These examples of ignorance remind me of my own similar anecdote:
I attended a dinner, out of politeness, with my grandparents and their friends. A man staying with them saw me puffing on my personal vaporizer, cornered me, and proceeded to tell me that he was diagnosed with lung cancer after trying to switch to a PV himself.
"I smoked cigarettes for 30 years, never had a problem. Those electric things cause cancer!"
Now, I know there is no long term research into electronic cigarettes or their health effects. However, he was clear that he had only quit cigarettes for maybe 2 months before being diagnosed.
To suggest, with a straight face, that 30 years of cigarette smoke couldn't possibly be responsible for his lung cancer...I'm not sure how he came to such a conclusion other than misinformation.