[5150 FREEPER]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

[TaxPayer2000]

I think the jury is still out on vaping. Something tells me in 20 years or so it will be linked to cancer.

[WKUHilltopper]

Hell. Just living is harmful. You’re all gonna die!

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I’m holding out for the e-cigar, that combines the caffeine in a cup of coffee, a dose of nicotine, and the RDA allotment of vitamins - and medical marajuana.

[umgud]

I quit cold turkey and never looked back.

[Donglalinger]

No,No I said let's all VAPE

[Boogieman]

“There is plenty of evidence to suggest that smoking e-cigarettes can be harmful...”

There’s mountains of evidence that cigarettes are MORE harmful than vaping, so even if vaping were harmful, it’s still better than smoking cigarettes.

[rawcatslyentist]

I was puffin 15-20 cigars a day. Was down to 0 in about a month. No weight gain, no withdrawal cravings. Learned about Ohms law, resistances, coil wrapping, and blending my own liquids. Went from spending 5-10 bucks a day down to 1.

As long as ya don't chuck a yuge cloud, ya can do it discretely in a movie theatre, grocery shopping, just about anywhere. Just be respectful that others might not want to walk in your cloud.

[rfreedom4u]

My wife smokes the American Spirit brand. It is 100% organic tobacco with nothing added.

She says they are better for her. I say they are less bad for her.

[RideForever]

The major objection is based on a ‘report’ by the FDA done several years back. Of the thousands of chemicals that come out of a tobacco cigarette, the FDA found no correlating chemicals in the e-cigs. The chemicals they did find were residue from cleaning the e-cigs after manufacture.

There is a printed warning on cigarettes about the tar from cigarettes on every pack due to its health effects. Guess what the FDA stated the tar from the e-cigs was?

This ‘scientific’ study by the FDA is cited by Kaiser and likely other health insurance providers as the basis of their objection to e-cigs. If this is the science our health provides rely upon, we’re really, really screwed.

BTW, the FDA did not report the tar content from e-cigs, if you were still wondering.

[angryoldfatman]

Evidence of harm from vaping? Where?

Now, if I want evidence of harm from smoking tobacco, all I have to do is remember the days I cropped it. Anybody else can see that evidence by breaking tobacco leaves off of the stalk and letting the resin get on their hands.

When the resin sits for even a few hours, it turns into tar. THAT’S the stuff that causes harm to lungs, not nicotine.

Nicotine, even though it is the ingredient that the smoker really wants, merely rides along on the resin.

[To Hell With Poverty]

There are “vapor lounges” popping up all around here. They have a seedy air about them that makes me think they have some varieties that feature synthetic drugs like spice or bath salts. Maybe it’s the fact that the curtains are always drawn and there are grateful dead bears on the signs...I don’t like seeing them.

[TLI]

Info...

Cigarette chemicals are the first (long) list.

The four ingredients in vape juice are waaaay down the article.

Most of the anti-vaping articles out there are using some very familiar scare tactic language that we are experienced enough here at FR to instantly recognize.

Smoking vs. vaping chemicals

Aside from the stench of tobacco cigarette smoke vs. the non-offensive or usually pleasant scents associated with vaping, burning tobacco generates a smoke that is a toxic cocktail of chemicals that affect not only the smoker, but others as well.

Chemicals in tobacco cigarette smoke

Acetaldehyde: suspected carcinogen.
Acetone: irritant: can cause kidney and liver damage.
Acrolein: extremely toxic.
Acrylonitrile: suspected human carcinogen.
1-aminonaphthalene: causes cancer.
2-aminonaphthalene: causes bladder cancer.
Ammonia: raises blood pressure.
Benzene: carcinogen.
Benzo[a]pyrene: mutagenic and highly carcinogenic
1,3-Butadiene: suspected carcinogen.
Butyraldehyde: damages the lining of nose and lungs.
Cadmium: a heavy metal and highly toxic
Carbon Monoxide: decreases heart and muscle function.
Catechol: causes respiratory tract irritation and dermatitis.
Chromium: heavy metal and carcinogen.
Cresol: causes upper respiratory, nasal and throat irritation.
Crotonaldehyde: thought to interfere with immune function.
Formaldehyde: carcinogen
Hydrogen Cyanide: lethal poison
Hydroquinone: affects central nervous system effects.
Isoprene: irritates skin,eyes and mucous membranes.
Lead: causes brain damage
Methyl Ethyl Ketone: depresses the central nervous system.
Nickel: causes bronchial asthma and is a known carcinogen.
Nicotine: increases in heart rate and blood pressure, addictive element
Nitric Oxide: linked to Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and asthma.
NNN, NNK, and NAT: known or possible carcinogens
Phenol: damages the the liver, kidneys; respiratory, cardiovascular and central nervous system.
Polonium - radioactive*
Propionaldehyde: skin, eye and respiratory system irritant
Pyridine: causes eye and upper respiratory tract irritation
Quinoline: causes genetic damage and is a possible carcinogen
Resorcinol: skin and eye irritant
Styrene: carcinogen
Toluene: linked to permanent brain damage.

