The research on "traditional" cigarettes is robust and undeniable. Comparatively, the research on e-cigarettes has barely started, but the preliminary results aren't exactly promising: lung disease and heart disease are still caused by them, and studies have shown that it's not an effective stepping stone to quit nicotine use. The presumed "safety" of e-cigs is most comparable to the presumed safety of tobacco cigarettes in the 1950s - think back when "most doctors recommend Chesterfields!" was a common ad.
Effective cessation methods include nicotine replacement like gum/lozenges/patches, medications, and behavioral therapies/interventions like encouragement from doctors/friends and smoking cessation apps. Even as someone who's never smoked, I get how vaping seems much more enjoyable than those methods...but it's like trying to lose weight by switching from ice cream to frozen yogurt.
There's also the problematic issue of e-cigs having teen-friendly flavors. I'm not prone to conspiracy theories, but that's absolutely by design. Yes, it's illegal, but "wink-wink", the cigarette industry knows they get their hands on them.
At the absolute very least, there needs to be a law in every state that says e-cigarettes are subject to the same restrictions as tobacco smoking. Massachusetts seems to have updated their laws just at the end of last year to say that "smoking" includes e-cigs in terms of who can smoke and where they can smoke. I've seen at least 4-5 people inside the Garden vaping....like, not hiding in the stairwell vaping, but out in the stands vaping. Makes me wonder why I bother going through the security gates....they're supposed to catch them there.
