> It seems like vaping is close enough to smoking to say that it is functionally close enough to be equated.
Bullshit. Both are nicotine delivery methods. One is far better for both individual and societal reasons. Water and whiskey are both wet, but that doesn't make them the same.
> But you have raised my curiosity about your relationship with vaping. Do you work in the industry?
No, nor do I vape/smoke. I'm just old enough to remember how shitty it was to have smokers everywhere, in a way that isn't the case for vapers... and I've seen the multi-decade decline in lung cancer incidence stats.
Yes, the regulations that made this happen are good. That's my point.
> Waste from single use vapes is also a huge problem.
Nothing like the cigarette butts that used to be everywhere.
> Similarly there are health effects specific to vaping, time will tell if cancer is among them.
We've plenty of data to safely conclude vaping is safer than smoking tobacco. That doesn't make it safe, but it's absolutely safer.