E-cigarettes - miracle or menace?

[sohag]

I think it is not menace. Though it is controversial that is it harmful or not. How ever it many aspect better than general or filter smoking.

[Conniff]

I think it is not menace. Though it is controversial that is it harmful or not. How ever it many aspect better than general or filter smoking.

 

Not so nice as a real one though. After being busy when you sit back with a cig for a break, take in a big puff and go aaaahhhhhhh, that don't happen with an e cig.

[hightail]

 

I haven't seen anyone mention NICE (National Institute for Clinical

Excellence). THey have told pharmacies which sell them to make sure people

understand that these AREN'T a form of NRT and they aren't NICe approved

The power is actually the other way round. Big pharmaceutical companies are amazingly powerful and have a vested interest in ensuring their continued NHS contracts and OTC sales are not disrupted by successful competitors. Their interest is in continued 'management' rather than cure. I believe the average for staying off the evil weed with approved methods is around 4 months - amazingly the NHS measures success at 3 months.

[Northernpug]

Update - started using E-Cigs end of February and not had an analogue since. Following Zydeco post, I bought a couple of Ego batteries and CE4+ Clearomizers which are rebuildable together with a couple of spare coils/wicks which I haven't used yet. I mix my own liquid and have now reduced nicotine content to 8mg. Total saving since starting with E-Cigs on 22/2/13 I calculate to be £298. I broke a battery so have just ordered another one together with 100ml 6mg PG liquid for £15 which should keep me going for a few months (haven't used up all the previous liquid yet but ordered some more while ordering the battery to save on postage).

 

Definately need two batteries. The one I broke was 1100mah and would last a couple of days on a charge. The other is 900mah and lasts about a day and a half. I tend to use it until flat then swap over and with one battery have been caught out when it went flat.

 

Reading another post by Zydeco, I looked at Vaping Vision website and bought a pass through battery (can use while plugged into USB whilst charging). That brings my saving down to £287!

 

If I knew more about e-cigs when I started, I would have just bought the USB pass through battery and a couple of CE4 rebuildable Clearomisers for about £23 (price from Vaping Vision web site) plus the juice. As the moment, I have spent about £100 on different e-cigs/batteries.

[Conniff]

Seems as if it's not only more pleasurable to smoke real a ciggy, it's cheaper as well.

[citizenB]

What did I say.. they would either tax them or find some other way to regulate them .. seems they are going to do ... both !!

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/uk-tobacco-britain-idUKBRE95B0HH20130612

 

 

Reuters) - Britain is to regulate electronic cigarettes as non-prescription medicines from 2016 in an attempt to improve quality, though the country's drugs watchdog said they would still be sold in convenience stores.

[allthegoodnamesaretaken]

I quit real fags after some 40 years of them in Feb 2012 and havent had one since and Know I never will again. and it was e-cigs that did it for me. A couple of 1100mah 510 batteries and some dual coil cartomisers , with a standard tobacco liquid from vapescape. I still use it but can actually do without, if circumstances ( work/travel/social ) dictate. I don't use it for a whole day sometimes and it bothers me not a bit and I well remember the days when I was always nipping out for a few quick drags when I was a smoker, because a few hours without a smoke, did bother me. Its a shame that the EU decided to get involved, but there will be a vested interest behind this somewhere, and no doubt a bit of revenue raising too. There,s also the perpetually indignant mob to contend with. As smokers to vent their spleen on become fewer, they need to get all worked up about people who appear to be smoking now. Its a shame that they were ever called ecigarettes, maybe if they had been called vapesticks or something right from the start, there would have been less of a fag association,but then again maybe they would not have attracted the 1.3 million users that the UK supposedly has.

[Ceri Thomas]

Having lost my mum to lung cancer and being a medium smoker for 13 years prior i can certainly say that ecigs have been a miracle for me, when my mum was diagnosed with cancer i was stressed but still really wanted to quit, i swapped to an ego electronic cigarette instead and never looked back and found it very easy to quit.

 

There's allot of bad press going around but one thing i can say for certain is my health and fitness has improved and i'm feeling allot happier that i have done something but still have the option to go outside with friends on a night out without the temptation of a real cigarette.

