Vaping. It’s hard not to be blasted with a cloud of flavoured smoke as you trudge up Queen street to class in the morning. So, what’s with the big appeal for the millennial version of cancer sticks? Are vapes really THAT sexy?
For myself, vaping became an alternative to my mild obsession of hitting the outdoor spots of every club on a night out, just to have my hit of that sweet, sweet nicotine. I was convinced that I couldn’t have a good night drinking unless I had a pack of the cheapest menthol cigarettes in my back pocket. From first being introduced to a casual cigarette at a high school party, my clubbing routine quickly became 50 percent dancing and 50 percent heading out for a smoke.
It was a dirty habit that was damn expensive, left a foul smell on my clothes, in my hair and all over my hands. When I finally got home and hit the pillow, I was over it. Then, I got my hands on a vape and my eyes were opened to a world of new flavours, easy to charge batteries, and no more lighters stolen from my pals. An old habit died easy! After the initial cost to buy the vape, my weekly expense of a pack of cigarettes soon molded into a monthly purchase of coils and e-juice - almost a third of the expenses cut down.
There has been the odd downside of vaping for me, however. This includes the fact they die. It’s all good if you get into a routine of charging it every morning, but for festivals that last days, they’re not ideal.
Part of the attraction, I think, comes from the appeal of the massive cloud that you get from vaping. This is accompanied, however, by the awkwardness of needing to find a place to vape without the clouds flying into the faces of crowds walking nearby. I’ve had many a dirty look shot my way for this reason, but at least it’s a refreshing whiff of blue raspberry over the repugnant smell of tobacco...right? To me, there’s nothing better than the combination of a good old vanilla latte from The Counter and a morning vape on the corner of St Paul Street before I hit those early morning lectures. It’s become a daily habit that I itch for.
It’s also an incredibly sexy idea that I can jump in my car and vape out of my window while I sing along to tunes, although this usually ends in awkward eye contact with the person sitting next to me at the lights. The scent of my vape juice has become a self-air-freshener and all my friends regularly comment on how nice it smells when they hop in the passenger side.
I’ve been led to believe that my new obsession is a lot better for me than smoking is, but with articles popping up about vapes blowing up in people’s faces, and the little side problem of it being a total addiction regardless of its appeal, I am still a little skeptical of my lifestyle decisions.
Also, if the idea of vaping seems super sexy to someone who hasn’t had an issue with smoking in the past and vape shops are popping up on every corner, it’s probably not a very good example we’re setting for young people. All in all, I’d say that vaping is a lot sexier than smoking, but probably not a sexy habit to get into if you’re not already dabbling in the odd durry-on-the-corner in the first place.