I did research on this before, so I’m trying to go back again and find the information. I just came across this now - which gives you a little idea ...
http://www.vaporstationcolumbus.com/uploads/eLiquid.pdf
— A lethal dose of nicotine for a child is about 10mg and for an adult its 40-60mg.
— 10 drops of 24mg/ml strength e-liquid can kill a child.
— 20 drops (1ml) of 54mg/ml strength e-liquid can kill an adult.
You can buy it in different strengths. That’s what the numbers like — 24 mg/ml — means. You can buy it in different concentrations - so other concentrations can simply be lethal from fumes.
To give you a further indication of the extreme danger here ... this is from something instructing people how to mix these things ...
READ THIS BEFORE ATTEMPTING ANY E-LIQUID PROCEDURES
Hello Unregistered,
Any information contained within this forum is acted on at the user’s own risk. ECF cannot be held responsible for individuals causing injury to themselves or others by following the information contained in this forum.
Anyone considering DIY must CAREFULLY DECIDE if they really have the resources to carry out any DIY procedures safely.
The handling of high-strength base liquids should only be attempted by those who understand the hazards, are competent to handle chemicals, and have the necessary protective equipment.
Pure nicotine should never be used for DIY. It must be handled in a lab by those qualified to work with hazardous materials, because it requires a fume cupboard and hazmat precautions. Do not buy or use pure nicotine - if you acquire some by mistake, take it to a pharmacy for disposal.
_____________________________
What is DIY e-liquid?
Some members have chosen to purchase ingredients commonly found in e-cigarette refills (e-liquid), and adapt existing refills or make their own varieties. If you do not have experience in handling chemicals you should not try e-liquid DIY. Buy your e-liquid supplies instead from one of the many manufacturers that already exist.
Carefully note the following cautions:
Never buy pure nicotine - 100mg strength is the most needed for DIY.
Never allow nicotine to touch your skin or allow fumes to build up in the atmosphere.
Always wear suitable protective clothing and keep your workspace well ventilated.
Caution must always be exercised in the handling of nicotine. Some people are far more sensitive to it than others: there is a factor-10 difference in individual tolerance to nicotine, and contact with even a small amount may make some susceptible individuals temporarily ill (those who vape 6mg and cannot tolerate 12mg are more vulnerable than others).
Children and pets are especially vulnerable and you ABSOLUTELY MUST keep refill materials and finished refills away from them.
E-liquid and all substances used in its production must be stored securely away from children and pets and in child-proof bottles.
Appropriate care must be taken to safeguard against fire hazards. Some ingredients in e-liquid are flammable.
Carefully avoid any splashes and spills. Have paper towel and rinsing facilities available for immediately dealing with any splashes. Consider how you will deal with a spill BEFORE it happens.
A nicotine strength test kit is ABSOLUTELY VITAL (and is cheap to buy on Ebay).
Eyeshields, rubber gloves and a plastic apron are recommended.
Some flavourings are known to be inappropriate for inhalation, and at least one is known to be hazardous (diacetyl).
Following these guidelines cannot guarantee your safety.
Caution: flavourings
Food-grade flavouring compounds are, by definition, not tested for inhalation. There are likely to be health implications resulting from inhalation of some flavours, and right now we do not have a complete list of the problematic ones. At least one is known to be extremely hazardous to the lungs (diacetyl) and there is no reason to suspect it is an isolated case.
Because too little is known about this aspect of vaping, ECF cannot advise you in detail on this issue; but we do know that as well as butter-popcorn the creamy, buttery, custard-type flavours will probably entail risk even if diacetyl itself is absent (because this group of flavours has a question mark regarding safety).
This flavour group includes diacetyl, acetoin, and acetyl propionyl: the dairy, creamy flavours. Realistically, we do not know if there are any safe flavours for inhalation in this group.
Please see this thread, which highlights some of the issues - but do not treat it as being a complete guide to flavours with possible risk:
THERE ARE NO FLAVOURS KNOWN TO BE SAFE FOR INHALATION* and nothing in this section or anywhere else on ECF can be taken as approval of or recommendation of inhalation of any flavour.
* Menthol is licensed for inhalation and can be expected to be acceptably safe as a result (but not absolutely safe as there is no such thing).
ECF cannot be held responsible for any consequences of following information found on the boards. We try to remove anything that looks risky for the inexperienced but we cannot find and remove everything that may be problematic. Some advice may be inappropriate for your level of experience or resources and YOU MUST EXERCISE CAUTION. Some information or procedures may have implications for health due to the limited state of knowledge about vaping risks at this time. There is no risk-free vaping.
The difference between those drops and fumes is ingestion. If you DIRECTLY ingest those drops yeah that’ll kill you. You if put those drops on a hot pan and inhale the fumes it won’t kill you because you’ll get a small fraction of the nicotine. In order for the fumes to kill what you’ll needs is:
1 - a lot of juice
2 - a small entirely unventilated room
3 - tall people that will get to the fumes up high in their highest concentration
Really it’s the urban legend of the guy that suffocated on his own farts. Theoretically possible, but in practice unlikely to the point of not going to happen.
Meanwhile we make rubbing alcohol smell (and taste) good and it actually DOES hurt kids:
http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Hand_Sanitizer_Dangers
But it’s not the evil nicotine so nobody cares.