Rant

I really wasn’t going to write this post today, but having seen some discussions on Twitter last night and again today, it did just send my blood boiling. Let’s have a look at what fired it all off.

Oh yes, keep taking a drug that has some seriously bad side effects never mind about the actual consequences because 1 in 2 will die anyway. Charming.

Now, we all know what kinds of “side effects” Champix can have. It’s pretty nasty stuff. I mean, who wants to take a pill that may induce suicidal thoughts ?

It is kind of unusual for me to post anything this early in the day as I normally like to sit and think on what I’ve seen before actually writing anything. Today however, some antics on Twitter really upset me. I mean, close to tears upset.

The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), specifically Article 20 is a God-awful piece of democratic bullshit. Don’t believe me? Read more about it, here and here. I don’t need to, nor am I willing to go into any great detail about it.

As we all know, vaping and electronic cigarettes are under increasing scrutiny. Some of it is surprisingly the good kind of scrutiny, the majority of it is not. We all have our stories as to why we vape. Some of us wanted to reduce harm to our own bodies. Others were looking to give up tobacco cigarettes. Mostly it’s the former.

What doesn’t help us in the ongoing, slow fight against the various regulations and legislation being brought up in the various political arenas is when vendors do stupid stuff. You know. Like this.

Yesterday was a normal Friday. You know, looking forward to knocking off time at work, the weekend plans etcetera etcetera. I’d placed a couple of orders for some vapemail to be delivered the following day. Life was, in general pretty good. Then late afternoon, my less than perfect little world was seemingly torn apart. First, I’d like to give you a little back story. I am a huge fan of science fiction. TV series such as Stargate, Fringe, Star Trek, X-Files and so on. I grew up to William Shatner being the Captain of the starship Enterprise (NCC-1701, no bloody A, B, C or D in the immortal words of James Doohan). Yes, the show had long since been off-air, but several channels still ran the shows. I loved them, it was the highlight of my week to sit with my folks and watch a few episodes of The Original Series. Many of the lessons taught by Gene Roddenberry in those episodes still stick with me to this day. It is part of who I am.

I do just want to warn you there is some bad language (and possibly grammar too) in this post.

I want to put this out there from the start.I am a former smoker. I smoked best part of four packs_per day_ for almost twenty years. Do I regret it? NO I do not.

Put it this way, it was my choice to start smoking, and it was my choice to continue to smoke despite knowing the potential risks involved.

It seems like years since I last made an entry in this blog. It has in fact only been a few weeks. So little time has passed in the ever evolving world and so much has happened.

For a while there was plenty to be happy about within the vaping world. Dr Farsalinos managed to crowd fund his research, although it took a last ditch effort from the community. The San Francisco #curbit campaign got hijacked by vapers on social media. #FormaledhydeGate rumbled on, again. Got thoroughly debunked, again. The US Surgeon General called for “Clarity” on electronic cigarettes.

To All in Tobacco Control & Public Health,

Yes I’m speaking to you, and for once please listen instead of going glassy eyed and reaching for the infamous block button.

I vape and I’m not going to go away, nor am I going to stop vaping.

That’s right, I use an e-cig (or ENDS if you prefer the term coined by the WHO). I prefer to use it because I no longer want to smoke tobacco. Please see the difference here.