There is a certain sadness when a common goal is destroyed by intolerance and hard lined viewpoints that do not allow for alternative solutions to a mutual issue. This has been a theme that has been a part of the history of mankind. We look deftly into the face of a problem and naturally have an opinion. Of course this blog is about nicotine, tobacco and the consequences of use of various forms. It is formost about intolerance and the lack of the need for this approach. Passionate and well meaning human beings are often thrust into opposition by black and white thinking, by misrepresentation of truths and by a reality they see as choice.
Take the story of King Solomon, better known as the Judgement of King Solomon. Two women claim to be the mother of a child and come before Solomon for a solution, Solomon orders the child to be cleaved in half so each mother will have their fair share. As the story is told the wise judge sees the real mother willing to allow the false one to have the child rather than allow for its slaughter. Solomon is seen as wise and predictive of such a response and awards her the child. In one view this is a brilliant and insightful action. Another view is this is demonstrative of black and white thinking. There is cohersion and if the sword is too quick the infant is killed. It is a Sunday school story every child is exposed to in the course of their education, And that is more the reason for bringing this up in this article. Somehow this is viewed as a positive lesson for the child, that of the empathic mother willing to lose the child to the imposter rather than see it killed. The other message to the child is that force and threats of death lead to justice.
Tobacco smoke is a carcinogen. It is a weight on the health care system, a source of great income to those that provide cigarettes to the public and a killer of 400,000 people yearly in the US alone. It is seen as a choice undertaken by the smoker that demands punishment and restriction. To all non-smokers out there, especially those who passionately fight to ban, restrict and punitively tax the consumers of tobacco, you have my blessing. If indeed it is the desire that you want a smoke free and healthier world then we are on the same page.
The means to that end is where we differ.
Envision yourself in my shoes, in my life and experience. Both my parents smoked for at least 10 years before I was conceived. The germ cells that eventually met to produce the embryonic me were bathed in nicotine for those years. I grew up in a haze of smoke, given the ANTZ opinion, nicotine and toxins surrounded me throughout my childhood. I was smoking regularly by 14, but had never been free of tobacco exposure. I have never been nicotine free. I have used patches, gum, Chantix (almost killed me due to depression- from which I have never recovered completely) and various other treatments. Now comes a method of nicotine availability that is seemingly safer for me and you and the black and white thinking of the all or nothing approach looks to decimate that option. I have never been cigarette free for this long since 14.
If my hypothetical gesture that I have been nicotine exposed for 10 years longer than I have been alive is valid, and the method I obtain that is through vaping- why are you not supporting this as a positive change. I feel healthier, I don't cough, wheeze, get short of breath. If I were diabetic and needed insulin to stay healthy, would you deprive me of that resource. Insulin can kill a child if it ingests it. Diabetes treatment is expensive and drains the health care system, causes severe morbidity even with treatment and disables millions.
Well diabetes is a disease.
True, and juvenile diabetics, Type I certainly didn't bring that on themselves. But Type II diabetes- the adult onset type is related to diet, obesity and alcoholism. Where is the rage and black and white thinking with this group.
Solomon would do what in this dilemna. Would he take away the less toxic (that's what the literature points to) vaping and say go back to tobacco cigarettes and die earlier.
I don't think so, Solomon would not cut my e-cig in half.
We as sentient beings need to look at the real culprits- the tobacco lobby, the pharmaceutical companies and government. All three lose income and lose power to the vaping community. They are a mutual enemy that we should be seeing as a mutual foe. They will all profit less from sales and taxation.
Don't let me leave you believing that nicotine is a completely risk free entity for the user. It is not, but it is a great deal less toxic than tobacco smoke. It is a tumor promotor in some cancers.
There are numerous health compromising agents out there that deserve attention. Fast food, smog, global warming, drugs like Chantix, sloth and obesity. We all make choices.
Compromise starts with understanding and compassion. This is not a problem that will go away. If you think it is something Federal and local policies will address- think again, The FDA is allowing nicotine free cigarettes to be sanctioned for Phase IIb trials. How backwards is that in its logic. All the toxins without the nicotine,
Conflict is a part of life and a free society. Conflict resolution demands understanding the fears and concerns of the other party. There are many people who share the same nicotine exposure patterns that mirror my own. Sit down with your child and parent them. Put SNUS and lozenges behind counters. Proactively make nicotine access an adult choice. There is much more for us to agree with than to disagree with.
Vaping isn't a means to lure children into tobacco use.
Oklahoma has a wonderful song about the farmers and the ranchers should be friends. It fits here.
The Berlin wall came down, the nuclear arms race seems to have melted into the backround, Boston won a World Series- if those things can occur so can the diagreements in our camps.
Let he or she without sin cast the first stone. Won't be me.
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