... and thousands of other chemicals. No wonder I was feeling the way I was and it’s amazing so many smokers get to live as long as we do.

* Australian scientist Dr Karl Kruszelnicki says the polonium released in tobacco cigarettes is the equivalent to 200 chest x-rays a year for people who smoke a pack of cigarettes every day.
Chemicals in ecig vapours

Compare that partial list with chemicals and compounds in e-cigarette vapours

Nicotine

Propylene glycol (not Ethylene glycol - which is toxic). Used in asthma inhalers and nebulizers. An experiment using animals determined “air containing these vapors in amounts up to the saturation point is completely harmless”. The USA FDA has classified propylene glycol as “generally recognised as safe”.

Vegetable glycerol - low toxicity. Used in medications, cosmetic and food items.

The only other chemicals are in the flavourings, which (if coming from a reputable merchant) are food grade and generally recognised as safe. By volume, flavours make up a very small percentage of eliquids.

However, it needs to be stated that food flavorings are designed to be digested, not vaporised and inhaled and the effects of using food flavors in such a way over a long period are yet to be established.

That said, very few carcinogenic chemicals have been found in e-cigarette vapours, and those present only appear to be in trace quantities - far less than in burning tobacco and similar or less than in recognised nicotine replacement therapies.

Unlike cigarette smoke, nearly all of the nicotine is absorbed in vaping.

Medical research:

E-cigarettes: harmless inhaled or exhaled
Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (PDF)

Dr Joel Nitzkin, Chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force for the American Association of Public Health Physicians, believes the hazards posed by e-cigarettes would be much lower than one percent of that posed by smoking tobacco cigarettes.

In fact, the AAPHP states:

“Substances in the cigarette smoke, other than the nicotine, inhaled deep into the lung, cause most of the tobacco-attributable illness and death in the United States.”

The AAPHP recommends electronic cigarettes as a less hazardous smoke-free tobacco/nicotine product.

Ecigs are a viable harm reduction device in my opinion, one that more smokers need to know about.

http://www.ecigalternative.com/smoking-vs-vaping.htm

[laplata]

.

[Daveinyork]

Vaping will never replace a Hoyo maduro.

[sparklite2]

I quit smoking when cigarettes hit ten dollars a carton. That was around 1980. Regardless of the health matter, I could never pay the crazy cost of cigarettes today. SMH

[chrisser]

I've not seen any evidence that vaping is harmful. All I read is people concerned that it might be, or that it would lead to children smoking, or that potheads would use the same devices.

Contrary to many common claims, the vaping "smoke" is more than just water vapor. Typically it includes vaporized propylene glycol, which although it is used as an antifreeze agent (the pink stuff you put in RV plumbing), it's also a food grade additive used in all sorts of edible products.

Now, it's possible that vaporized PG turns into some sort of carcinogen. It's possible that the long term effects of inhaling vaporized PG are detrimental. It's possible that the same could be said of the food grade flavorings added to the PG. But, to date, there's no evidence of any of the above.

Nicotine, while addictive, may have some health benefits. There seem to be very little in the way of definitive studies about the harmful affects of pure nicotine at low doses that would indicate it's any more dangerous than other addictive stimulants like caffeine.

While I wouldn't recommend anyone take a legal addictive substance without seriously considering the ramifications, when you compare vaping to smoking, we're talking about comparing an activity with the potential for minor health issues, against one that's proven to be deadly over time. We ought to be celebrating, even if smokers start vaping and can't quit, at least until there's evidence that vaping has any demonstrable health risk.

[rwoodward]

People who Vape are called Vapists!