I've quit

Tell them you are well old enough to know what you are doing and to back off - then avoid them in future. I judge people who criticise others' choices in such matters far more than I judge anyone who vapes, or smokes.

You need help for your anxiety

I know most of Mumsnet drive cars, but if you ever took a bus you'd see what vapers have done - the top deck is a no go zone for asthmatics, just like in the good old 80s. Don't tell me it's harmless when I need to take my inhaler every time :(

I prefer people vaping to cigarettes. I used to smoke many years ago but can't stand the smell anymore. It give me migraines. I don't lecture people. I had enough of that myself and a lecture would just encourage me to keep doing it.

Vaping is rife in Australia too. It's illegal to buy nicotine vapes without prescription, but it took five minutes on Google for a visiting friend to find somewhere to buy them under the counter.

New laws are coming on soon where it's illegal to import, sell or buy ANY vapes, except via a pharmacist as a quit smoking aid. Aimed squarely at stopping kids taking it up.

i think this is fantastic as a drive past our local high school sees countless vaping kids on their way to/from school. The downside is people, including my friend, have said they'll go back to traditional cigarettes. That's not good at all.

I find it irritating that people find it acceptable to run commentary on someone else's life, particularly when theyre doing it to your face. I think I'd probably tell them to fuck off. I can't be arsed with condescending know it alls.

This!

I agree, you do need help. My exDH has asthma and yet smoked for many years and now vapes - and tells me his asthma is not nearly as bad as it was when he was younger. As for not being able to open the windows or hang out washing - that is simply ridiculous.

I gave up smoking for good (after many years and many failed attempts) a few years ago by switching to vaping. Then I quit the vapes and moved to NRT, then I weaned that down and stopped completely. So much of an easier transition and therefore (for me) hugely successful.

There’s clearly significant problems with it that need addressing (aiming them at kids is particularly grim) but I don’t think the potentially huge benefits to smoking cessation should be lost in the debate either. I know everyone’s different but for me they were the route towards being finally free of cigarettes. And for someone who struggled so much, that feels amazing.

Well done OP, you can do this 😊

If people want to fill their lungs and bodies with toxic crap or smoke or weed, that's on them, their choice. I couldn't be arsed to lecture anyone about their choices as long as not doesn't affect me or my kids. So if you do as you say and move well away from people so they don't have to breathe it in, it's nobody else's business. Tell them to piss off!

We don't know much long term about vaping, looking at the range of ingredients it's definitely not something I would want to inhale. Though if I was forced to choose to do one I'd probably choose vaping over pure smoke going in my lungs.

But vaping could well be just as dangerous as cigarettes. It can cause awful diseases like popcorn lung which can kill and quickly. And there hasn’t even been enough research on it for us to see the long term health issues yet! Remember people used to think cigarettes were healthy. Well done for quitting smoking but I wouldn’t vape long term to be honest - it’s really not healthy, as annoying as it is to hear.

This is exactly the kind of comment that the OP is objecting to.

This is exactly the kind of lecturing that the OP is objecting to.

She doesn’t have to shut up and take it.

I have also been telling OP to tell the lecturers to fuck off, but it sounds like there are some people on this thread with a pro-vaping agenda and I think it’s fine to challenge them.

But every government body including the NHS stress that vaping is not risk free and that long-term risks of vaping are not yet clear.

It’s irresistible not to point this out.

Mybusyday · Today 00:13

^It would be helpful if people could do their research before commenting.
Along with nicotine, nonvapers are also exposed to ultrafine particles from secondhand vape aerosol...^

How does a liquid, heated to a vapour, result in particles?

I don't think that anyone is trying to kid themselves that vaping and e-cigs are good for you, or entirely harmless, but they're far less bad for you than smoking:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/14/the-child-vaping-crisis-from-what-my-daughter-says-90-of-her-year-do-it

Public health experts are wary of demonising vapes, which are a proven smoking-cessation aid. The Ash survey also highlighted a growing misconception among children and adults that vaping is as harmful, or more harmful, than smoking, saying there was a risk that people might think they could smoke instead.

A 2015 review published by Public Health England estimated that vaping was 95% safer than smoking. Youth smoking has declined. This year, Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said vaping “has an important role as a public health tool to help smokers … come off smoking”. He added that it was “utterly unacceptable” to market it to children.

I hate all that plumes of smoke emitted.

I want to say fook off too when anyone passes me and puffs out.