I like your curiosity. Smoker turned vaper here. Being addicted to anything rules a part of your mind and life. I crave it constantly. It seriously occupies so much of my time and focus and I don’t really get anything out of it outside of feeding the addiction.

I guess you can say it’s fun but it doesn’t stay fun if you get hooked it’s like a tractor beam.

I’m only talking about my experience with the drug, I realize it’s not this way for others. It’s a powerful drug nonetheless.

Alright. It just seemed a bit 'fishy' to me to ask so many specific questions without a hidden motive. And I didn't want to answer someone who is 15 and wants to start vaping because of some coolness factor. But I get your situation. And I like weird people or questions.

Regarding your question about the monetary reasons: E-Liquid prices in Germany increased by something like 20x. Supplies that cost me 15€ last year, now cost like 250€ to 300€. And I vaped a lot. People nowadays buy the stupid disposable vapes from the gas station that only have 2ml of liquid in them. I think my addiction was strong enough that I would have continued vaping indefinitely, if it were not for external factors like this. I can't afford it any more. And I also don't like being addicted to substances, so that's another reason for me to stay strong and pull through now that I've done it.

Let me tell you my insights from what I've experienced and what friends told me:

I think we can all agree that smoking tobacco is stupid. You smell awful (to your partner) everyday. Your lung capacity is affected, nearly every smoker over 30 will tell you they feel it once they do sports. And you'll definitively lose some of your life and die earlier. And you'll waste lots of money for practically nothing in return.

I applaud everyone who quits tobacco and switches to a vape. It does away with most of the downsides of smoking. And it's considerably less harm you're inflicting on yourself.

I think most of the ingredients aren't affecting your body in a way like cigarettes do, for example directly destroying your lungs. The PG and VG (if they're clean) aren't toxic per se. I don't know the studies that tell us if they do anything to your lungs in the long-term. They don't belong there and they probably have some minor effect. Nicotine is toxic but in the little doses we use, little to no hazard to your body. The flavour components probably cause cancer to a certain degree when heated and inhaled. But the hazards of vaping are a joke compared to smoking. (Given the chemicals are okay and clean. People have died because there were other things in their adulterated liquid.) I've had no health effects from vaping for years.

Starting to vape without having smoked prior.... I think it's just silly. You're deliberately making yourself addicted to a nasty substance and altering/interfering with your brain chemistry. Just for shits and giggles. If you absolutely need the coolness factor or are super curious about the thing: Buy something WITHOUT NICOTINE. I (-personal opinion-) think the e-cigarettes or vapes without nicotine are pretty harmless. Lots of things come with a minor cancer risk attached. But they don't change the chemistry in your brain and I think you're perfectly alright using them if you want. It's just not cool. Only a few wasted bucks at the gas station or wherever you buy that e-cigarette. (Mind that behavioral addiction also exists. But I (personally) think without the combination with the substance, it's less of a factor in this particular case.)

Addiction seems to be a super individual thing (my personal experience). My brother switched from vaping something including nicotine to liquid without nicotine, used that for some time when in company with other people and after some time quit entirely and got over it quickly. As far as i know he didn't have major issues quitting the nicotine (substance) or the behaviour. It was easy for him. Another friend told me it took him a bit of effort and a few weeks to get over it but now he's much better and he realized the nicotine in his vape had been interfering with his ADHD all the years before and affecting him negatively. Now, he feels much better. I've been vaping for quite some time. Since quitting I've had all the symptoms of withdrawal. It think I was grumpy for an entire week or two, had headaches. I've been restless and had dizzyness on and off for days on end. And even now, months later I think I'm not 100% over it. I still have cravings sometimes. They've become less. But I think if you gave me something containing nicotine and left me to myself, I'd really need to put in some mental effort not to take it. After listening to advice how to quit smoking, I thought it would have been easier. But it's not. At least not for me. The mental fog and dizzyness have been the worst and most annoying symptoms for me. Quitting didn't change my life around. The only thing is, back then I'd vape every so often and now I don't.

If you ask me, I'd say nicotine is highly addictive and until you know, you probably underestimate it. And you don't know how it affects you until it's too late. You might be one of the people who are less affected by addiction. Or you're one of those who will end up unable to overcome it.

Nicotine feels nice. It makes you a bit dizzy or tingly and you can feel a buzz running through your brain. Especially once your smoking cigarettes. It'll be a small rush and come almost instantly and make you feel good for a moment. It's a bit less and not instant with vaping, but it definitely makes you feel nice and feels like a boost. Best thing is you can reward yourself everytime you want. Just light a cigarette or inhale nicotine from your vape. (And it'll alleviate the withdrawal symptoms you wouldn't feel if you didn't take it in the first place.) Only thing is: You're interfering with your brain chemistry. It has severe consequences. And you don't need it. A normal brain can feel pleasure, an adrenaline rush, have the good hormones released after you achieve something. If you're on nicotine, you'll always also want that short, artificial release of pleasure, too. The one you can give to yourself easily. But that's one of the things that keeps you addicted to the stuff.

Someone who doesn't know that feeling probably wonders and wants to experience it for themselves. I - as someone who exactly knows how nice it feels for a moment, if I was to inhale some nicotine right now... I wish I didn't knew that feeling. Because it's exactly what's causing me all those cravings. Knowing both, I'd be perfectly alright with the pleasure I can feel on my own. From small things like being around people, laughing, finishing something, to major releases of hormones for example when doing sports. These kinds of pleasure and endorphins are better anyways. And they are pure. The pleasure from drugs comes with consequences. You'll need to carry on taking the substance or it'll proceed to cause the adverse effect and make you feel bad.

It's dangerous. You can probably do it a few times. There are people who manage to smoke only on weekends or a few cigarettes a day. But it's a gradual thing and a slippery slope. You're now smoking 2 cigarettes or vaping a bit when with your friends. But chances are, next thing is, you're full on addicted and you won't even realize how it happened until it's too late.

I've come to the conclusion, I don't like the idea of being dependent on a substance to feel good, any more. And it's become too expensive anyways. For a long time in my life nicotine has been in control of my brain. Now I'm in control again.

A substance addiction has no benefits at all. Addiction is the opposite of freedom. Vaping is probably not that hazardous to your body. You can do it if you can afford it. If you don't value your freedom and don't mind handing over some amount of control over you to a substance. And make sure you never want to quit for any reason. Or you like being miserable and suffer from withdrawal. Let other people's stories be a warning to you. I personally don't mind if you try it without the nicotine and make sure it doesn't become a long-term behaviour. If you're currently smoking tobacco: Go for it. Vapes will solve almost all of your issues except for the nicotine addiction. That's the one thing vapes excel at.

Edit: By the way: I completely don't understand why people vape stuff without nicotine. It has even less benefits. You're not even feeling the little high. It's just a complete waste. You buy the stuff, inhale it and poof, it's gone. It leaves you with nothing except for maybe a slightly increased risk of getting cancer at some point. (And less money in your pockets, of course.)

which absolutely drowns out the ability to find information about the negative health effects of a typical vape user buying name-brand products from reputable suppliers

It is true that the 2019 EVALI outbreak linked to tocopheryl acetate contamination got a lot of media attention, but there is evidence of other vaping-related harm.

The review article summarises some of the more recent evidence from across a lot of different studies: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6808.