E-cigarette...

[ByronB]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-cigarette

"In the United States, the e-cigarette is accepted as a smoking substitute or cigarette alternative, but is not approved as a smoking cessation product. Since the e-cigarette does not contain any tobacco, it is not subject to tobacco-related regulations[1] such as the Clean Indoor Air Act."

Free market solutions to problems (smoking bans in this case) never cease to amaze me.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Damn expensive too, but hey.. Maybe I'll buy one for my wife.

[ByronB]

I have never smoked but if these were cheaper (more then $10 is too much for me let alone $136) I'd probably get one just to smoke in areas that smoking is banned.

[Sam A. Robrin]

I have never smoked but if these were cheaper (more then $10 is too much for me let alone $136) I'd probably get one just to smoke in areas that smoking is banned.

Try it with an unlit cigarette--even that will result in stirring up trouble.  The thirst for power over others knows no logic.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

I'd probably get one just to smoke in areas that smoking is banned.

Spoken like a non-smoker. I don't say that with any scorn, but having not smoked, you're probably not quite aware of how annoying that is to you and to the people around you. I'm a former smoker (quit cold turkey-ish almost 2 years ago) and my wife still smokes. It's disruptive to MY meal that a business owner makes her get up and leave my table. I don't like government goons, and owners that are afraid of them, making my wife an "outcast" so I go outside with her when she smokes - this is something that sometimes upsets business owners when you leave a table entirely unattended.

Maryland passed a "clean indoor air act". We used to eat out at restaurants frequently, 3 to 5 times a week (seriously) due to our income, time, schedules and energy levels. Since the ban, we've been staying home and all that business is lost.

Business owners should be buying these damn things in bulk if they want to catch those lost customers.

Taxes in cigarettes must be pretty low in New Hampshire still. In some places, cigarettes are $7 a pack. In Virginia, it's about $32 a carton.. That e-cigarette would sort of "pay for itself" if it was effective. I'm guessing it probably isn't. Having stopped doing it, smoking is a VERY habit-based activity. Even changing brands is enough to throw that habit off a bit and make it "not satisfying". The nicotine is a very small part of it.

[ByronB]

I have never smoked but if these were cheaper (more then $10 is too much for me let alone $136) I'd probably get one just to smoke in areas that smoking is banned.

Try it with an unlit cigarette--even that will result in stirring up trouble.  The thirst for power over others knows no logic.

I think I am going to have to try that... although the fake smoke and LED light to make the "butt" glow would be a bit more dramatic.

[ByronB]

Since the ban, we've been staying home and all that business is lost.

The state I'm in right now (IL) just put a ban in last year, now (just like you described) business owners rights were taken away "for the common good"... I sort of like the ban (for selfish reasons too long to list) but the whole philosophy behind the ban perturbs me. After the state has decided that it has a right to regulate a VERY common and legal item's usage on private property (another thing is the law I think further blurs the difference between private and public property). This has been done before with many other items but never before right in the face of many so many users...

I guess I feel for you with the inconveniences caused to you by the ban but that aspect of it really doesn't matter to me nearly as much as why, how, and what comes next.

[MaineShark]

I have never smoked but if these were cheaper (more then $10 is too much for me let alone $136) I'd probably get one just to smoke in areas that smoking is banned.

Try it with an unlit cigarette--even that will result in stirring up trouble.  The thirst for power over others knows no logic.

I have a never-used pipe.  They can't even complain that there's tobacco residue on it.

Oddly enough, some folks still freak out.  Thereby demonstrating that "health" has absolutely nothing to do with this...

Joe

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Oddly enough, some folks still freak out.  Thereby demonstrating that "health" has absolutely nothing to do with this...

If ever there was a conspiracy theory, I think Ian's right about one thing. I'm convinced that some people want to prevent people from using drugs simply out of fear that there will be a realization somewhere in there.

That said, humans are wired to find patterns and it's well established that negative patterns can be established as well as positive ones. I'm reminded of a study that shows MOST people wouldn't drink a beverage out of a brand new bedpan even if they saw that bedpan come off the assembly line themselves. Additionally, most people put on gloves to clean a toilet and don't give kissing a second glance despite the fact that a human mouth is many many times more likely to foster bacteria.

Perhaps the unlit cigarette things is similar. There's grown such a connection in people's minds between "cigarette" and "smoke" that they almost instinctually react, even when logically there's no connection.

[KBCraig]

I was at the hospital once with a buddy, who unwrapped a cigar just as the nurse came in. She had the expected look of horror on her face: "SIR! You can't smoke in here!"

With a great deal of umbrage, he raised his voice right back: "I don't smoke!" and jammed the cigar in his mouth while snapping his newspaper open with a "hmmpph!" and pointedly ignored her. He was horribly offended at the notion that she'd thought he was going to smoke.

He was right: he didn't smoke. He was just one of those guys who would chew an unlit cigar for hours. 

