Health Concerns From A Medic

[Katattack]

So a contaminant was found not an ingredient.

[jj2]

Propylene Glycol (PG) Vegetable Glycerin ( VG) Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)

Bunch of links are there that might be helpful.

[jennlsnoopy]

Great answer... lol

Maybe you should ask that guy whats in his cigarettes and see if he can answer THAT question.
I went through this with a guy at work and he couldn't answer it. He googled it that night and came back the next day asking me where he should order a 510 kit from.

Here's whats in a cigarette: List of additives in cigarettes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Show this to anyone who questions you. Thats what they should be worried about.

[four2109]

Hello, I am an EMT and i Vape and i run on a 20hr truck with a Paramedic that smokes. He has an E-Cig but he is worried about a few things and he drives me NUTS talking about this crap. Even though he smokes analogs he gives me the 1,000questions a shift about E-Cigs. Maybe you guys can help me a bit with some of these.
...
Thanks in advance guys. I am off to try and catch some Z's

Give him the URL to the forum and let HIM do his own homework!
You go get some Z's. It's not on you to save him or convince him. He has one, let him figure it out and make his own decision. I would enjoy my ecig and change the subject. He's making conversation, you're doing all the work.

[Kate51]

jennlsnoopy, that's a good one! Was just going to put it in, you're on the ball.
Gamer, copy the contents of that link jennlsnoopy posted, print it out, shouldn't take more than 40 pages or so, make a book out of it, and next time he lights up ask him what's in his analog. When he looks confused, hand him the book and tell here, do some research. (Maybe you can bait him a bit, just for fun!)
I'll take my nic dose (about 1/20th of his dose), vegetable glycerine, and a little caramel over his kill sticks anyday. Talk about end-of-season soup! I almost made it to my end-of-season, until I found an e-cig. You're doing the right thing, so put the blooter's bias and misinformation out on display so even he can see it. Maybe have a card ready so he can order one forthwith!

[miss MiA]

2) How much are you really getting!? Metered doses? One of the largest gripes that we get into is that he tells me that "Well with those things your not sure how much you are really getting. You are not receiving a metered dose. You are getting different doses each time, determining factors being: how fast you inhale, how long you inhale, strength of E-Juice, size of hole, how hot the atty is burning".... I don't really know how to form this into a question haha. Just any info at all would be appreciated. Is there a study of how much an average e-cig puts out?

I never really get why that matters so much to some anyway, beyond choosing an initial liquid strength to try/use. If the strength you're using isn't eliciting any symptoms of taking in too much (nausea, dizziness, racing heartbeat, etc.); and it's keeping cravings at bay... good enough for me! And he could even go ahead and keep stepping down if he wanted and see how low he can go, while still having his cravings satisfied!

Of course I know that's not a sufficient 'measure' for science, but for the individual current user or those wanting/willing to be; and considering that (to be general) nic itself isn't exactly bad for you anyway if you don't have some pre-disposing health condition...

[Madame Psychosis]

Or, print/show him the post at the top of this page, from an MD and harm-reduction researcher:
The Rest of the Story: List of Identified, Known Carcinogens in Electronic Cigarettes vs. Conventional Cigarettes, and Which Anti-Smoking Groups are Telling Smokers to Smoke

As far as nicotine intake, like miss MiA said, there are clear signals when one is getting a little too much. It's easier to move up or down in nic with e-cigs because of the ability to mix/purchase different strengths and still satisfy the behavioral desire to simulate smoking. With cigarettes, you can't adjust it like that so easily.

[jennlsnoopy]

jennlsnoopy, that's a good one! Was just going to put it in, you're on the ball.
Gamer, copy the contents of that link jennlsnoopy posted, print it out, shouldn't take more than 40 pages or so, make a book out of it, and next time he lights up ask him what's in his analog. When he looks confused, hand him the book and tell here, do some research. (Maybe you can bait him a bit, just for fun!)
I'll take my nic dose (about 1/20th of his dose), vegetable glycerine, and a little caramel over his kill sticks anyday. Talk about end-of-season soup! I almost made it to my end-of-season, until I found an e-cig. You're doing the right thing, so put the blooter's bias and misinformation out on display so even he can see it. Maybe have a card ready so he can order one forthwith!

Also if he has a problem with the PG then you can show him (under P on the list) that he's inhaling it already.

[sjohnson]

Heh - the ego of a paramedic at work (Former EMT-B here)

Don't get me wrong, it's the ego that MAKES a medic tick, and makes them so effective in EMS. But socially, they're all alphas or alpha wannabees. He may just be baiting you to make the boredom in-between calls a little more exciting. Coming down off an adrenaline high from that last MVA IS depressing, I've even been prone to make things "exciting" because the crash sucks. You're never more alive than when safely and efficiently saving lives in those inevitable extreme scenarios.

[5cardstud]

You might also tell him this: (an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine
This is from Wikipedia under nicotine.