Am I Using (much) More Nicotine Now than Before I Quit Cigarettes!?

[jpharr]

I was a pack a day guy just a couple years ago. I started off vaping 2ml a day of 24mg/ml juice. 2 years later it is more like 5 ml/day of the 24mg/ml juice.... am I actually absorbing all 120 mg per day into my blood stream? . I know a pack a day is around 20 mg. I don't feel like a 6 PAD smoker nicotine wise. Of course not (right?), that would be insane.

Some say vaping is a (much) less effective as a nicotine delivery system, others say it isn't. Others say the MAIO's or other chemicals in combination with the nicotine that I'm not putting in my body anymore is the reason I don't feel like I've been poisoned.

I don't really care if I'm getting less nicotine or if I'm getting it less quickly. My point is are my nicotine levels equivalent to a 6 PAD smoker a 5 or a 4 or a 3 (that couldn't be good). I am concerned about the cardiovascular effects this may have. For many people 5 ml / day isn't out of the ordinary. Obviously I can drop to No nic if I'm so concerned, that each person's prerogative. I know there is a lot of info in the forum on this already; this forum is so expansive it is difficult to take it all in.

Don't get me wrong, I am a truly an E-cigarette proponent....I love vaping and it has done myself and countless world of good. I just feel like this question worth asking.

 

[zoiDman]

Cigarettes Nicotine amount is rated as what the Average Person Absorbs into their body when they smoke 1 Cigarette. Whereas e-Liquids Nicotine amount is rated as the Total Amount of Nicotine in 1 Milliliter.

So you Can’t directly compare the Two because of the Difference of Units.

 

[r77r7r]

If you don't need 24 to stay off cigs, and you're concerned about your health, then drop it down. There are many of us at 12mg or less.
I think if it was more than your body could tolerate, your body would let you know.
I smoked 1-1/5 PAD of Lights and started like you at 24 and went to 18 right away. As my ML intake went up, I took my levels down to 12 or less.
I found that I needed the vapor and hand to mouth thing much more than the nic.

 

[jpharr]

When I dropped the nic level of my juices in the past, I noticed I compensated by vaping more juice in a given amount of time to avoid feeling anxious. I remember having to make a concious effort to resist the urge to take additional vapes.

My tolerance for nicotine has apparently increased from my earlier days as a vapor. At this rate I could see myself going thru 6ml/day in the near future. I don't know how much of the 120 mg of nic/day I am actually absorbing. Hopefully it is less than 30%. Has anybody taken a blood test recently that could extrapolate a rough figure on a possible absorbtion %?

 

[subversive]

1. Take a deep breath.
2. Vape.

I can't tell you for sure, but I would say you are getting about the same amount of nicotine as you did when you were smoking, if it's correct that we absorb 1/5 of the nic in our e-liquid.

There is a study that showed experienced vapers reached equivalent blood nicotine levels as smokers. It's in the Media and General News subforum. That doesn't prove much beyond that we get nicotine, but these individuals were self-dosing like all of us and were using a range of nic levels. The body knows. Your juice delivery method can also make ml per day go up. Dripping is going to use less liquid than a LR carto, for instance. There is no way you are absorbing 100% of the nic. No nicotine product out there allows for 100% absorption. Vapor molecules are too large for the nic to pass through the lungs, meaning that our absorption is coming solely through our mouths and noses.

Of course, I am not a scientist or doctor. I just don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

[MiamiMom63]

I smoked for 30 yrs and had withdrawals vaping at 16 mgs. But was still satisfied cause I loved the flavor. I don't think 24 is worse than smoking but maybe you should think about cutting down by 2 mg slowly that way. That's what I did and never noticed a difference. I suffer from high blood pressure so I had to work on it. I'm finally down to 8 mg and still enjoying it like it was 16.

 

[Faylool]

Your vaping very little nic 24 mg 5 ml a day. Same as maybe a pack a day IMHO. No way to crunch numbers on this. I do it plus snus and nasal snuff with no I'll effects except once I vaped like I usually do on my new RBA and learned the hard way ( nausea) that RBAs deliver more of the goods at a time. Now some people would be sensitive to my amount but by all my reading my amount is average.
I definitely hardly drink caffeine anymore though!

