Puffing in public

This week has been very chaotic for those who are advocates of vape and e-cigarettes. The president himself mandated that those caught using such objects in public, would be arrested. But, of course, that didn't come through too clearly and to be safe, the police just confiscated the items and recorded the information of their owners. Once the instructions become clear, they would go after the owners and also destroy the confiscated objects.

It has been very stressful to those who use these things, especially those who gave up the ordinary cigarettes for it. Although there is no clear study yet on vaping, the logic is simple. Whatever you put inside your body that is foreign and not edible, may be harmful. It is hard to believe this though especially when you like what you are doing, say vaping. I know a lot will contest this statement - but let us face it, we don’t know what the chemicals and the smoke will do to our bodies.

But there is one thing I would also like to say, why is the administration so radical? It is very unlikely to go all out on vape, but after cigarettes? Why? Because they have been already regulated? From my point of few, we should be fair on all forms of vices. We can set aside the fact that it’s harmful to our health, because we all know that. It seems like everybody is eyeing on regulation, to add more taxes to what already exists. So what happens after more taxes? Does it follow that we will have also more concrete projects for the development of this country? It seems like this president’s mandate is a fad and is just seasonal. Let us be more serious on this matter.

What can we do now? Well, I think the local government units can gather all the vape shops and talk about the matter. By then they can lay down the rules and whatnot when it comes to vape and e-cigarettes. I also hope the health department would fast track their study on the effects of these items on the body. It’s a longshot to get things in place for this issue, but I hope we get there.

Above all, as discussions will take place, I hope they will also put in mind the environment - the effects it has on nature and our air quality. We live in a place that is already deteriorating when it comes to the air that we breathe today. It is difficult to balance out all the factors, if only we can put this all in one place and have a win-win solution. That would be nice.

The next few days will be chaotic for vape users and all who advocate this. I hope it will not reach the point that it would be like illegal drugs, then many will be apprehended. It is scary and the developments that go by could lead to many violent reactions.