The people I have mentioned belong in this group where they are obsessed with cars and e-cigarettes. They are like an elite group that wants to fit in society. So yes I do think they want to avoid the stigma with traditional cigarette smoking. But since they want to fit in and look cool, they have to have something that makes them rebellious. Which in their case is the e-cigarettes.
Hmmm, in my opinion, ecigs definitely help the process of quitting. Statistically I think around 7 percent of people that quit smoking will relapse within 6 months if they go cold turkey. However, by tapering off I think the time prolongs to 2 years before relapse becomes common, though I'm not entirely sure. It makes sense though, as willpower is finite. In terms of purely anecdotal evidence, I've quit smoking for 3 years now and I did it by slowly switching over to ecigs, then dropping the nicotine content of the ones I purchased.
Cars and e-cigarettes, huh? That's a weird combination of things to base a group on. That being said, I have noticed that there is more of a "culture" surrounding e-cigarettes. That is, smokers definitely have a kind of culture, especially when people go to smoke together or are stuck outside smoking together or share cigarettes, etc., but e-cigarettes have a certain gear culture, where people actually discuss different products and methods. They modify things, try different flavors, etc. A cigarette is a cigarette, it seems, but an e-cig is a hobby. Kind of weird, if you think about it.
Congrats on quitting. That's a good point about relapse. Slowly changing habits probably does more to combat the behavioral habits involved in smoking or addiction in general. Did you notice cravings when you slowly weaned yourself off of nicotine, or did it seem to go unnoticed? How was it when you finally gave up actually cigarettes for nicotine e-cigarettes? Did you find yourself missing your old habits?
Yeah well they are kind of a weird bunch anyway. My husband's friend that is in that group has no car but joined that group. So he has to smoke e-cigarette to belong to that group. Anyway, yes it is exactly like a hobby for them. They gear up their car too and same goes for the e-cigarettes. I guess they just do not have anything to do with their money.