As cigarettes are phased out, parents say new laws do little to address rampant vaping by young people.
  •  magnetosphere   ( @magnetosphere@kbin.social ) 
    2•1 year ago

    Regardless of the health effects, addiction (and related expenses) can cost you hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. People go to counseling, join support groups, and buy nicotine patches to try and quit.

    I say “try” because on average, former cigarette smokers had to try to quit several times before they were successful. Many former smokers say that quitting was extremely hard, maybe even the hardest thing they’ve done. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect the same is true with vaping.

    I don’t like nicotine because it’s used to manipulate and take advantage of people. The product/delivery method is irrelevant.

        •  Aesthesiaphilia   ( @Aesthesiaphilia@kbin.social ) 
          5•1 year ago

          It does mean that, unless we are stupid or have ulterior motives, we should not regulate them equally heavily.

          Besides, the science shows vaping is nearly harmless. I think that, again unless we are stupid, we should not be regulating it “heavily” at all. Just ban it for under-18s. Enforce that ban. That’s all.

          •  magnetosphere   ( @magnetosphere@kbin.social ) 
            2•1 year ago

            Ah.

            Of course I see the difference. The fact that cigarettes are dangerous to your health is so screamingly obvious that I didn’t even think that was something we needed to tell each other.

            My point is that nicotine makes it much harder to stop vaping or smoking once you decide you want to. That’s what I meant when I said “the product/delivery method is irrelevant”, and why I started my comment with “regardless of the health effects”.

            It doesn’t matter how the nicotine gets into your system. It messes with you anyway. Regulating specific products is like playing an endless game of whack-a-mole. The industry will keep finding different ways to get you hooked.

            We’ve tried regulating tobacco, so they found a nicotine delivery system that doesn’t rely on tobacco. Let’s attack the addiction problem at the source - regulate the nicotine. That way, when they come up with something new (like an energy drink or something) the existing laws still apply. The slow-moving government doesn’t have to play catch up. Consumers stay protected.