I see what you mean but I don't get the analogy.
The analogy, whether it is a bad analogy or not, is pretty straightforward.
"Hey, Vegans! You are against eating meat, aren't you? So why don't you promote eating cheese as an alternative?"
"Because we don't eat cheese either, and we don't like the ethics of the way the milk is produced, the negative effect it has on the cow and her calves."
"But eating cheese is still better than eating meat isn't it? Aren't you supposed to be for animal harm reduction?"
Imagine if vaping had not been a thing but HNB had come on to the scene earlier and in a more hobbyist manner. Imagine different devices and being able to make up different flavour tobaccos and then heat them up. Would we all be Not Burners rather than vapers? Would we be as staunchly against vaping as a thing were it to look like it was invading our space?
No, we would probably have moved onto using vaping as an even better alternative to smoking than HNB, as it doesn't have to involve evil tobacco as much, and is probably even safer. I simply can't imagine HNB to be as safe as vaping, although I am awaiting studies to see if that is true or not.
For me it is more about getting off smoking than it is about vaping - I like nic and I am prepared to try different delivery methods. If SNUS was available here I would definitely try it!
Why on Earth would you try SNUS? They are known to cause mouth cancer! Nasty nasty tobacco! Is vaping not keeping you off the smokes? [emoji4]
While I am all for every smoker out there becoming a vaper I know that in it's current format it will not have the wide ranging impact that it could. The vaping that we do is fiddly and messy at times. If you are not prepared to get your hands dirty or if your mind doesn't work in a particular way in terms of working out why your Nautilus is tasting like shit all of a sudden then vaping can be a frustrating and costly exercise in attempting to quit. When you consider what we were like as smokers - one brand, light it, smoke it, job done.
For the die-hard smokers and people who obviously don't want a complicated replacement, pod systems do indeed seem the way to go. Or modern better performing cigalikes, even.
My hope is still that vaping will get easier. The pod devices are the closest thing to something that could be accepted by the main stream but the cost of the pods is eye watering - we really need something that is really easy to use and considerably cheaper than smoking. Only then will we see a bigger uptake. The good thing is that I firmly believe the independent sector can make this happen. But the reality is - as we saw with Von Erl, that companies that are successful are likely to get bought up by big tobacco. Like Dave said, they are big companies with deep pockets and they have the infrastructure to push the products out to a wider audience. Which is not great due to the mistrust of them. And I don't agree with Dave about Big T not being inherently evil - the shit they are still pulling in the developing world is disgusting and is not simply the actions of a legal company supplying a demand. It's a fucked up world!!
Indeed, and with the shit that big tobacco is, and has been, up to, we as vapers should not be supporting them. HNB uses tobacco, is not vaping, and therefore should not be promoted in trade magazines for vape shop owners in an attempt to get them to stock HNB in vape shops. HNB is something for tobacconists to stock as an alternative to cigarettes - that's where the smokers go and where they might be persuaded to change.
