F E AT U R E
SOCIOLOGY OF
VAPING
B y To n y O t t o m a n e l l i I I
“ T H E F U N C T I O N O F S O C I O L O G Y, A S O F E V E R Y S C I E N C E , I S
T O R E V E A L T H AT W H I C H I S H I D D E N . ”
PIERRE BOURDIEU
M
any readers could view the
title of this article and think
to themselves, sarcastically
“Oh, I’d like to hear this explanation.”
Perhaps many are thinking, “Finally,
someone is revealing the importance of
the Sociological aspects to Vaping.” Or,
they could think “What could sociology
possibly have to do with vaping?” Well,
in any case, I’ve always thought I should
be the Sociologist to shed some light
on the significance of using the tool of
Sociology to dissect the controversial
sociallyconstructed issue
of vaping. That is what seems as most
important to remember, that vaping
is now presently something that has
become a serious social issue. It was
never considered to be an actual social
issue causing such an uproar.
In the beginning, it seemed as
if electronic cigarettes (vaping
products) were considered as a type
of smoking cessation attempt that
was simultaneously considered to be
ineffective or not a viable option for
smokers, thus it was not a threat to our
existing social structure of institutions
and business. However, nowadays,
vaping is extremely effective as a harm
reduction approach and numerous
individuals and organizations are placing
much emphasis on attempting to destroy
this breakthrough in improving the state
of public health. Why would so many
try to put forth so much effort to literally
destroy something which could improve
90 ISSUE 04 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
the state of public health, saving billions
of lives along the way? Unfortunately,
this question seems ridiculous to have
to ask and it is malso a discussion
for another time as there are multiple
correlating factors and underlying
features as to why some are choosing
to assist in destroying this technological
breakthrough for nicotine consumption.
Regardless, I will discuss this subject
matter at a later time, yet at this juncture,
I’d like to continue to attempt to expand