 

Bare in mind though that there is allot of rubbish on the market, some products are inferior and poorly built so don't let price be your choice option when purchasing, instead go for quality and you'll get a better experience.

[Paulspounds]

From smoking 25-30 roll ups a day I'm down to 3 or 4 and already I can feel the difference, I don't cough in the morning and I can get through a 10 hour work shift without a 'real' cig.

 

That's the best thing about e-cigs. They make it so much easier to seriously cut down smoking 'real' ones- benefiting our health and our wallets!!

[Paulspounds]

Perhaps with rollies. All in moderation, I guess..

[Conniff]

A good article I found.

 

Nicotine safety

 

IMPORTANT: Nicotine in liquid form is a known poison. It can be absorbed in liquid form through ingestion (swallowing), or through contact with skin. It is very important to be very careful in the storage and use of e-liquid with your e-cigarette. Please review our E-cigarette safety area for advice on storing and using your e-liquid.

Nicotine (C10H14N2) is a naturally occurring liquid alkaloid. An alkaloid is an organic compound made out of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sometimes oxygen. These chemicals have potent effects on the human body. For example, many people regularly enjoy the stimulating effects of another alkaloid, caffeine, as they quaff a cup or two of coffee in the morning. Nicotine can be absorbed into your body through the skin, the lungs, and mucus membranes. During inhalation, your lungs are lined by millions of alveoli, the tiny air sacs where gas exchange occurs. These alveoli provide an enormous surface area -- 90 times greater than that of your skin -- and thus provide ample access for nicotine and other compounds. Once in your bloodstream, nicotine flows almost immediately to your brain. Citation

 

 

Long term effects of inhaled nicotine:

 

 

 

Nicotine itself is often given a bad reputation, as it is forever linked with the other evil parts of a traditional tobacco cigarette. The truth is that there is no current scientific evidence that nicotine is a cancer causing agent. Here are a few studies regarding nicotine and its health risks

Long-term effects of inhaled nicotine: by Waldum HL, Nilsen OG, Nilsen T, Rorvik H, Syversen V, Sanvik AK, Haugen OA, Torp SH, Brenna E. -- Department of Medicine, University Hospital, Tronheim, Norway. Citation

Tobacco smoking has been reported to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, particularly of the lungs. In spite of extensive research on the health effects of tobacco smoking, the substances in tobacco smoke exerting these negative health effects are not completely known. Nicotine is the substance giving the subjective pleasure of smoking as well as inducing addiction. For the first time we report the effect on the rat of long-term (two years) inhalation of nicotine. The rats breathed in a chamber with nicotine at a concentration giving twice the plasma concentration found in heavy smokers. Nicotine was given for 20 h a day, five days a week during a two-year period. We could not find any increase in mortality, in atherosclerosis or frequency of tumors in these rats compared with controls. Particularly, there was no microscopic or macroscopic lung tumors nor any increase in pulmonary neuroendocrine cells. Throughout the study, however, the body weight of the nicotine exposed rats was reduced as compared with controls. In conclusion, our study does not indicate any harmful effect of nicotine when given in its pure form by inhalation

 

Benefits of Nicotine Studies

 

 

 

There have been a number of studies on nicotine and their use in helping some illnesses. There have been, to date, no scientific evidence supporting these thesis's, but research is ongoing.

• Alzheimer's Disease - The first neurons lost to Alzheimers are cholinergic neurons in a specific region of the brain. Nicotine may improve the function of the neurons that are left and slow the onset of symptoms.
  
• Tourette's Syndrome - This disease produces tics (uncontrolled movements of the head, hands and other body parts) and violent urges in its sufferers. Nicotine patches that slowly deliver nicotine through the skin can reduce symptoms of people with Tourette's.
  

