FYI
- T H E S O C I O L O G I C A L I M A G I N AT I O N E X P L O R AT I O N -
PART II:
Vaping May Reduce More Harm
Than We Initially Thought
By Anthony J. Ottomanelli II
I
n an article written by Jacob
Sullum, titled “Royal College Of
Physicians Says E-Cigarettes
Can ‘Prevent Almost All The Harm
From Smoking” he writes, “Large-scale
substitution of e-cigarettes, or other nontobacco nicotine products, for tobacco
smoking has the potential to prevent
almost all the harm from smoking in
society.” He quotes from the RCP that:
“Promoting e-cigarettes…and other
non-tobacco nicotine products as widely
as possible, as a substitute for smoking,
is therefore likely to generate significant
health gains in the UK.”
Considering what the RCP is claiming,
just imagine how much more harm
can be reduced in society by the
emotionally-stimulating, physicallyhealing, distraction-generating, socially
constructive art of Vaping.
Seemingly, drug seeking behavior is
either a product of boredom, a lack of
having something in life to be passionate
about, a coping mechanism or a
necessity to physically function properly.
Once an addict is able to get over the
issue of physically functioning properly,
then boredom and a lack of passion are
what are typically left to conquer. Vaping
can certainly be the antidote to those two
misfortunes.
Recovery.org suggests nearly all of the
same lifestyle changes I typically come
across in my research that so many
others who study recovery from addiction
also recommend. Furthermore, these
suggestions are as follows: Learn new
strategies for stress; Find new social
outlets; Spend time with new people;
Find new ways to spend your free time;
Change the way you feel about yourself;
etc. Breaking habits often requires
changing the way you think, as well as
changing behavioral patterns that have
developed over the years.
All the suggested actions to take are
backed by years of research and are all
highly regarded as effective strategic
160 ISSUE 07 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
Considering what the RCP is claiming,
just imagine how much more harm
can be reduced in society by the
emotionally-stimulating, physicallyhealing, distraction-generating,
s o c i a l l y c o n s t r u c t i v e a r t o f Va p i n g .
methods to employ within the academic
community, specifically psychology,
especially social-psych. To maintain
and remain loyal to the personal goal
of improving one’s own lifestyle, they
reiterate some familiar guidelines for all
those unfulfilled and poisoned human
minds who seem to be struggling from
substance abuse. When you decide
to change, all the most important
components to focus on during the
process of change consist of: the way
you deal with stress, who you allow in
your life, what you do in your free time,
how you think about yourself.
How then, are these particular features,
which I’m highlighting, relevant to the
theoretical framework I’m currently
analyzing as a social research question?
Is the social phenomena of vaporizing
e-liquids for a nicotine delivery method
truly going to be something we can rely
on as a harm reduction approach? From
the websites I briefly examined, those in
particular that were filled with information
for addiction recovery assistance were