Nicotin Delivery Devices

[Evirgin]

Is anyone familiar with a nicotine inhalator?

I find these do not give me a "hit" at all - I only use them when travelling to stop me going completely mad - but they don't do a lot for me.

Is that because the "mechanism" for delivering nicotine doesn't work very well, even though it supposedly involves inhaling, or is it because it's a "medical device" and they limit the amount of nicotine?

Is an E-cig considerably better?

Jane :-)

[jamie]

Hi Jane. I just wrote to you on your newbie thread about the inhaler. Then of course I am all done and finally notice you've got another thread! So I removed my other post.

The last board on the main forum page is the "Other Alternatives to Smoking" where a few of us had posted on such products. I hope more people join in down there!

I've used the inhaler and by itself as a replacement I agree with you, it didn't do a lot for me. You are correct in that the nicotine is overly-limited. At least with the USA version it takes 20+ minutes of persistent puffing to get one ciggie out of it.

I do find the ecig considerably better.

Also I find the inhaler better, more satisfying, when combined with another NRT product. For instance, use a mini SNUs to get most of your nicotine, then every so often a puff from the inhaler to provide the hand-to-mouth motion, the inhaling action, and the feel at the back of the throat. That sounds more complicated than it is. But this is the reason studies show combination therapy is the most effective way to get off cigs. And even for temporary fix then it is likely to be more satisfying. I'm also combining use of the inhaler and the ecig for different reasons.

[TropicalBob]

Jamie is 100% on target. And, yes, the nicotine inhaler is weaker than a good e-smoking device. Plus, the inhaler is designed so the nicotine is absorbed in the mouth, not the lungs. That slow absorption route is why you don't get any "kick." On the other hand, e-vapor can be fully inhaled and absorbed through the lungs, much like real smoke. You get a hit within 3 to 7 seconds. But the vapor can be irritating to throat and lungs, as the inhaler can irritate the throat.

I've used the NRT inhaler product and ended up chewing it to pieces, from nervousness and dissatisfaction. I liked the fact that it had hand-to-mouth movement like real smoking, but hated the fact that it never elevated my blood nicotine level to a comfortable level, thanks to government restrictions on the amount of pure nicotine it could contain. The inhaler left me in a constant state of craving.

See the alternatives area of the forum for more information. And if e-smoking alone doesn't satisfy you, do as Jamie suggests and add another nicotine alternative while continuing to e-smoke. Good luck.

[Evirgin]

Thanks guys - very informative. I suspected that the inhaler was lower nicotine and absorbed through the mouth and that that's why you wouldn't get a "hit" off it. So now I understand why it doesn't seem to work and that the e-cig is going to work way better.

Sorry if my post is in the wrong place!

Jane

[timonette]

My experience with the nicotine inhaler was 1 cartridge made me sick, got a nicotine overdose! Don't know if it was due to the fact at the time I was smoking Salem Lights. Didn't care for it & WASTED $175 on the prescription!

[TropicalBob]

I sometimes turn to my old Big Pharma nicotine inhaler just to prevent overdosing from nicotine via alternative devices, including my e-cigs. This morning, I was researching the loss of nicotine strength due to evaporation and came across some Nicotrol Inhaler info (the inhaler has lost its nicotine after 24 hours exposed to the air; probably true for our cartridges, too, and that could explain a lot - making one-day use-and-dispose cartridges all the more practical!).

But I got out the inhaler and looked at it. One research paper on inhalers said, "Tobacco itself may be included in shreds or strip form within the tube as an added flavorant or added source of nicotine providing the end product is not designed to be ignited. The tobacco may be moistened or saturated to provide the volatile required."

Cool. I opened the inhaler, used a nail to push out the spent nicotine cartridge in the tube and stuffed in some pipe tobacco, tamping it down it with the nail head. Then I soaked it with e-liquid at 24mg nicotine strength.

Yuck. It just didn't work out well. The wet tobacco wouldn't hold its shape and shreds soon came out into the inhaler itself. The taste wasn't good and it did NOT add the tobacco flavor I wanted. I cleaned out the mess.

Then I remembered Sannake's saturation method. I poured some melange/Bickford mix into a small candle holder, and dropped in the spent cartridge core. It absorbed the liquid. I shoved it back into the tube using a nail and am happy to report it "smokes" pretty well. No vapor, of course. Just gaseous nicotine. But it tastes great, since there's just enough Bickford in the 24mg fluid to give it a Kahlua hit.

I also use a spent e-cigar cartridge in much this way. Replacement e-cigar cartridges come in screw-on plastic containers connected to a mouthpiece. What a shame to throw those away. So I drilled a small hole in the tip of the plastic container farthest from the mouthpiece and put vanilla flavored e-liquid in the cartridge itself. Draw on it just as if the e-cigar were attached.

I have no idea how much nicotine comes with each inhalation, and I don't care. This tastes great and gives me a "cigarette" to use with my hands in any situation where vapor is not welcome, or for just a break. The vanilla taste is sensational and I have yet to duplicate that with any e-liquid's vapor.