I am so tired of reading comments like “the ultimate goal of individuals becoming free of nicotine dependence” [source] because it’s not helpful to me. It negates my choice to use a relatively safe substance which has been demonised by the puritan “abstinence only” agenda so that my achievement in becoming smoke free is tarnished by their, “ah, but you’re still addicted to nicotine.”
So what?
I’m using a method of delivery that has reduced the harm by 95-99% of the risk and I was already nicotine dependant. Just as I am caffeine dependant. That harm has already been done – I am not increasing it. I have proven to myself that I have reduced my nicotine intake to a level that I can live with and as things stand at the moment I do not intend to reduce it further. This is my choice. I do not intend to stop vaping and I do not intend to cease nicotine use for one very good reason.
I relapse to smoking every time I cease nicotine use.
For me vaping not only replaces smoking, it has become better than smoking – in the form of third generation devices, very likely to be made unavailable as of May 2016 when the TPD comes in. Why should I cease something that I enjoy and that is preventing my relapse to a product which I am told kills one in two of its consumers?
I am a Tobacco Harm Reduction anecdote
I’ll state my argument once again for the record. An individual who switches to a reduced harm product that confers less than 5% of the risk of smoking lit tobacco has reduced their risk of death. If I had smoked for one month more (three at most) and then stopped tobacco use altogether and never relapsed the risk to me is the same as continuing the harm reduced product for the rest of my life. [source] Every time I have relapsed to smoking I have smoked for more than three months before another quit attempt. A method where I can prevent that from ever happening again is one which I will not cease to use. I am not trying to reduce my risk to zero. It’s impossible anyway. The risk of vaping is minimal compared with smoking and it is preventing my relapse to smoking while improving my quality of life.
Nicotine is not the enemy and never was.
bekivapes 