General Side effects of inhaled nicotine

 

 

Side Effects

The side effects for inhaling nicotine through an e-cigarette are very similar to those when using nicotine inhalers. Here are the noted possible side effects, listed in more common and less common: Citation

 

More common

• coughing
  
• indigestion
  
• mouth and throat irritation
  
• stuffy nose
  
• headache
  
• stomach discomfort
  
• nausea
  

Less common

• anxiety
  
• back pain
  
• change in taste sensations
  
• chest pain
  
• depression
  
• diarrhea
  
• difficulty sleeping
  
• dizziness
  
• feeling of burning, numbness, tightness, tingling, warmth, or heat
  
• feelings of drug dependence
  
• flu-like symptoms
  
• general pain
  
• hiccups
  
• pain in jaw and neck
  
• pain in muscles
  
• passing of gas
  
• problems with teeth
  
• thirst
  
• unusual tiredness or weakness
  
• vomiting
  

Note that providing you are moving from traditional tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes, your body will already be adjusted to nicotine intake. You will simply be changing the delivery system of that nicotine from tobacco cigarettes to an electronic cigarette. Nicotine Poisoning

 

IMPORTANT: Nicotine is a known toxin, both ingested and absorbed. It is very important as an e-smoker to be aware of the dangers of e-liquid that contains nicotine. Symptoms of nicotine poisoning include:

• Headache, dizziness, confusion, agitation, restlessness, lethargy, seizures, and coma. Seizures may be rapid in onset.
  
• Hypertension (high blood pressure), tachycardia (rapid heart rate), and tachypnea (rapid respirations), followed by hypotension (low blood pressure), bradycardia (slow heart rate), and respiratory depression.
  
• Cardiac arrhythmias may also occur.
  
• Gastrointestinal effects include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or burning sensation, and diarrhea.
  
• Increased salivation, lacrimation (tearing), and sweating may be noted.
  

In the event that an individual has ingested a large quantity of liquid nicotine, follow these steps:

• Evaluate vital signs including pulse and respiratory rate, and note any trauma. If no pulse is detected, provide CPR. If not breathing, provide artificial respiration. If breathing is labored, administer oxygen or other respiratory support.
  
• DO NOT INDUCE VOMITING or attempt to neutralize!
  
• Obtain authorization and/or further instructions from the local hospital for administration of an antidote or performance of other invasive procedures.
  
• Give the victims water or milk: children up to 1 year old, 125 mL (4 oz or 1/2 cup); children 1 to 12 years old, 200 mL (6 oz or 3/4 cup); adults, 250 mL (8 oz or 1 cup). Water or milk should be given only if victims are conscious and alert.
  
• Activated charcoal may be administered if victims are conscious and alert. Use 15 to 30 g (1/2 to 1 oz) for children, 50 to 100 g (1-3/4 to 3-1/2 oz) for adults, with 125 to 250 mL (1/2 to 1 cup) of water.
  
• Promote excretion by administering a saline cathartic or sorbitol to conscious and alert victims. Children require 15 to 30 g (1/2 to 1 oz) of cathartic; 50 to 100 g (1-3/4 to 3-1/2 oz) is recommended for adults.
  
• RUSH to a health care facility.
  

 

Precautions and warnings for Nicotine:

 

• Nicotine is not safe for pregnant women, or women who beleivg they may be pregnant, or are trying to become pregnannt.
  
• All nicotine products must be kept out of the reach of children and pets.
  
• Nicotone is highly addictive substance
  

 

 

- See more at: http://www.canadavapes.com/health/nicotine-safety.html#sthash.1E2cZzra.dpuf

[Consumer dude]

I want to sue the tobacco companies for as a passive smoker, I am taking in there poison. What are my chances of success ?

[Conniff]

I want to sue the tobacco companies for as a passive smoker, I am taking in there poison. What are my chances of success ?

 

Absolutely none unless you can afford the extensive testing to prove your point and it must be irrefutable.

 

The only way to prove it is bad is to bring back to life someone who died of smoking related illness and put them in a sterile environment to live their life all over again and see if they live longer and healthier.

[seanamarts]

I want to sue the tobacco companies for as a passive smoker, I am taking in there poison. What are my chances of success ?

Very little to none, it would surely cost you a lot of money to even try. It is like saying I want to sue the petrol companies because I am inhaling the car fumes.

[Consumer dude]

The government collecting the taxes on this poison making them just as bad..

[Conniff]

The government collecting the taxes on this poison making them just as bad..

 

They say they want to stop smoking so are increasing the duty every budget day, but if they were really serious, they would put £25 on a packet instead of 30p.

By increasing it by low amounts, most smokers will carry on doing it and so the Gov gets extra taxes.