Nicotine measurements

[Kate]

I think hiccups occur mainly when nicotine is swallowed, not inhaled.

What treatment would you expect for nicotine overdose? If you think the doctors were wrong with their diagnosis in the three cases I've read about (that don't include panic attacks) what could they have done apart from advising to lay off stimulants?

[Frankie]

I believe at least one was diagnosed as OD ("nicotine poisoning" to be precise) by real life doctors who actually examined him, so I would simply disregard aby "diagnosis" made by somebody just reading about him in a Web forum.

[TropicalBob]

I haven't visited this thread in awhile, so some points on previous posts: No, I don't inhale pipe smoke. Never have. It's my lungs I'm trying to protect now by e-smoking. The rest of my body will have to fend for itself for awhile while I deal with smoking withdrawal.

As for nicotine figures ... take your pick. Dr. Laugesen's figures are evolving, to put it kindly. At first, it was half the nicotine of a cigarette puff. Then it was one-fifth. In his latest post to the Australians, he says it is 9% as strong as a cigarette.

I tend more to the latter figure. As noted before, however, I don't depend on e-cigs alone. I've always got a snus in place, Toekuttr (good to see you back here from the snuson.com forum), or a Stonewall. I LIVE for my pipe times. I just feel NOTHING from e-smoking alone. But I like the habit replacement and great taste of the vapor. I'm now addicted to e-cigs.

BTW: I always look for home cotinine tests when I visit the drugstore. Lots of marijauna, ......., meth, etc, but no cotinine tests yet. As soon as I see one, I'll buy it. And, yes, it can measure quantity, as well as presence. I want to know the quantity, since my daily nicotine total is impossible to measure any other way.

[Kate]

I found this test which can give an idea of whether someone is a 'heavy or light smoker', not very accurate sounding but better than positive or negative alone - Smokescreen (Urine) - Drug testing kits, alcohol tests, cotinine, nicotine and hair drug tests, drug hair tests for 3 months, cost effective on-line hair tests for drugs, urinalysis sticks at discount prices, alcohol screening and alcohol tests

[toekuttr]

I take it you didn't click on the links I posted Kate containing tests that quantify in six different levels. I think this could result in some pretty useful info compared to a two step test. The single test kit is under $20 and there's discounts for quantity.

The more testing done the closer the e-cig comes to the results obtained by Big Pharma with their inhalation devices at 20% efficiency. I posted long ago wondering how bathtub-science could be expected to be 5x more efficient than Big Pharma.

Hey TBob, how's it going with the snus, any luck in cutting down or quitting? Unfortunately I bet quitting that will prove difficult due to the high amounts of nicotine snus delivers.

The link with the 6 level cotinine tests for under $20 in case you missed it; NicAlert - Quantitative Instant Saliva Professional Nicotine Test + Second Hand Smoke

[Kate]

Maybe we could persuade a researcher or doctor to carry out some tests for us.

No trials have been conducted on people so we only have anecdotal evidence, maths and Dr Laugesen's changing lab test results to go by.

[Myk]

I think hiccups occur mainly when nicotine is swallowed, not inhaled.

What treatment would you expect for nicotine overdose? If you think the doctors were wrong with their diagnosis in the three cases I've read about (that don't include panic attacks) what could they have done apart from advising to lay off stimulants?

The first one (that I saw from a thread that you linked) said nothing about nicotine overdose from the doctor. That was the one where the guy was told to go home.
The second one also said nothing about nicotine overdose but was told to lay off nicotine.
In both of those instances the poster was encouraged to go to a doctor by other posters (including me because he was talking about heart problems). That encouragement fed the panic.
I haven't seen the third instance.

Do you think there is no treatment for nicotine poisoning??? So why encourage people to go to a doctor?
Diazepam and barbituates are one treatment. Atropine is another. Both of those would be useful for any type of ingestion.

Hiccups are a spasm of the diaphram, they do not require swallowing nicotine. The same person who made that claim claimed that pipe smokers don't get them and I know that is false.
If they were from swallowing you would be swallowing just as much from vaping as from pipe smoking.

I've never got the hiccups from chewing. When I've swallowed all I did was puke.

[Kate]

You make a lot of assumptions Myk, you don't even know which cases of overdose I'm thinking of.

I don't think there is much that can be done in severe overdose cases apart from maintaining breathing and cardiac function.

Your own experience doesn't account for the range of everyone elses here, your theories are no better. If someone says they have been diagnosed as having taken a nicotine overdose by a doctor why do you think they would lie?

[TropicalBob]

With pressure on smokers ratcheting up from employers, I expect to see home cotinine test kits in my drugstores soon. I don't want to order from the Intenet, since I had my identity, credit card number, etc., stolen when I placed an online order with a Canadian company. That sucks. I'll buy a kit locally when I see one.

I have no desire to quit snus now. Love them. And Stonewall. They keep me sane while I reach for e-liquids and run to the battery charger.

[GabbyD]

I'd buy a kit locally too, if it was cheap enough. I'm curious. I have some smoking friends I could get to do it for comparison. Not a big study with a control group, but I'm curious enough to spend a few bucks.

As for me, the couple of times I felt like I must have overdone it with the nicotine, I didn't get a headache. And I suffer from panic attacks but it wasn't at all like that either. It's hard to really put into words, but believe me I can tell the difference. I wasn't reaching for the xanax bottle when it happened. It felt nothing like that. My husband (who I hadn't told about it) even remarked a little while later that my hands were shaking. So, who knows, but I did start paying more attention to how much I was vaping. It's fun and I like it and I can do it inside and it's easy to sit here watching TV or playing on the computer and just keep puffing without realizing it. There's no "end" like with a cigarette.