These stories are neither unique or atypical. Thousands and thousands of people in the U.S. and Europe have finally found a way to stop smoking without killing anyone - a feat that Medical Science and the Tobacco industry have attempted and failed at many times over the past fifty years.
Yet the backlash against vaping is loud and strong - especially from the very industries that should be reveling in its succes. The reason behind this stance is that the anti-tobacco industry has become just that…an industry.
It is a body composed of many parts. There are the pharmaceutical corporations who make billions of dollars off of Chantix, Wellbutrin, Nicorette, etc. There are organizations such as Truth. org which employ many people who are dependent on the continuing panic of tobacco-induced health risks for job security. There are doctors, lawyers, etc. who have concentrated their practices on tobacco-related issues. There are many government agencies who benefit from the tobacco taxes. So the mere mention of something that could possibly make many of these different companies and organizations obsolete is a frightening and threatening proposition. This makes no sense at all.
The main arguments against vaping are:
It looks like smoking, therefore must be bad. (The quote above demonstrates how silly that argument is.)
It lends itself to a false sense of security that may entice people to become addicted to nicotine who would never smoke. (Try applying that argument to condom use as a way to reduce teenage pregnancies or the spread of STD's.)
We don't know whether they're safe. There's not enough data. (We know that smoking isn't safe, and kills thousands each year. Let's save some of those lives while the research continues, eh?)
They contain arsenic and other bad chemicals. (As does baby food, the patches and gum they're so proud of and thousands of other products we use every day. The FDA can't find anything harmful about the nicotine juice that doesn't apply to all kinds of other products they have deemed safe for human consumption.)
There really aren't any more substantial reasons for the bitter, hateful opposition to e-cigarettes. And there have already been many, many efforts to find a smoking gun in this fledgling industry.
Experience is everything. My experience, and that of many close to me and thousands in the world around me is nothing but positive. Why can't we just leave it there and let everyone go on with their lives?