 

[jpharr]

If is just 1 pad's worth of nicotine that doesn't bother me. Of course cutting down a little on nic can't hurt. I'm having no real adverse side effects that I know of at this point. I just didn't want to find out that my wife and I have been blindly vaping the equivalent of 4 packs a day or something crazy like that.

 

[Txrider]

If is just 1 pad's worth of nicotine that doesn't bother me. Of course cutting down a little on nic can't hurt. I'm having no real adverse side effects that I know of at this point. I just didn't want to find out that my wife and I have been blindly vaping the equivalent of 4 packs a day or something crazy like that.

I started on 36mg juice and definitely got quite a bit more nicotine vaping then I did smoking.

As a 53 year old 40 year smoker I know when I have too much. It is a lot cleaner feeling than chain smoking too many cigs in a row though, and also as someone who has experimented with every mind altering drug out there, though no addictions to any of them, I know I'm getting tweaked up pretty good when it happens. It reminds me of a coke or .... high right along with associated mild desire to stay at that level, the same kind of effect just nowhere near as compulsive or compelling as coke or .... and the sedative effect of high nic dosage keeps a lid on it.

I didn't and don't mind though, it was the reason after 40 years I never even thought about lighting up a cig after I started vaping. I am on 24mg now, and tend to still chain vape at times and get all tweaked out and high on nicotine. I will very soon cut back to probably 12-16mg and eventually over the next few years lower it down to a very low level or wean off of it altogether. It's what I like about vaping, I can dose myself initially to kill cigarette cravings dead in their tracks, and then cut back at my own pace. As well the cleaner nicotine in the ecig seems to be far less addictive, at least to me, than cigarettes were. I don't feel the cravings I used to feel when not vaping for a while as I did when not smoking for a while, much less intense.

The symptoms of nic overdose or rather high nicotine dose are listed in the forums elsewhere and are accurate, if you aren't feeling them I wouldn't worry, just remember your tolerance will be raised with consistent higher dosages so a high nic level now that would bring on those symptoms would not if you build up a higher tolerance.

 

[MiamiMom63]

My sign of getting over nic'd have been slight nausea. It's happened after a long while at work not vaping and then I vaped alot. But I mainly use 8 mg nic now. From what I've seen also from friends that Vape, it's mostly a slight nausea.

 

[MiamiMom63]

All I know is I smoked about one to one and a half packs of cigs a day, ultra lights, and started vaping at 16 mgs nic and had withdrawals. Vaped all day my first day and had my last cig that night and got high from it. If that gives you some perspective maybe.

 

[Kurt]

Nicotine is about as harmful as caffeine. Even the FDA and medical community are rethinking this. I agree with the others, if you feel about the same as you did while smoking, disregarding the carbon monoxide high, than you are probably taking in about the same amount. All depends on how you vape, the power/voltage, etc. Cannot be easily quantitated, and the fact is, if you can see visible vapor on the exhale, then you are not absorbing all you are vaporizing. 24 mg is generally considered on the medium to high side, but some chain vape 36 mg without issues. Some start to get sick at 12 mg and need lower. Vape what you need and can stay comfortable with, it will do you little harm if any. I vape at 6-12 mg usually, but I need higher nic when waking up, so I do that. Vaping that throughout the day will agitate me too much, and I am rarely above 6 mg before going to bed.

Should you do this too? Only if it works for you, and only you would know that. Nic is cheap and virtually harmless, so vape what you want, and over time, as in months or longer, you may find you want to cut back. In the first few months, it is generally better to be liberal. If you feel sickly, anxious, shakey, its probably best to cut back, but it doesn't sound like this is happening, so I think you are good!

vape on!

 

[Bullsonparade728]

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=407590

This thread may have some information that could interest you. The amount of nicotine released in a vapor is much lower than that of cigarette smoke. By a considerable amount according to the numbers posted in the thread. There is also a link to back up these statements.