Information on dangers/lethality of eliquid

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PD1

Full Member
Feb 9, 2011
5
0
England
Hi all,

Neebie here :oops:

I tried searching for topics relating to this question but couldn't find anything specific so hence the post.


Personally i dont vape but a few of my friends do and we got on the whole topic of how lethal the stuff - eliquid is and there started a whole new arguement between us.


From research and reading of other posts, there's no questioning how lethal pure nicotine is but what about eliquid?

As far as i understand the stuff you get in eliquid is not concentrated? i.e. not 100% pure nicotine - am i right?
Now lets take one of the strongest means available - 36mg/ml. if thats the case (nicotine is diluted) does anyone know the % of concentration of nicotine you get normally in a 36mg/ml?


Secondly, - and this is where it got really heated between us - My buddies said, given that the concentration of nicotine you actually get in an eliquid is so diluted, you wouldnt die even if you drank a whole 30ml bottle yet alone have a 4/5 drops in your mouth?! what do you guys think?:confused: Obviously they wernt stupid enough to try that theory in practice but the more i think about it the more it makes sense of the concentration of nicotine you get in an eliquid is in fact diluted? I read somewhere here that some members frequently get eliquid in their mouths as a result of putting to much into their containers - and nothing happend?

At the same time given everything i've read - surely you would die if you ingested a mouthful???

I would really be grateful for your input ladies and gents.
 

tigerlily

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Nov 6, 2010
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eliquids are indeed diluted so pose no real health issue if used as intended. This does not mean they should not be handled with care. Getting eliquid on your skin or even a bit in your mouth does not pose an immediately danger, but drinking a bottle of it would most likely make you sick and possibly lead to nicotine poisoning. For this reason, caution should be exercised by keeping the liquids out of the reach of children and pets.
 

mwa102464

Resting In Peace
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Oct 14, 2009
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You would have to ingest 50-60ml's of 100MG nicotine for it to be a lethal does in the human Body I believe. Almost Anything can be lethal if the human body takes in to much of it. I suggest the OP do a simple search on google about Nicotine and read for himself/herself instead of listening to what other people have to say in order to educate himself/herself.
 

DaveP

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May 22, 2010
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100 percent nicotine is a deadly poison. It will absorb through the skin and kill quickly. But, so will any dangerous chemical in concentrated form.

Vapers actually absorb less nicotine through vaping than they would smoking cigarettes. The rest of the E-liquid is relatively harmless ingredients. There's propylene glycol that is used in foods, medical preparations, and even soft drinks and sno-cone liquid that you buy to pour over ice chips. It's in your salad dressing, toothpaste, and many other products you buy. PG is used in breathing treatments in which patients breathe in the fog to deliver medicines to the lungs.

VG liquids used Vegetable Glycerin as a base. VG is similar to PG and is used in foods as a thickener and sweetener. It's also used in liquid soaps. Both PG and VG are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the FDA.

The other ingredients in E-liquids are flavorings that are used in foods and candy making. Water soluble flavors are considered safe to vape. Oil based flavorings are not. Oil is an enemy to lung tissues. The lungs can't expel oil. That's why oil based nose drops were outlawed decades ago.

When you consider that tobacco cigarettes contain 4000-7000 chemicals, many of which are detrimental or are carcinogens, the general line of thinking is that vaping is a much safer alternative to smoking. We all would like to see extensive testing to prove that. So far, the FDA has tested some E-liquids and only found a couple out of many that contained trace amounts of diethylene glycol in the mix. DG is not desirable and shouldn't be there. It was probably a contamination in the VG or PG that wasn't pure from a couple of sources. We would like that not to appear in our E-liquids. Trace amounts of carcinogens were also found in some E-liquids in amounts equal to that found in nicotine gums approved by the FDA for quit smoking products. Since the nicotine is extracted by the same process for both Ecigs and Nicotine Gum, that's normal. The carcinogens were thousands of times less than found in a tobacco cigarette and were trace by-products of the process.
 

crbrown

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 25, 2011
704
736
Kansas
100 percent nicotine is a deadly poison. It will absorb through the skin and kill quickly. But, so will any dangerous chemical in concentrated form.

Vapers actually absorb less nicotine through vaping than they would smoking cigarettes. The rest of the E-liquid is relatively harmless ingredients. There's propylene glycol that is used in foods, medical preparations, and even soft drinks and sno-cone liquid that you buy to pour over ice chips. It's in your salad dressing, toothpaste, and many other products you buy. PG is used in breathing treatments in which patients breathe in the fog to deliver medicines to the lungs.

VG liquids used Vegetable Glycerin as a base. VG is similar to PG and is used in foods as a thickener and sweetener. It's also used in liquid soaps. Both PG and VG are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the FDA.

The other ingredients in E-liquids are flavorings that are used in foods and candy making. Water soluble flavors are considered safe to vape. Oil based flavorings are not. Oil is an enemy to lung tissues. The lungs can't expel oil. That's why oil based nose drops were outlawed decades ago.

