This question comes from my wife (who can't be bothered to make her own log-in due to being attached to her pacifier aka her MPV).
We had a discussion tonight about heavy metal toxicity. She has a fair bit of background in chemistry and pharmacology as a former pharmacy major, but she can't remember a darn bit of it. What is happening to the coils when they become weak and break down from over-heating? She thinks it is oxidation, which means that it is likely we are inhaling these heavy metals when the coils begin to wear out. The metals that are used in Kanthal and Nichrome are all pretty toxic when inhaled alone or as oxides in vapor... the question is how much is needed to get to a toxic level? A chart she found (Medscape: Medscape Access) shows pulmonary fibrosis and various other lungs issues as a result of long-term exposure. She plans on getting a blood level of these metals from her doctor after a few more months of vaping to see if any show up. Has anyone else done this to see what the results were?
It appears the least toxic heavy metal is silver. Has any one used silver to make their mod wires? Has anyone heard of any companies thinking of using silver wire (if possible) for coils for toxicity concerns? 75ft of 0.999 purity is only $47 or less. Not too bad really, but I'm sure there'd be a huge mark-up when it is mass-produced in tanks.
Also of concern is the material that makes up our wicks. It seems like microscopic fibers could easily get in the vapor which is bad, and it would make sense that microscopic cotton or silica fibers would do the same thing. What about putting mini-HEPA filters in commercial coils to prevent this issue as well? Anyone working on this stuff in the market? If they aren't, they should... gofundme.com here I come.
I know this is all about harm reduction, and certainly vaping is less harmful than smoking. But what can we do to ensure vaping is as harmless as possible? It seems prudent to investigate these possibilities instead of putting our collective head in the sand and thinking that this stuff isn't doing something to us in the long-term... it isn't like we just puff on our vapes once a day. It is an all day affair for most of us, and most of strive for more power and bigger clouds which further increase the risk for harm.
Where are our next-next-next generation manufacturers that will consider these options? Our supplies will get much more expensive, but then again, it would be worth it. We could finally tell our skeptical friends that we have done our due diligence and are making iti as least toxic as possible (flavorings aside, but I'm pretty convinced the PG and VG are okay).
We had a discussion tonight about heavy metal toxicity. She has a fair bit of background in chemistry and pharmacology as a former pharmacy major, but she can't remember a darn bit of it. What is happening to the coils when they become weak and break down from over-heating? She thinks it is oxidation, which means that it is likely we are inhaling these heavy metals when the coils begin to wear out. The metals that are used in Kanthal and Nichrome are all pretty toxic when inhaled alone or as oxides in vapor... the question is how much is needed to get to a toxic level? A chart she found (Medscape: Medscape Access) shows pulmonary fibrosis and various other lungs issues as a result of long-term exposure. She plans on getting a blood level of these metals from her doctor after a few more months of vaping to see if any show up. Has anyone else done this to see what the results were?
It appears the least toxic heavy metal is silver. Has any one used silver to make their mod wires? Has anyone heard of any companies thinking of using silver wire (if possible) for coils for toxicity concerns? 75ft of 0.999 purity is only $47 or less. Not too bad really, but I'm sure there'd be a huge mark-up when it is mass-produced in tanks.
Also of concern is the material that makes up our wicks. It seems like microscopic fibers could easily get in the vapor which is bad, and it would make sense that microscopic cotton or silica fibers would do the same thing. What about putting mini-HEPA filters in commercial coils to prevent this issue as well? Anyone working on this stuff in the market? If they aren't, they should... gofundme.com here I come.
I know this is all about harm reduction, and certainly vaping is less harmful than smoking. But what can we do to ensure vaping is as harmless as possible? It seems prudent to investigate these possibilities instead of putting our collective head in the sand and thinking that this stuff isn't doing something to us in the long-term... it isn't like we just puff on our vapes once a day. It is an all day affair for most of us, and most of strive for more power and bigger clouds which further increase the risk for harm.
Where are our next-next-next generation manufacturers that will consider these options? Our supplies will get much more expensive, but then again, it would be worth it. We could finally tell our skeptical friends that we have done our due diligence and are making iti as least toxic as possible (flavorings aside, but I'm pretty convinced the PG and VG are okay).
