Ok, so I'm coming up on my 11 year anniversary on FT (lurked for a year before finally posting) and believe my 1st post was in regards to where one could smoke. Yep, I'm a lifelong smoker, leper, social outcast.
Time & mileage finally catching up to me so I am attempting to give up the evil weed for the first time in my 30+ years as a member of the tar & nicotine fiend club.
Have found that e-cigs (electronic cigarettes / nicotine inhalers / vaping devices) actually help me alot in my endeavour. I've gone from 2+ packs per day to 2-6 real/analog cigs per day. Not bad.
With the e-cig, I can smoke onboard, in the lav and in the airport terminals. However, I've noticed that CO and AA now both have verbiage in their in-flight mags that specifically say that e-cigs are not allowed to be used in flight. Likely due to perception issues as the vapor has the appearance (though none of the smell or 2nd/3rd hand issues) of real smoke.
So my question is (or shall I say questions):
-Have you witnessed anyone vaping (smoking e-cig) in-flight? If so, any positive or negative feedback from crew? Which airlines?
-Have you witnessed vaping in airport terminals? Any fall-out?
-What would your response be if your seat opponent began puffing away on an e-cig?
-I'd especially like to hear from any FA's as to what, if any, direction you've been given with regards to 'dealing with' those who vape.

Cheers,

'toad

While I can't answer your question, I just wanted to wish you good luck and I hope you manage to quit!

AS told my husband that as long as it emits anything, they won't allow it. Really stupid if you ask me. We spoke to a supervisor who read through the instruction/info manual and even tried it. But still no go, even though it emits water vapor and nothing else.

Her argument is that it looks like a cig, therefore they can't allow it.
Are you allowed to chew tobacco on a plane?

To me it's just a hypocritical position to take. You are allowed other nicotine replacement products, but not this particular one.
Can you get it in a form that does not look like a cig? Maybe bright pink or something, then it won't look as if you are smoking.

I think e-cigs are a great substitute on a long flight! Besides, you do your seat mate a favor by humidifying the dry airplane air a bit.

We also talked to TSA, who said they had no problem with it (this was in SEA, btw).

One word of warning. Hubby bought the package from smokingeverywhere.com. He left it on the charger for a little too long and it smoked out,literally.

You wouldn't want to dip but both Camel and Marlboro have a SNUS product in some areas now.

Also a newer product that I think is going to be in Portland, OR (and maybe Ohio?!) called Camel Orbs, Sticks and Strips..

The Orbs look like a pill, the sticks look like tooth picks and the strips look like those 'quick dissolve strips'.

Or yet, the option of the gum, or even Chantix to help quitting if that is your ultimate desire.

Some airlines ban smokeless tobacco products, but if it's a spitless product, I don't give a rats ... what they think of it.

Trying the e-cigs might just be asking for trouble.

But it's not a tobacco product. There is absolutely no tobacco in e-cigs. It's simply vaporized nicotine. They allow nicotine gum, don't they? If e-cigs are not allowed, then medication that requires vaporization (like children's cold medicine) should not be allowed either. The supervisor we talked to had no problem with the concept, it was the vaporization she had issues with. Wich, IMO is silly.

I wouldn't recommend Chantix. My husband suffered less than pleasant side effects from it, and after two months of using it, cigarettes still tasted the same. It made him very lethargic, anxious, pushed up his bp. If you have ever had any issues with depression, steer clear of Chantix. I have also heard of people suffering "withdrawal symptoms" after quitting Chantix.

That's fine and dandy but how does one use it? You take an item, the shape and size of a cigarette and put it in your mouth like a cigarette, then you inhale on it and a cloudy looking substance is the result, much like a cigarette. Guess what everyone around him would think it is? Guess how much of a hassle the FAs would have in trying to explain it to everyone complaining. Should they get on the PA and let 100 or so pax know that your husband is utilizing a nicotine vapor product that happens to resemble and act like a cigarette.