[MaineShark]

Indeed.  I find the odor of cigarettes and most cigars disgusting, when they are burnt.  But I would use unburned tobacco as an air freshener if my wife wasn't allergic.  I just love the smell of the stuff.

Joe

[J’raxis 270145]

Additionally, most people put on gloves to clean a toilet and don't give kissing a second glance despite the fact that a human mouth is many many times more likely to foster bacteria.

This is completely rational: The bacteria that live in people's mouths is mostly harmless; the bacteria you'll find growing in a toilet is not.

[ByronB]

Additionally, most people put on gloves to clean a toilet and don't give kissing a second glance despite the fact that a human mouth is many many times more likely to foster bacteria.

This is completely rational: The bacteria that live in people's mouths is mostly harmless; the bacteria you'll find growing in a toilet is not.

I wear gloves to protect me from the harsh chemicals I use to get that "sparkling clean" effect...  I'm not worried so much about picking up diseases through my hands, kissing however opens the door to a so many diseases like herpes simplex 1, hepatitis B (I'm vaccinated for it 'cause I work at a hospital haha), glandular fever, and increases risk for diseases spread through the oral-fecal route, airborne droplet, and even diseases spread from skin contact... I'll take the toilet any day.

[Raineyrocks]

Additionally, most people put on gloves to clean a toilet and don't give kissing a second glance despite the fact that a human mouth is many many times more likely to foster bacteria.

This is completely rational: The bacteria that live in people's mouths is mostly harmless; the bacteria you'll find growing in a toilet is not.

I wear gloves to protect me from the harsh chemicals I use to get that "sparkling clean" effect...  I'm not worried so much about picking up diseases through my hands, kissing however opens the door to a so many diseases like herpes simplex 1, hepatitis B (I'm vaccinated for it 'cause I work at a hospital haha), glandular fever, and increases risk for diseases spread through the oral-fecal route, airborne droplet, and even diseases spread from skin contact... I'll take the toilet any day.

Eeewww, you can get all of those things from kissing?  What do you mean about an increased risk for diseases spread through the oral-fecal route and stuff?   Do you mean if someone literally kissed someone's butt?  I'm being serious even though it might sound funny. 

Why would you take the toilet any day, kissing and the toilet sound equally gross, don't they?
I figure at least I get "something" good from kissing though, excited!  What if people used mouthwash with germ killing stuff before kissing, wouldn't that help?   

Sorry for all the questions I have some germ phobias and would love more info on this kind of stuff. 

[K. Darien Freeheart]

What do you mean about an increased risk for diseases spread through the oral-fecal route and stuff?   Do you mean if someone literally kissed someone's butt?

Analingus does count, but the much much more common way is by improper hand washing. Everytime someone wipes their butt, there's some level of bacterial contamination, compounded by improper hand washing. This guy or gal then grabs the doorknob or munches a bag of chips later and ingests some level of fecal matter.

Now, it should be warned that it really takes a germaphobe or a surgeon to really care about that level of contamination. The human body is amazingly resiliant when uncompromized. It might sound a little gross, but if you think about anything long enough, it's really sick. (Opening scenes of Dexter, anyone?)

Why would you take the toilet any day, kissing and the toilet sound equally gross, don't they?

Toilets tend not to have wastes build up in them. You crap and flush. Did you brush your teeth since the last time you ate? Most people don't brush after ever meal. Toilet water is cold, which inhibits bacterial growth. Your mouth is warm, like an incubator. If you look at the level of bacteria on various things, it's alarming. On average genitals are cleaner than the mouth, your toilet is cleaner than your kitchen sink and your floor is a safer place to prepare food than your countertop. Again, those are all "averages" and deal with the changes of bacterial contamination. I'd not personally eat food off the floor that had cat fur on it, and the floor is more likely to do that than my countertop, for instance.

Jeremy did hit on something. A toilet is more likely to have a harmful bacterium in it. or more specifically, it's more likely to have higher levels of them. E. Coli is in the average person's body already, but the levels are so low it doesn't matter. Allowed to grow out of control in a toilet bowl, this could be signifigantly more harmful than a kiss. There are outliers for the kissing thing too though. But the fact that you have to compare all of the variables to make a comparison between "toilet" and "kiss" should be telling right there.

And, as a homebrew I can attest to this one.

Most food doesn't rot by itself. I've taken grains, soaked them in water for several hours, drained out the juice, boiled it, made some hop tea in it, and then put it in a bottle and had that bottle sit for several months without going bad. There are two keys there. Firstly, all of the equipment was santitized and the wort (grain juice) was sterilized. Secondly, I covered it in a manner that prevents the dust from settling. Why?

Because all of the moldy yucky crap that you see if you let food rot is not in the food, it's in the AIR. It's on dust, and pet dander. It's on the backs of tiny little buggers that are in most people's homes. And yet, the greatest part is that our bodies have mechanisms to deal with almost all of that crap.