€1.2B fine and the threat of 4% of their turnover as fine if they don't comply with the EU regulations. The EU does not fuck around and is not completely bought like the FTC.

Ok, this one had me laughing. Good one

I started having pangs in my lungs around the heart area (like a stinging pain) which went away when I didn't vape for a day. Also, while not having a wheezing breath, I did feel strain on my lungs. It got bad enough that I went back to cigarettes as those only made me cough (well, amongst other side effects of course).

I quit smoking/vaping last year after 22 years of that. Vaping helped my lungs, to a certain extent, because I started having so many other issues from vaping, I switched back to cigarettes before quitting for good. I quit using Defumoxan, which is a brand name for generic pills with Cytisine as active substance. I've been recommending it to anyone wanting to take back their life from nicotine addiction. At least where I live, you can get it without prescription.

I can understand your need for privacy, even though I don't go to similar lengths myself. That being said, I always prefer the way forward instead of shutting new technology out. I don't have the answer to how that would translate to your situation specifically, but a privacy minded android or linux os with a prepaid sim card could go a long way.