When you consider that tobacco cigarettes contain 4000-7000 chemicals, many of which are detrimental or are carcinogens, the general line of thinking is that vaping is a much safer alternative to smoking. We all would like to see extensive testing to prove that. So far, the FDA has tested some E-liquids and only found a couple out of many that contained trace amounts of diethylene glycol in the mix. DG is not desirable and shouldn't be there. It was probably a contamination in the VG or PG that wasn't pure from a couple of sources. We would like that not to appear in our E-liquids. Trace amounts of carcinogens were also found in some E-liquids in amounts equal to that found in nicotine gums approved by the FDA for quit smoking products. Since the nicotine is extracted by the same process for both Ecigs and Nicotine Gum, that's normal. The carcinogens were thousands of times less than found in a tobacco cigarette and were trace by-products of the process.

How do you know if the e-liquids have oil in them? I've been concerned about that but not sure which ones to avoid.
 

JamesGang

Full Member
Jan 30, 2011
53
6
S.C.
Hi all,

Neebie here :oops:

I tried searching for topics relating to this question but couldn't find anything specific so hence the post.


Personally i dont vape but a few of my friends do and we got on the whole topic of how lethal the stuff - eliquid is and there started a whole new arguement between us.


From research and reading of other posts, there's no questioning how lethal pure nicotine is but what about eliquid?

As far as i understand the stuff you get in eliquid is not concentrated? i.e. not 100% pure nicotine - am i right?

Yes.

Now lets take one of the strongest means available - 36mg/ml. if thats the case (nicotine is diluted) does anyone know the % of concentration of nicotine you get normally in a 36mg/ml?

3.6%

Clearly not all of this nicotine is aspirated or would be absorbed by the body. That doesn't mean one shouldn't take common sense precautions.

Secondly, - and this is where it got really heated between us - My buddies said, given that the concentration of nicotine you actually get in an eliquid is so diluted, you wouldnt die even if you drank a whole 30ml bottle yet alone have a 4/5 drops in your mouth?! what do you guys think?:confused: Obviously they wernt stupid enough to try that theory in practice but the more i think about it the more it makes sense of the concentration of nicotine you get in an eliquid is in fact diluted? I read somewhere here that some members frequently get eliquid in their mouths as a result of putting to much into their containers - and nothing happend?

I suspect this is true for an adult.

At the same time given everything i've read - surely you would die if you ingested a mouthful???

I suspect you would get sick from drinking an entire bottle, but doubtful an adult would die. Especially after they threw up most of the solution.

Don't believe everything you read. Clearly safe nicotine handling is important. Especially when pets and small children maybe around. How much is too much? Hard to say. But the risk from diluted e-juice in the course of normal handling is in my opinion minimal. This fact is born out by the millions of e-cig users currently using these devices. I haven't heard of one report of nicotine poisoning, and I think it's safe to assume that 'some' don't use the best practices of handling or using the liquid.

I've read studies that suggest the amount of nicotine delivered to the body in a e-cigarette drag is about 1/10 that of a smoked cigarette.

Nicotine like Caffeine is an alkaloid. Most of which can kill you if consumed in large quantities. So can plain water and sodium and most substances. I want you think seriously about that next time your drinking your V8. Potassium chloride is used for lethal injection. Sodium chloride (common table salt) can be used for the same purpose in the same concentration.

Therefore, I believe you are in error and should buy your buddies lunch.
 
Last edited:

mlinky

ECF Guru
ECF Veteran
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Nov 22, 2010
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I think it was more along the lines of settling a bar argument.

It's a legitimate question.

Why should one be offended?

Just because someone else chooses not to use e-cigarettes? Do you really need everybody in the entire world to validate your own personal choices?

Damn, where's Dr. Phil when you need him.
 

n2xe

Super Member
ECF Veteran
Jan 9, 2011
340
8
Owego, NY
They say there is no such thing as a stupid question. But there are a lot of inquisitive idiots...

Nicotine is not a problem. It has many beneficial qualities. Tobacco smoke, on the other hand, kills. I would suggest you encourage your vaping friends to stay away from the known killer rather than pester them with meaningless " what ifs".

Hi all,

Neebie here :oops:

I tried searching for topics relating to this question but couldn't find anything specific so hence the post.


Personally i dont vape but a few of my friends do and we got on the whole topic of how lethal the stuff - eliquid is and there started a whole new arguement between us.


From research and reading of other posts, there's no questioning how lethal pure nicotine is but what about eliquid?

As far as i understand the stuff you get in eliquid is not concentrated? i.e. not 100% pure nicotine - am i right?
Now lets take one of the strongest means available - 36mg/ml. if thats the case (nicotine is diluted) does anyone know the % of concentration of nicotine you get normally in a 36mg/ml?


Secondly, - and this is where it got really heated between us - My buddies said, given that the concentration of nicotine you actually get in an eliquid is so diluted, you wouldnt die even if you drank a whole 30ml bottle yet alone have a 4/5 drops in your mouth?! what do you guys think?:confused: Obviously they wernt stupid enough to try that theory in practice but the more i think about it the more it makes sense of the concentration of nicotine you get in an eliquid is in fact diluted? I read somewhere here that some members frequently get eliquid in their mouths as a result of putting to much into their containers - and nothing happend?

At the same time given everything i've read - surely you would die if you ingested a mouthful???

I would really be grateful for your input ladies and gents.
 
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