To Quit Smoking — Let’s All Vape

LifeZette ^ | 5/4/16 | Kristen Fisher

[5150 FREEPER]

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that smoking e-cigarettes can be harmful — but now the Britain-based Royal College of Physicians thinks smokers should use them as a way to quit.

Their report says the devices are helping people more than harming them — at least so far.

“This is the first genuinely new way of helping people stop smoking that has come along in decades,” John Britton, director of the U.K. Center for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies at the University of Nottingham, said in a statement.

E-cigarettes deliver nicotine without the tar — and without some chemicals linked to cancer.

[advertising guy]

LMAO

[Not gonna take it anymore]

This was on another site for a smoker who was no longer allowed to smoke in her apartment:

I’d like to teach the world to vape in perfect harmony

I smoked heavily for years. Bought a vaporizer, never looked back. I mean, I looked back, but the point is that I’ve not smoked (tobacco) since. Not even a puff. Ciggies still smell nice, and I often think I’d like one, but I have no ‘craving’ - vaping gives me nicotine and the same physical action. Smokers can probably relate to smoking ultra lights; basic vaping gives a similar feeling, but tastes nice, smells nice, and doesn’t involve inhaling smoke. Also, it’s cheaper: $30 will give her a basic setup; after that it’s a couple bucks a day for commercial liquid, or pennies (well, dimes) a day for (far superior) diy.

I’m not a fan of pressuring people to quit - any time someone pressured me, I lit up. Still, she could use one at home while smoking elsewhere, and it would be easy to quit ciggies entirely after that, if she so chose.

[BunnySlippers]

I already heard that vaping is as dangerous as cigarettes and they are banned in public in CA.

[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

[Wonder Warthog]

Well, "vaping" certainly has nicotine and some form of carrier, but I suspect all the chemicals have already been "vetted" thoroughly by science. The problem with tobacco is the combustion products, of which there are probably hundreds, many never even identified.

There is plenty of evidence that low level nicotine use prevents brain deterioration, dementia, etc. in older folks.

[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

[A CA Guy]

Right now it is linked to stupid unemployable people who disabled themselves.

[Ransomed]

They sell the juice with 0% nicotine. That’s what I use when I miss the ritual and want something in my lungs with a beer or being around folks who still burn like a human being. For me, it helps a lot with the phycology of the habitual ritual of smoking. The nice thing about it is since no nicotine, I don’t crave this faggoty vape thing, I just use it when I need to cut the edge.

Freegards

[sheana]

I quit smoking with juice. Since we smoked outside I just left the device outside, just like with cigarettes. I get up about once an hour and go outside and smoke, just like a cigarette.

[sparklite2]

Does she inhale? I’ve seen a lot of women who smoke, I suppose, for style. They don’t inhale, which to me is like drinking beer without swallowing.

[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.

[N. Theknow]

Vaping will never replace a Hoyo maduro.

I hear and second your opinion.

Daughter found this place and got me a sampler of their products.

Nicahabanacigars Ybor City, FL

AWESOME!

[rwoodward]

People who Vape are called Vapists!

[rfreedom4u]

Does she inhale?

Yep. She started smoking when she was 15. She did quit for 7 years and then just started again one day. I wish she’d quit for good.

[Ransomed]

I don’t think I could have stopped just by using this vape job. I would have went back to Marlboros like a human. I quit cold turkey for three months and then went to no nicotine juice vaping. When I walked in to the store I was sarcastically calling this liquid ‘juice’ as a put down, I had no idea how it was supposed to work. Then the guy called it juice!

It’s great that it’s working for you. I had smoked for 20 years and had never tried to quit. Then last summer I quit for a week and then went to two a day fro month which slowly ramped up to my regular amount. It pissed me off how hard it was, I didn’t realize it. So I tried again and at least so far I am nicotine free for 4 months. I would have been hammering this vape thing more than cigarettes if it would have worked for me or just went back to burning.

Freegards

[sparklite2]

They way I was finally able to quit was to carry a pack of cigarettes around with me. It sounds crazy, but having them close at hand, it was easier to stop myself from reaching for one than to be keening all day about the smokes I did not have.

One of the lingering side effects of smoking was that the urge for a cigarette was strongest immediately after a meal. So rather than linger at the table, I’d leave as soon as I was done eating. To this day, I eat and leave. LOL

[umgud]

I smoked many years. I don’t mind being around it now as long as it is not in a confined space. I don’t have any urges. BTW, 3 of my paternal grandparents smoked into their mid 90’s, but the 4th had to be on oxygen by her 50’s and died not long after due to emphysema.