anyone else have shortness of breath?

[Fernand]

I think that with FlavourArts taking the step of labeling some of its flavors as unsuitable for vaping, we're over the crest, and now we just have to gently push so that juice vendors either similarly label juices that contain "unsuitable for vaping" flavors, or not use them. We have won the main battle, so let's not bury our heads in the sand and waste this opportunity to improve the safety of our beloved vaping.

 

[b3ast1e]

Right on the money.

It seems that vendors stand or fall on the professed quality of their e-liquid, they go to great lengths to show lab analysis reports on their sites, but those reports do not appear to be testing the flavourings being so enthusiastically added by them and us, only the base liquids.

My big personal caution with vaping has always been primarily the flavourings - it's all very well these manufacturers and their resellers saying "it's okay, all flavour concentrates are used all the time in food consumed by you every day", but then the obvious response to that is, is there any history of them being inhaled and what do the lab reports say about the flavour concentrates themselves? I'm late to the party here and I'm not a chemistry grad, but what I'm sensing is that there's something of a gaping blind spot in this area. I hope someone can say otherwise with some confidence?

 

[JamesGang]

This is the problem.

I've noticed what Axel is talking about.

The problem is nobody really knows what these flavorings/chemicals do to the lungs when inhaled directly and over the long term.

The only reason anybody knows about Diacetyl is because it was being used in popcorn flavoring and somebody just happened to inhale it regularly. There are many chemicals capable of having similar effects, and no one can tell you for sure which ones will have this effect, or which ones wont. There is just very little research to be found in this area.

Bronchiolitis obliterans - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I mean think about it. Smoke juice makers are using flavorings intended for ingestion into the digestive tract. Not the lungs. And Diacetyl is perfectly acceptable for ingestion into the digestive tract. It's only when it's inhaled does it cause problems. And problems they are. How about irreversible lung disease.

 

[JamesGang]

I think that with FlavourArts taking the step of labeling some of its flavors as unsuitable for vaping, we're over the crest, and now we just have to gently push so that juice vendors either similarly label juices that contain "unsuitable for vaping" flavors, or not use them. We have won the main battle, so let's not bury our heads in the sand and waste this opportunity to improve the safety of our beloved vaping.

Nobody can tell you what's suitable, and what isn't. Because nobody knows.

Currently, the state of affairs appears to be that vapers are the guinea pigs for the vaping market.

Again, smoke juice makers are using flavoring chemicals that are approved as food additives/flavorings. Nobody knows what the effects are of inhaling vapor from these chemicals over the long term, nor has such use or its effects on the lungs been studied.

Of course the possible implications from all of this aren't too difficult to imagine.

 

[juicejunky]

I wonder if it makes a difference if the vegetable glycerine is made from palm or coconut oil. They don't seem to label which they use in health stores, just that is could be either.

 

[chad]

People rarely say how much they have been vaping when reporting these kinds of issues. I really wish someone would say something like: I have X problem and I vape a full cart every two hours. Or something to that effect. In any case, it would be easier to compare notes.

Personally I haven't experienced what the OP reported but I only vape two or three times a day...

I think some people run non-stop and wonder why they have sore throats, shortness of breath, stuffy noses, etc... Moderation in all things.

 

[thall12]

I notice that I am short of breath however just a 2 month period after quitting regular cigs will not improve my lung function much after smoking analogs for 24 years or so.

I do know that I do not get that cigarette hangover anymore and I do not have congestion and constant dark phlegm that I used to. I also do not cough like I used to. To have those side effects gone are wonderful.

 

[Jamiestevenage]

i vape but im sick of people stating in support of vaping 'nobody knows the effects of vaping', and give it the benefit of the doubt, or blame problems on an historical smoking habit.

i think the evidence is here, increasingly all over the internet in fact, it messes your lungs up and gives you a shortness of breath in many cases, it seems to affect the skin also, dark circles under the eyes, just look at the vapers on youtube, most of them look a right state...

you may enjoy it, but do not blindly vape away thinking its healthy, it is far from it, maybe its better than smoking, i have friends whos breathing was better when smoking than vaping, breathing is noticably shorter when vaping they have found.

i know people who have vaped low nic or no nic without having ever smoked, and had shortness of breath, the blame here cannot be a previous smoking habit.

i think vaping is less likely to cause cancer because of the lack of smoke, but i wouldnt be surprised if all that vapour on the lungs is making holes and clogging them up..

you wont like the sound of it because you enjoy vaping, just like when you heard the cancer stories about smoking and brushed them aside...a typical addicts reaction, i believe a report will prove me right sooner or later...its not a nice thing to hear, but too many people have too many adverse reactions to vaping for it to be deemed safe, if evidence is showing anything , it is that vaping is in fact dangerous..

watch the vape backlash below,

 

[JChamp]

It scares me reading through this thread.

Why would this scare you?

Because a handful of the 88,000+ members of this forum have experienced problems that cannot yet be directly attributed to vaping?

I have read this entire thread and have noticed only about 20 people have expressed problems. Many of which have either attributed it to prior habit/illnesses, pinpointed a potential cause (VG, PG, specific flavors, etc) or are waiting to hear from their docs. Hell, even if that number of complainants were at 200, that is only 0.2% of this particular forum population and even less significant when compared to the vaping community as a whole. This with the realization that people are much more likely to publicly complain of problems than sing of happiness.

