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E Cigarettes vs Tobacco Cigarettes


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All,

 

Was wondering if anyone has seen any conclusive evidence that E cigarettes are a less health risk than tobacco risk.

 

Seems like the search that I've done, shows no real evidence either way, but the E cigarette proponents point out that there is no tar in them, and obviously no second hand smoke. And, as I understand, you can select the quantity of nicotine you want.

 

Had a friend or two switch over and seem to be happy with their choice.

 

Have a dear friend that I'm trying to get to quit totally, but very stubborn so perhaps the E cigarette is a better choice for now.

 

Thoughts?

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I think it depends on the vapor. Some of them contain stuff that sounds worse the tobacco. I don't remember the specifics but it was something an e-cig aficionado shared with me earlier this year.

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I'm skeptical concerning the E-cig craze ... too good to be true if you ask me and like D above, I've also heard they are not much better for ones 'health'.

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Thx for the replies... just hoping for a better solution for someone I care about. Is a "closet" smoker, 1/4 to 1/2 pack a day, but still very harmful..... Just won't quit.

 

And the told of smoking has clearly had a noticeable affect on this person.

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I've done a lot of research in this. Ok it all comes down to ingredients in the vapor. If the vapor is commercially produced nicotine + water then E cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking. Like not even close. Why? Nicotine isn't a carcinogen. In fact, it is basically a mild stimulant that is less "bad" for you than other mild stimulants like caffeine. It is wildly addictive for sure. But in terms of health impacts is it actually a decent drug. There are even medical trials underway to determine nicotine's ability to fight off dementia and Alzheimer's. As one cancer researcher once said - it isn't the drug nicotine that's the problem. It is the delivery vehicle (tobacco).

 

In fact - this begs an interesting question. Tobacco use is a top 3 health crisis. We've spent billions of dollars to combat it. If you can shift the delivery mechanism to gum, patches, vapor - then you have pretty much eliminated the issue and it drops down below caffeine in terms of societal and health issues. Maybe we should be going that direction...

 

Now - all this being said - it all comes down to the contents of the vapor. Tell your friend to buy high quality "juice" that is free of flavoring etc. And avoid vapes that get too hot.

Edited by Mrin
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I've done a lot of research in this. Ok it all comes down to ingredients in the vapor. If the vapor is commercially produced nicotine + water then E cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking. Like not even close. Why? Nicotine isn't a carcinogen. In fact, it is basically a mild stimulant that is less "bad" for you than other mild stimulants like caffeine. It is wildly addictive for sure. But in terms of health impacts is it actually a decent drug. There are even medical trials underway to determine nicotine's ability to fight off dementia and Alzheimer's. As one cancer researcher once said - it isn't the drug nicotine that's the problem. It is the delivery vehicle (tobacco).

 

In fact - this begs an interesting question. Tobacco use is a top 3 health crisis. We've spent billions of dollars to combat it. If you can shift the delivery mechanism to gum, patches, vapor - then you have pretty much eliminated the issue and it drops down below caffeine in terms of societal and health issues. Maybe we should be going that direction...

 

Now - all this being said - it all comes down to the contents of the vapor. Tell your friend to buy high quality "juice" that is free of flavoring etc. And avoid vapes that get too hot.

 

Mrin,

 

Thx. Regarding your research, can you recommend some "juice" that is high quality? Who produces it and is there any requirement to state what the contents are?

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Mrin,

 

Thx. Regarding your research, can you recommend some "juice" that is high quality? Who produces it and is there any requirement to state what the contents are?

 

My research never took me as far as manufacturers and brands. I imagine there are some articles on it though. The rules of thumb though would probably be: 1) avoid any flavoring 2) buy a high quality vape and 3) avoid anything that is gimicky like touting massive amounts of vapor or fast acting.

 

I imagine some day there will be regulation (in the US) to disclose ingredients. The tobacco lobby was pushing regulation hard for a while. But then I think 2 things happened: 1) they got caught up in the hypocrisy of having to disclose the additives in cigarette tobacco (yikes!) and 2) they started buying up or starting their own vape brands.

 

As a corollary, here in Colorado cannabis vapor pens are all the rage - and they do have to disclose the formulation of the ingredients.

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I don't know anything of the rules and regs in the States but I do know something of the make up of the liquid which could well be the same over there.

 

There's two main ingredients.

One is PG (Propylene Glycol), this is basically dry ice - the stuff they blast out in nightclubs and at shows which looks like smoke.

The other is VG (Vegetable Glycerine) which is used as a sweetener, used in many beauty products, in toothpastes, eye drops.

 

In the UK the main mix for an e-liquid is 80% PG & 20% VG.

I tried this mix and over a day and a bit had a very bad reaction, tight chest, coughing almost non stop. I felt appalling!

It was only doing research led me to learn it was dry ice. Dry ice is something which I have always had a bad reaction to.

 

You can get VG only e-liquids and with those I have no issues at all.

 

For a vape tool the ones with a clearomiser rather than a cartomiser are best and I would get one which has a button which heats the wick and heats the liquid as they are easier to draw from.

 

Youtube has lots of reviews and reviewers for both the kit and the liquids.

