Why do people smoke cigarettes even though vaping is healthier and cheaper?

Why do people smoke cigarettes even though vaping is healthier and cheaper? by @Cantiloper

Answer by Michael J. McFadden:

Some of the other answers are quite insightful and I'd agree with them.  I would phrase it as there being five main reasons:

1. Enjoyment: Some simply find smoking more enjoyable.
2. Finances: Aside from the negative impact of the start-up cost, there's also a growing subset of smokers who avoid the bulk of the extra cost either/or by smoking roll-your-owns (RYO) or actually moving into the GYO (Grow Your Own) world of smokers.  Within this group you also have a new category of smokers that didn't exist so much fifteen or twenty years ago:  The Rebellious or Resentful — folks who've gotten angry over being targeted and seek to hit back at nasty Big Government, not just by RYO and GYO, but by seeking out and cultivating the black market regardless of its negative aspects.  This group will not only be more likely to continue smoking because of tax increases, but will feel that every cigarette smoked without being taxed is a "victory" over their bete noir.
3. Health/Safety: Significant subsets within The Greedy and The Moralist segments of the antismoking community seem to deliberately magnify any doubts or problems with vaping to the point where a good many smokers nowadays believe that vaping is actually more dangerous than smoking: after all, that's what the Cognizant Authorities seem to be telling them in the daily papers and on TV.
4. Resentment: Some smokers have deeply resented the various attacks they've endured over the past twenty years and will continue to smoke simply because they don't want to give their "enemy" (i.e. the Antismokers) a victory.
5. Innocence: There are still a good number of smokers out there (I'd seat-of-the-pants guess between 30% and 70%.) who simply haven't tried vaping yet since it's still fairly new, or have tried it at a very superficial level (usually using a single purchase of a "cig-a-like") and, simply finding it "not the same as smoking," never investigate further.

• MJM, who would likely fall largely into #1, though with elements of #'s 2, 4, and 5…

Why do people smoke cigarettes even though vaping is healthier and cheaper?