Some do smell, Ban the things
They shouldn't be allowed at the table. If you want to use them then move away.
Can either of you give a rational reason why they should be banned at the table? And by rational reason I mean more than the fact that you just don't like them personally.
It is, I concede, possible that some brands might have a very slight odour in the steam. I am pretty certain that the brand I use doesn't. But tbh I don't think this is an issue anyway.
If you order some garlic bread at DTD and eat it at the table next to me then every now and then I will get a very unpleasant whiff of your garlic breath. Just as you might, very occasionally, get a tiny bit of steam from my e-cig drifting your way. I would never think to seek to have garlic bread banned. Nor would I seek to have poker players with BO or smelly feet banned from my table - there are plenty of these and it is surely far worse sitting next to one of these guys than sitting next to me smoking my electronic ciggy.
If you are not at any health risk from me smoking my electric cig then I don't really see what reason you have got to expect them to be banned. People do all sorts of things at the poker table that I personally would rather they didn't do. Most of these things are, however, simply my own personal preferences and I don't believe they should be banned from doing such things simply because I don't like them.
I suppose that part of the issue you have with e-cigs is that they
look like real cigarettes and the steam
looks like real smoke. If you are an ardent non-smoker then this might offend or upset you due to your visual associations. But this is not really logical. I imagine you have no problems with the older type of ciggy replacements - the little white things that didn't look at all like cigarettes and no steam came out of? If this is true then your problem with e-cigs must be a) the fact that they look like cigarettes, and b) the fact that they give off steam that looks like cigarette smoke. As far as I am concerned it is just tough luck regarding a) ... I might as well complain that I don't like the look of your T shirt. Regarding b) you do have more of a point. However, this only applies IMO when the steam is directed straight at you. I concede this is likely annoying for some people even if it does not smell (or hardly smells) and does no harm. However, I believe that noone should have a problem as long as the steam is not blown toward anyone. The steam vanishes within seconds into the air, it does not linger and drift in the air like cigarette smoke does. And any slight odour that is in the steam does not linger either, and certainly does not make your clothes smell like happens when sitting in the presence of a ciggy smoker. I imagine you have no problem seeing steam in and of itself, right? It is just the associations that upset you. And, in time, these associations will change.
In the meantime please understand that these e-cigs have made a radical difference to many people's lives. I have given up smoking for over a year now. And it has been EASY to do. I hope those who feel a bit uncomfortable about seeing these e-cigs smoked in their presence will realise what a positive effect they are having on the lives of some of the people they play poker with, and will thus try to be tolerant.
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