Let's be real here. It's all a matter of perspective and, knowing that each and every activity known to mankind will have a certain percentage of the participants that struggles with it, I see absolutely no cause for alarm at that number.

We really must stop assuming worse case scenario simply because we read or hear stories in a concentrated format. It does not an epidemic make.

 

[DTB1]

I was a smoker for 25 years ,about 2 pad before quitting a month ago. I started vaping with just a Tobacco flavor and a Grape flavor. I liked it so much I ordered the stuff to DIY my own e liquid. I started out on PG only and then started adding VG to get a little more vapor from it. I then started to make more fruit flavors because I just don't think I would like vaping a cake, pie, candy bar, etc. I mixed my fruit flavors at 15-20% so I could get a stonger taste to them while my Tobacco was only a couple of drops of flavoring or it was way to overpowering.

About a week ago I started having a tightness or shortness of breath sometimes after I had vaped for most of the day. I started drinking more and it did not help. I thought maybe it was adding some VG to my mixes so I made some PG only and still the same thing. I vape maybe 3 or 4 flavors a day switching as I want another flavor,But had reduced the Tobacco flavor to usually just a first thing in morning vape.

Since I started having breathing problems I cut back on my vaping,which made the breathing better. I then decided to only vape 1 flavor for a day to see if it was just a certain flavor causing my problems. I vaped my fruit flavors first and all caused about the same amount of breathing problems for me. After the day of vaping only Tobacco flavor I did not have any breathing problems.

I attribute me vaping the heavily concentrated fruit flavors in my e liquid to causing my problems. I guess what I am trying to say is I was adding too much flavoring so I could get strong taste from it and the flavoring was the problem and not the PG or VG.
Remember only a small amount of Tobacco flavoring is generally used and usually 15-20% or more for other flavors is used.
I have reduced my percent of fruit flavors to around 5% to see if it helps with my problem and no I do not get much flavor when vaping only just a hint of it ,but this has reduced my breathing difficulties. It is sort of like when you woud smoke a flavored little cigar you would ony get a hint of the flavor with it.

As we try to determine was is causing various different problems from vaping I would look at flavoring as a possible contributor to it.

 

[BonesK98K]

I have been vaping since october. I have COPD, very early stage emphysema was diagnosed last year but told I would be ok if I quit smoking, I did. Thought I would vape for a bit on the weekends with drinks when I found out about it. Developed a wheeze right after vaping. Short of breath and coughing like crazy. Stopped vaping last weekend, and getting better.

Unfortunately it looks like I am going to have to give this one up too. Atleast for me, I have confirmed inflamation more likely from the flavors. I vaped both VG PG and mix, and experience it with both.

I thought I could cheat with vape, unfortunately I was wrong. I guess its ok for some, but for me it has made things worse.

Going back to the nicorette inhaler with drinks on the weekends, my friend is going to get my stockpile of cartos. I realize I can try a bunch of different juices, models, clearos, drinking water etc ... But I am no longer giving it the benefit of the doubt and walking away for my health

 

[W Axl Rose]

Bones, our stories are very similar. I pretty much went through your exact same story. (without the nicorette inhaler though). I would urge you to consider swedish snus (different from american 'chew' -no spitting, considered very very safe). That has been my salvation. I know without swedish snus, I would be back to smoking and bungling up my lungs even further.

W.

 

[BonesK98K]

Pretty similar indeed. Thanks, but I think I will be ok without the snus ... I have nicotine mints that do me nicely when not using the inhaler, the thing about the inhaler is that most of it is absorbed in the mouth and throat and very little gets into the lungs (~5%), and sure does the trick after a few drinks

Staying away from cigarettes is one thing alltogether, finally kicking the nicotine will take a few years I figure.

 

[BonesK98K]

edited double post, weird cuz I didnt press the button twice ...

 

[four2109]

I wish you the best Bones.

 

[BonesK98K]

I wish you the best Bones.

Thanks, its all good

 

[kdwycha]

I have lately had shortness of breath too :-( I started vaping Dekang 100% pg and had no issues. Past 3 weeks I changed juices to 60pg/40vg then 100% vg and noticed the shortness of breath.

I tend to think it has to do with the vg. I just loaded a fresh smoktec mega dual coil cartomizer with some dekang 100% pg triple menthol and think I will lay off the vg for a few days and see what happens.

If things clear up I think I will buy nothing but dekang pg juices because who knows whats in the rest of this stuff.

 

[JamesGang]

What are Flavorings?

Flavorings are often complex mixtures of natural and manmade substances. The Food and Drug Administration evaluates flavoring ingredients to determine whether they are "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) to be eaten. Even if they are safe to eat, these ingredients might still be harmful to breathe in the forms and amounts to which food and chemical industry workers may be exposed. Given the complexity of flavorings mixtures, and the lack of health data for many of the component materials, identifying the relative contributions of individual substances to causing flavoring-induced lung disease is a difficult challenge. As noted in the NIOSH Alert: Preventing Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings, the flavorings industry has estimated that over a thousand flavoring ingredients have the potential to be respiratory hazards due to possible volatility and irritant properties (alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones, aliphatic aldehydes, aliphatic carboxylic acids, aliphatic amines, and aliphatic aromatic thiols and sulfides).

CDC - Flavorings-Related Lung Disease: Exposures to Flavoring Chemicals - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic

 

[kelvin2012]

I have been noticed shortness of breath during eliquid mixed VG after 3 month vaping May be i have an allergy with VG

 

[thewomenfolk]

Just a bump for an insightful thread.