Acids, Bases, and Throat Hit: An Experiment - E-Cigarette Forum

miketr · 08-29-2009, 05:38 AM

I am totally oblivious to the nuances of chemistry, but have read about bases having throat hit, and about acids having throat hit. Maybe one or the other does. Maybe both do! I thought I would try an experiment to check.

Even though I'm a new user and haven't tried a lot of flavors, I've exerienced definite throat hit with the following substances: Nicotine, PGA, Menthol, Mint, Peppermint, red peppers, and Cinnamon Oil. I know alcohol and nicotine are bases, but I don't know what the others are. I believe the others all have their effect by actually directly stimulating your nerve endings into firing.

For example, if a person were to rub any of these on some of their mucus membrane like the inside of the cheek, not that I am suggesting you do so unless you are a bit of a masochist, a very strong hot or cold sensation would be felt. So maybe the acidity or baseness of a substance have little to do with its perceived throat hit. Well, OK, I thought I would test this in the simplest way I could think of.

I made a supersaturated solution of baking soda, a common mild harmless base, and water. I mixed one ml of this solution with 1 ml of VG.

I separately took 1 ml of a 5% white vinegar solution, a common mild harmless acid, and mixed it with 1 ml of VG

I then filled two unmodded 510 carts, one with the vinegar, and one with the baking soda.

I then vaped each in turn for several minutes, first the baking soda mix, then I drank water and rinsed out my mouth, took a clean atty, and vaped the vinegar mix with it.

The result was that I felt no discernable throat hit from either. I tried. I dragged and dragged. I got the atty hot. There was visible vapor from the VG despite the significant amount of water in both mixes. The baking soda was flavorless but left a mild baking soda aftertaste in my mouth. The vinegar had a mild vinegar flavor while vaping.

I concluded from this experiment that acids and bases in and of themselves do not affect throat hit.

I also concluded that I never want to vape those substances again. I cleaned out the carts and attys and am going to put this experience behind me while wondering if this was the stupidest most pointless thing I had ever tried, or if perhaps that would have been the ballroom dancing class. If so, it certainly runs a close second. Interested in everyone's thoughts and comments, humorous or otherwise.

Currently vaping a tobacco/menthol PGA/VG/PG 14 mg nic mix...

Nice throat hit!

miketr

JustMeAgain · 09-02-2009, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miketr

concluded from this experiment that acids and bases in and of themselves do not affect throat hit.

I also concluded that I never want to vape those substances again. I cleaned out the carts and attys and am going to put this experience behind me while wondering if this was the stupidest most pointless thing I had ever tried, or if perhaps that would have been the ballroom dancing class. If so, it certainly runs a close second. Interested in everyone's thoughts and comments, humorous or otherwise.

Currently vaping a tobacco/menthol PGA/VG/PG 14 mg nic mix...

Nice throat hit!

miketr

I don't think it was stupid and pointless....in fact, I'm thinking along the same path tonight, and after doing some reading (although my chemistry skills are just slightly below nil

) I think that PH does affect throat hit, but I think it pertains to how nicotine is utilized...meaning, that a higher PH creates more 'free nicotine' which is what causes that hit we're all looking for.

So, I think there has to be some nicotine in the solution which is probably why your experiment didn't give you that feeling, which, based on what I've been reading, is called an oropharynx reflex,

This may be stuff you already knew....but just in case, here's a link you might be interested in: - it's an older document, but may still have some useful information.

http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/guildfor...2/00012275.pdf

miketr · 09-03-2009, 01:44 AM

Well, that seems like a reasonable explanation. No, I don't know any of that stuff yet. And everything I normally vape that has throat hit has nicotine in it. I think PGA and Cinnamon oil seem to have a real hit by themselves, but that is it. I downloaded the PDF for later reading - I'm a bit too tired to read a paper at the moment. But I'm definitely interested. Thanks for your information!

08-29-2009, 05:38 AM	#1
miketr Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southern Illinois (rural area) Posts: 261 Blog Entries: 1	Acids, Bases, and Throat Hit: An Experiment I am totally oblivious to the nuances of chemistry, but have read about bases having throat hit, and about acids having throat hit. Maybe one or the other does. Maybe both do! I thought I would try an experiment to check. Even though I'm a new user and haven't tried a lot of flavors, I've exerienced definite throat hit with the following substances: Nicotine, PGA, Menthol, Mint, Peppermint, red peppers, and Cinnamon Oil. I know alcohol and nicotine are bases, but I don't know what the others are. I believe the others all have their effect by actually directly stimulating your nerve endings into firing. For example, if a person were to rub any of these on some of their mucus membrane like the inside of the cheek, not that I am suggesting you do so unless you are a bit of a masochist, a very strong hot or cold sensation would be felt. So maybe the acidity or baseness of a substance have little to do with its perceived throat hit. Well, OK, I thought I would test this in the simplest way I could think of. I made a supersaturated solution of baking soda, a common mild harmless base, and water. I mixed one ml of this solution with 1 ml of VG. I separately took 1 ml of a 5% white vinegar solution, a common mild harmless acid, and mixed it with 1 ml of VG I then filled two unmodded 510 carts, one with the vinegar, and one with the baking soda. I then vaped each in turn for several minutes, first the baking soda mix, then I drank water and rinsed out my mouth, took a clean atty, and vaped the vinegar mix with it. The result was that I felt no discernable throat hit from either. I tried. I dragged and dragged. I got the atty hot. There was visible vapor from the VG despite the significant amount of water in both mixes. The baking soda was flavorless but left a mild baking soda aftertaste in my mouth. The vinegar had a mild vinegar flavor while vaping. I concluded from this experiment that acids and bases in and of themselves do not affect throat hit. I also concluded that I never want to vape those substances again. I cleaned out the carts and attys and am going to put this experience behind me while wondering if this was the stupidest most pointless thing I had ever tried, or if perhaps that would have been the ballroom dancing class. If so, it certainly runs a close second. Interested in everyone's thoughts and comments, humorous or otherwise. Currently vaping a tobacco/menthol PGA/VG/PG 14 mg nic mix... Nice throat hit! miketr

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09-03-2009, 01:44 AM	#3
miketr Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Southern Illinois (rural area) Posts: 261 Blog Entries: 1	Well, that seems like a reasonable explanation. No, I don't know any of that stuff yet. And everything I normally vape that has throat hit has nicotine in it. I think PGA and Cinnamon oil seem to have a real hit by themselves, but that is it. I downloaded the PDF for later reading - I'm a bit too tired to read a paper at the moment. But I'm definitely interested. Thanks for your information!