If it was a square box and didn't have any by product (even if it is just vapor), would it be a problem? Probably not.

I am a smoker too, so I KNOW the pain, I am practically punching people to get outside after even a 4 hour flight. However, there are conspicuous ways of getting a fix that won't involve the entire flight.

Or, to keep it simple, keep the e-cig in the lav.

In case anyone else is curious about Chantix, it is a black warning product. However, when I was on it for a week, I did not have any reactions to it, except I smoked a lot less and didn't have any cravings. Other reasons prevented me from continuing the product, but from what I experienced, it really does block the affects of nicotine.

I'll qoute myself here:

Of course, when you get of the plane you can switch back to the cig looking one.

If you can sit in a non-smoking bar/restaurant with an e-cig, why not on a plane? You don't have to exhale, so it won't look as if their is smoke, and there will be a notable lack of smell. The person sitting in row 25 is not going to notice, or be inconvenienced by the guy in row five with his e -cig. Of course you can also apply common courtesy and inform your seatmates that you would really like to use your e-cig, if it would be okay with them.

AllTheNamesWhereTaken,

I apologize, I thought maybe by posting on this subject you would be open to the opinion of others. I guess that is not the case since your intent appears simply to justify it.

I must say though, I don't see it working out, no matter how you swing it. Non-smoking bars and restaurants? With out any hassle? Give me a break.... Even if that was true, a plane is not a bar restaurant, it is a tiny tin can with a bunch of pissed off passengers ready to pounce on anything taboo.

That just seems like a awful lot of work and hassle to go through when you could just go into the lav. Since the only by product is water vapor with no smell, it obviously wouldn't set off the smoke detector nor would it smell like a cig to the next person. It just seems like a much easier option than trying to explain it to everyone around you including the FAs. Just my two cents from another smoker.

I've been is SFO area and in Sonoma county all week. Even here, not a word from anyone in hotels, bars, restaurants. Some funny looks, but that is about it.

For the record, I'm using a 'pen style', reddish/maroon colored e-cig. It is about 8 inches long and really looks like a pen. The water vapor dissipates pretty quick so most folks likely don't even notice the 'smoke'. Probably they just think I'm a neurotic chewing on a pen!

We all know how tolerant Californians are towards smoking & smokers, so I reckon if I can smoke it here I can smoke anywhere!

As for utilizing different methods (patch, pills, chew, etc) I liken it to dieting. If you really enjoy food and the act of eating, taking a diet pill really isn't going to help you lose weight or want to eat less. But if there was a food substitute that tasted remarkably the same, gave you the same sensation of chewing, swallowing and full belly with 0 calories...

Thanks for all of the responses! Still would like to hear from an FA for their perspective.

PS - there is a commercial pilot that posts on one of the e-cig boards that uses e-cigs all of the time in the cockpit. Allegedly.

Seems like I'm doing something illegal though if I have to sneak it.

Now I'm just waiting for some enterprising soul to make liquid THC that can be vaporized in one of these devices! Just kidding. Sort of.

I certainly hope that a parent would be told to put it away absent a doctor's precription. "Vaporub" and similar are foul smelling stuff, nearly as bad as tobacco smoke.

As for vaporizers for nicotine (or cannabis, were it legal), an airplane is a much more enclosed space than a non-smoking bar or restaurant.

I got a bulletin about this...I'm a flight attendant...and I'd never HEARD of these, and neither had my parents, both of whom smoke. The bulletin told us: NO E-CIGS ON THE AIRPLANE. There you have it.

Thanks for that! Can you let us know any details about the content of the bulletin? Just curious if there was any reason / reasoning along with the statement or just the statement. Which airline?

And if I were your seat mate, I would inform you that I REALLY dont want you to use an electronic device that I know absolutely nothing about that vaporizes a chemical on an aircraft loaded with 100,000 pounds of flammable jet fuel.