you make some good points here, especially regarding the wide range of quality available in the vape market (gas station cig-a-likes vs rda with coils and juice you made yourself) and the echo chamber of r/electronic_cigarette, but I do want to point out that nic salts are not some scary weird thing.
alkaloids (like nicotine) all have freebase and salt forms. usually the freebase has a lower boiling point, while the salt is more stable and will dissolve more readily in water. neither is inherently more dangerous than the other, but can yield different levels of efficiency depending how the drug is administered. I'm not sure exactly what advantage salts have over freebase for vaping; I would think the lower boiling point would be advantageous.
salts in vaping have less ‘hit’ (tingling sensation in the throat) and higher but slower absorption efficiency. i actually prefer freebase because it gives more feedback about the level of nicotine i’m taking in instead of accidentally pushing my blood pressure up noticeably five minutes later
alkaloids (like nicotine) all have freebase and salt forms. usually the freebase has a lower boiling point, while the salt is more stable and will dissolve more readily in water. neither is inherently more dangerous than the other, but can yield different levels of efficiency depending how the drug is administered. I'm not sure exactly what advantage salts have over freebase for vaping; I would think the lower boiling point would be advantageous.