Red Flag Going Up: Vaping and Oils

[AlmightyGod]

I am one who thinks vaping, in general, is much safer than smoking. With that said, I also think there are liquids which can be "more hazardous" to your health than others. To deny this possibility is to deny common sense. Just because you haven't had any negative health effects from vaping oil based flavorings, doesn't mean you won't. vaping is still in it's infancy & there are many unknowns. I don't vape any of the flavors listed in the above posts, not because of health concerns, but as a matter of taste. I would think that if you can find a satisfactory vape from a non-oil based flavor, you may be better off, until more IS known about how the lungs process these flavorings.

 

[Zal42]

Because every time i walk into one of these threads where some kind of 'concern' is raised its the same handful of professional vapers that will say how bad regular cigarettes were and how vaping is perfectly safe.

Which is odd because I've don't think I've ever heard anyone, let alone the "old-timers" here, say that vaping is perfectly safe.

 

[joegti240]

Which is odd because I've don't think I've ever heard anyone, let alone the "old-timers" here, say that vaping is perfectly safe.

You must not be reading all postings. Just the other day there was one of these threads in this very forum with someone stating 'vaping is as safe as sitting in a sauna'. Go search that phrase in the search feature here, you'll find it.

People are excited to finally find something that let them kick butts to the curb finally, i share their excitement...but trying to sound like some sort of medical expert? Nah.

Do i think vaping is safer than smoking? Yes i do.

Do i think vaping is completely safe? No i do not.

 

[CapableVapable]

You must not be reading all postings. Just the other day there was one of these threads in this very forum with someone stating 'vaping is as safe as sitting in a sauna'. Go search that phrase in the search feature here, you'll find it.

People are excited to finally find something that let them kick butts to the curb finally, i share their excitement...but trying to sound like some sort of medical expert? Nah.

Do i think vaping is safer than smoking? Yes i do.

Do i think vaping is completely safe? No i do not.

I guess you have to take into consideration that the site is comprised almost entirely by ex and current smokers. People who have had a lifetime of practice when it comes to justifying their bad habits.

 

[Zal42]

You must not be reading all postings. Just the other day there was one of these threads in this very forum with someone stating 'vaping is as safe as sitting in a sauna'. Go search that phrase in the search feature here, you'll find it.

I did, and I did. Here it is.

But I think that you're misrepresenting the statement. She wasn't making a general health claim that vaping is harmless. She was answering a specific concern about whether the vapor itself, combined with nicotine, makes it more harmful than smoking, by opening up pores or somesuch. Her response was that it was no more harmful than sitting in a sauna in those terms, which is true, if a bad analogy.

Also, the post immediately following hers reiterated that vaping isn't harmless, but simply less harmful than cigarettes.

Do i think vaping is safer than smoking? Yes i do.

Do i think vaping is completely safe? No i do not.

On this you, I, and the vast majority of sentiment expressed on this board agree.

 

[Raynen]

To make it clear of my view in vaping in general, I think it's a safer ALTERNATIVE to smoking, but not a completely safe habit.

To stay on the topic of OIL-based flavorings... What companies offer non oil-based liquids? I use Vaporbomb as my main e-liquid source (and they use Flavour Art).

Edit: Thank you, everyone, for the input. I don't want to cause a battle, I am more curious/concerned than anything else.

 

[Raynen]

As is explained in those links I put up, when you talk about oils you have to distinguish between fixed oils and essential oils. The former includes fats like sunflower oil. The latter being very potent, distinct tasting and smelling natural oils that are used as "building blocks" in many flavourings. Flavourings that are "oil based" (meaning the flavouring is dissolved in a base of fixed oil) should never, ever be used in e-liquid. I'm not sure there is any reason to avoid flavourings that contain essential oils in e-liquid though. I think that would severely limit your choices as so many flavourings do contain essential oils.

Using "oil based" flavourings in e-cigs is bad because the oil base does not readily vaporise. It will just burn in the atomizer.

I do see your point. At first I panicked, but I think it was because I watched the video and was very tired. They never stated what company the e-cig, juice, and other supplies were from in the first place, which was quite unnerving.

