I bet the tobacco industry must love governments right now. They were getting seriously threatened for a moment there.
It's disgusting. In the US, you've got a massive spike in the number of 12th grade smokers, for the first time in decades. Because ecigs aren't regulated, it's a free for all. The same techniques that worked so well to them in the "golden era" of cigarettes, they're out in force again but for ecigs, amplified even more through the power of social media marketing. The playbook remains the same though: make it appealing, make it "cool" (kids love that), and target the crucial teenage demographic. Make them addicted for life.
If the tobacco companies have been spending hundreds of millions on R&D for over a decade on electronic cigarettes (not necessarily vaping), which is what some of them claim, then they seriously missed the boat.
I can assure you as a long time customer they don’t have much control in the market, besides trying to buy one like Juul (Juuls are overpriced garbage by the way). There’s a thousand small businesses and shops, making very good money with tons of competition which is quickly improving the products and devices. The difference bigco R&D and launching. It’s also been a boon for Shenzen/China where all the devices are made, not just for e-cigarettes but also for marijuana pens.
But the market is in its early stages I’m sure it will evolve. I’m pretty sure it’s not even close to finished in regards to optimizing the product, they get noticeably much better each year. The anti-social giant cloud thing is also fortunately being replaced by far smaller ones thanks to Nicotine Salts replacing usual e-liquids, which is 90% smaller clouds and dissipate immediately.
Regardless of your ‘think of the kids’ plight that has nothing to do with me as an adult having responsible access to my products. I can do it with alcohol, cigarettes, firearms, and weed here in Canada. These attempts to ban entire categories of products for everyone, not just kids, are dumb. Which is exactly what they are doing.
The reputation of the tobacco industry is well earned. Vigilant regulation is necessary to keep it on a leash.
https://www.quora.com/Where-does-the-nicotine-used-in-electr...
It's dubious that nicotine itself is bad for you: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine
I mean, can we agree substances that enslave you - and by extension your pocketbook - are "bad for you" regardless of if they cause you to die at a sooner age?
I don’t see a significant problem there either and if nicotine turns out to be roughly equally damaging (not much), is it really a problem?
Refined sugar is probably more damaging than either of them.
I’ve been addicted to both. Not once has the need for a triple latte pulled me out of a movie theater at the good part, or made me duck under an eave in the freezing cold when it’s raining outside. Nicotine is first thing you think about when you wake up, when you finish a meal, when you get out of a meeting, and it’s the last thing you do before bed.
Addictions are addictions. But nicotine has demanded more of my time, money, and social and physical well-being than caffeine, for sure.
Nicotine gum may improve short-term memory. Nicotine may account for why smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
They're still restricted in sale to >18 year olds, exactly the same as the definitely-worse cigarettes. The FDA approval process doesn't change who they can be sold to.
Cigarettes, on the other hand, are in every corner shop.
A level of stupidity that is hard to achieve.