Regardless of the outcome of any vaping related legislation, either past, present or future, the following will still be freely available - stainless steel, in any shape or form, kanthal wire,of any length or gauge, rechargeable batteries,of all types, and their relevant chargers, silica wick,cotton wool, Propylene Glycol, vegetable glycerine, flavourings, 'base' nicotine (although this may have limitations with regard to nicotine content), plastic boxes, of any size or shape, electronic switch components and voltage/wattage regulatory pcb's and 'chips', o-rings, insulating materials, screws,grub screws and any other fixing/retaining devices, solder, pyrex glass, in any shape or form, pmma, in any shape or form, and any other manufactured component that can be, and already is,used in the construction of a vaping device.
Also, regardless of the outcome of any vaping related legislation, The UK Police Force and criminal investigation bodies, will never create a section of officers known as 'vaping police'.
Legislative e-cig related restrictions, both real and imaginary, will, imo be justifiably contested and over ruled, and also prove to be unmanageable, unworkable, and fall foul of existing human rights, and 'freedom' legislation.
No amount of research,statistics,legislation, and/or lobbying, has halted the sale of tobacco, and is not, in the foreseeable future, ever likely to, so to imagine that vaping will ever be legislatively restricted beyond the measures already in place for tobacco, is ludicrous. In an age of tight budgets and very restricted funding, there are far more important health related issues to address than vaping.
IMO, the 'over 18' rule is about all that the vaping world will ever likely get lumbered with, along with the possible restrictions on the sale of e-liquid quantities and nicotine strengths.
Silly, unsubstantiated, anti vaping news articles, will, of course, gain attention from us, as vapers,because they are pertinent to our hobby, and create an emotional response, but the reality is that those same articles, are very soon 'old news' and forgotten by the majority of the general public.
To answer the question "Have we lost?" , well, speaking for myself only, no, we haven't lost, but if we carry on bringing unnecessary politics into our hobby by magnifying garbage and over reacting to inane media 'smear campaigns' we are not doing ourselves many favours. It's only vaping ffs, not world domination.