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  • 4 weeks later...
T-16bullseyeWompRat

You can get an ego one kit for pretty cheap, maybe 30 bucks now. This is a good starting unit at a good price point. Also some people have vg or pg allergies, so this is something to keep in mind as the other poster stated.

 

Vaping never stopped me from smoking btw. I just have a lot less cigs now then before. Some people switch and dont touch cigs again. Not the case for me, but i dont want to quit so that has everything to do with it...

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I've done a lot of research in this. Ok it all comes down to ingredients in the vapor. If the vapor is commercially produced nicotine + water then E cigarettes are much less harmful than smoking. Like not even close. Why? Nicotine isn't a carcinogen. In fact, it is basically a mild stimulant that is less "bad" for you than other mild stimulants like caffeine. It is wildly addictive for sure. But in terms of health impacts is it actually a decent drug. There are even medical trials underway to determine nicotine's ability to fight off dementia and Alzheimer's. As one cancer researcher once said - it isn't the drug nicotine that's the problem. It is the delivery vehicle (tobacco).

 

In fact - this begs an interesting question. Tobacco use is a top 3 health crisis. We've spent billions of dollars to combat it. If you can shift the delivery mechanism to gum, patches, vapor - then you have pretty much eliminated the issue and it drops down below caffeine in terms of societal and health issues. Maybe we should be going that direction...

 

Now - all this being said - it all comes down to the contents of the vapor. Tell your friend to buy high quality "juice" that is free of flavoring etc. And avoid vapes that get too hot.

 

I vape and I've never come across a juice that is just water and nicotine. As someone has already said the vape ingredients are a mixture of nicotine and a blend of pg and vg. I do worry about the supposed safety of vaping but right now it is keeping me off the cigs and I have been able to drastically cut down in nicotine without serious withdrawal in a short period of time. My goal is to get down to zero nic and then slowly wean myself from the vaping altogether.

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I don't know anything of the rules and regs in the States but I do know something of the make up of the liquid which could well be the same over there.

 

There's two main ingredients.

One is PG (Propylene Glycol), this is basically dry ice - the stuff they blast out in nightclubs and at shows which looks like smoke.

The other is VG (Vegetable Glycerine) which is used as a sweetener, used in many beauty products, in toothpastes, eye drops.

 

In the UK the main mix for an e-liquid is 80% PG & 20% VG.

I tried this mix and over a day and a bit had a very bad reaction, tight chest, coughing almost non stop. I felt appalling!

It was only doing research led me to learn it was dry ice. Dry ice is something which I have always had a bad reaction to.

 

You can get VG only e-liquids and with those I have no issues at all.

 

For a vape tool the ones with a clearomiser rather than a cartomiser are best and I would get one which has a button which heats the wick and heats the liquid as they are easier to draw from.

 

Youtube has lots of reviews and reviewers for both the kit and the liquids.

 

Yes there is a definite learning curve to switching to vape. I almost gave up early on because I felt like I was going to cough a lung up every time I took a hit. Interestingly I find that the higher the VG content and the lower the PG the more I cough while I know the opposite is true for most other people. The reason for me is that the PG more closely mimics a hit from a cigarette. A puff from a juice that is high in PG feels just like a puff from a smoke to me. However puffing on high VG juice didn't feel like smoking at all, instead of hitting my throat with that nice strong full feeling, it would create a throat tickle and send me off into a coughing fit. I was getting so frustrated because other vape users kept pushing me to use juices with lower PG and higher VG when I complained of coughing. I ended up on a 90/10 VG/PG ratio and I was coughing until I was blue in the face and peeing my pants and wondering why in the world I was putting myself through this...lol. Then one day I tried a 50/50 VG/PG blend and for the first time ever I didn't cough and I felt like I was actually smoking. The hits were stronger but very similar to smoking.

 

So if someone is trying to make the switch they need to experiment and try different juices out for themselves rather than just relying on the advice of others.

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I've used a vape for 2 years now. Quit smoking the same day I bought one and haven't touched a cigarette since. I don't even buy the liquid that contains any nicotine anymore, I just like the sensation on my throat so I still use it.

 

Some of the liquid can be questionable especially when you buy it from places like markets, but if you stick to buying your liquid from a proper vape store, you're pretty safe.

 

Since cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals I'd go with vapes being the safest option all the way.

 

It was pretty funny though how quickly the government started bashing vapes and branding them as dangerous devices. Wouldn't have anything to do with them losing billions in taxes from the amount of people switching from cigarettes to vapes, would it!!?

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I'm so sorry, but as a non-smoker, I find both disgusting.

 

Smoking is pretty much banned in any enclosed public place including businesses, bars, and anywhere else where the public regularly go, en masse.

There is quite a considerable number of these places that also ban e-cigarettes.

 

Much to my relief.

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I'm so sorry, but as a non-smoker, I find both disgusting.

 

Smoking is pretty much banned in any enclosed public place including businesses, bars, and anywhere else where the public regularly go, en masse.

There is quite a considerable number of these places that also ban e-cigarettes.

 

Much to my relief.

 

And that's why Tara's totally uncool and not popular.

 

:p I don't smoke either.

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