 

[Moonflame]

I KNOW that my choices are between smoking and vaping. Doing neither is NOT an option for me. The research that I did showed me that vaping is way less harmful than smoking. We make choices like this about most things in our lives. Not getting in a car is safer than driving or riding in a car, however it is something most of us can't avoid so we do it in the safest manner possible. Eating all healthy foods is the best thing, however I like a good steak or burger and will eat them occasionally, and when I do I eat them rare, knowing and accepting the risk. Our entire lives are spent weighing and deciding what risks we are willing to take and which are too risky to make them worthwhile.

 

[StormFinch]

I for one will avoid oil based flavorings. Always have in fact, but especially since this unfortunate death of a vaper.

I also try to avoid juice with artificial colors (who thinks that's a good idea??)

Okay, let's clarify this. The man wasn't a vaper when he died. According to the reporter that contacted ECITA, he vaped for 9 months at most, smoked for decades before that and died a month or two after quitting e-cigs. The oily residue in his lungs wasn't investigated, and the official cause of death was interstitial lung disease, not lipoid pneumonia like some would like you to believe. He also had emphysema and thickening of the arteries. The doctor raising such a stink about all of this wasn't the coroner and also happens to be one of those crusaders that believes we should be wrapped in cotton and protected from ourselves.

Plain and simple, e-cigs are safER than smoking, might be safer than walking or jogging near a busy city street, but certainly aren't safer than inhaling clean, unadulterated air if you can find any. Because I personally choose to continue to use nicotine though, I'll take the unknown possibility over the proven garbage any day. Yes, I watch what's in my ejuice, I DIY my own, but I feel safe enough to continue to vape.

 

[sjrily]

As is explained in those links I put up, when you talk about oils you have to distinguish between fixed oils and essential oils. The former includes fats like sunflower oil. The latter being very potent, distinct tasting and smelling natural oils that are used as "building blocks" in many flavourings. Flavourings that are "oil based" (meaning the flavouring is dissolved in a base of fixed oil) should never, ever be used in e-liquid. I'm not sure there is any reason to avoid flavourings that contain essential oils in e-liquid though. I think that would severely limit your choices as so many flavourings do contain essential oils.

Using "oil based" flavourings in e-cigs is bad because the oil base does not readily vaporise. It will just burn in the atomizer.

Exactly! There's a misunderstanding that essential oils are lipids or fats. They are not (generally). The term "oil" is often used for anything that does not readily mix with water, regardless of it's chemical make-up. Essential oils don't mix with water because they are "hydrophobic" (seriously) liquids. They're made up mostly of alcohols, esters, terpens and ketones, and are best diluted in solvents like vegetable oils, PG or ethanol.

I'm not saying all essential oils are safe - they are not. No more than all plants are safe. And even some "safe" plants and essential oils can be dangerous for some people. Rosemary EO can encourage seizers in epileptics (though it's rare), and certain nuts can break someone else out in hives.

But consider for a minute that the preferred method of aromatherapy is inhalation - direct is OK, but the most effective method is with a nebulizer (which breaks the liquid into microscopic particles to breath in via a mist). This is absolutely and perfectly safe. Aromatherapists and people who work with essential oils express so much caution because...you guessed it - the FDA. The UK is SO far ahead of us in recoginizing EOs for what they are - most of the rest of the world is too, for that matter - but that's a whole 'nother can of worms and I won't go there (now, anyway).

The difference inhaling EOs and vaping is that the liquid is not heated. Heating at high temperatures is known to destroy therapeutic effects, but not the aromatic. Whether some substances actually become toxic, I don't know, but I do know that people have been heating natural EOs for scent for centuries. I have no doubt essential oils are safe to inhale and provide numerous benefits, and there is no oily substance that collects in your lungs.

All that said, people having only casual knowledge about them should not be experimenting. Things that need to be considered are extraction methods, grade (pharmaceutical or industry), irritants, counteractions (they are nature's original drugs, and they can conflict with conditions and synthetic drugs, although it's rare), toxicity (sassafras, bitter almond, cinnamon bark [versus cinnamon leaf] among others can to toxic), dilution amounts and methods, etc.

A side note (for whichever side your on), most flavors are synthetic, in that you can't get them from essential oils because essential oils can't be extracted from them (economically or otherwise). Nearly all fruits, excluding citruses, are synthetic. So these are lab-made molecules bursting with artificial flavor and colors (though there may be essential oils from other plants in them as well). Personally, I trust what's found in nature more than I do anything made in a lab, but that's not the world we live in.