And now the vape................ That's WTA!
Conclusion: Mineral Oil/Sodium Carbonate can pull 12 mg of alkaloids out of a gram of NAS tobacco... just like my more complicated procedure.
What is the implication of this? Is this "just" a question of the purity? If so, then is purity defined as "the amount of non-alkaloids present" or "the amount of contaminants introduced during the process" (or both...in which case, which is your primary concern) ??
The most dangerous aspect of my WTA extraction is avoided in Tceight's procedure, so I think we've reached the point where I can start to tell folks how to get the WTA's produced by Tceight's procedure purified. In order to achieve purification of tobacco alkaloids, we'll have to leave the kitchen chemistry behind, and start to deal with strong acids and bases (but at fairly dilute levels). A bit of equipment will be needed as well. The single greatest hazard here will be the fact that the alkaloids will be purified and isolated prior to mixing down into e-liquid. Stay tuned.
(See my comment above.)
It's nice also that we can begin setting a kind of benchmark. Most people would rather purchase WTA than make it, but the fact that it can be made means there's a limit to what peple would be willing to pay in terms of fair mark-up.
Interesting observation about a side-benefit. Seems analogous to the small subset of analog consumers that chose the RYO approach vs. the other 99% (swag) that paid a premium for convenience. I say "chose," because I'm under the impression that the cigarette companies lined the pockets of governments (the senior partners in the tobacco industry) to impose stunningly large tax increases on RYO tobacco.
"If at first you succeed, check your work."
This is a great quote. Its new to me, and I'm going to plagiarize.
By chemists I meant you and tceight
I don't even remotely resemble that remark! I'm still in kindergarten with this stuff. :-S
Then you are getting an honorary degree, tceight. Why? Because what have the cigarette company chemists accomplished? Instead of funding R&D, the cigarette companies spend mind-blowing sums annually on attorneys and lobbying/bribing government officials.
So ....... the credentials. Results are everything. The people here are accomplishing more in their homes than the cigarette companies' best scientists. Despite the fact that this is their one chance to partially redeem themselves, the cigarette companies instead choose yet again to lean on governments to suppress the threat to their lethal partnership.
One aspect of safety that I've come back to on several occasions is the often heard, "I'll be safe!". The trouble is, being safe can sometimes involve knowledge and experience. More properly, "I'll be safe" too often simply means, "I'll be careful!". Careful and safe are not equivalent. One can be extremely careful, but a failure to appreciate a critical aspect or two can render one extremely unsafe.
This
is a great piece of wisdom.
My take on the WTA has always been a bit different in that I'm not so focussed on the end product being technically WTA and only A, but on being able to get rid of the other stuff that is likely to gum up the atomiser (and ash on the heater coil). Boils down to a similar need purity in the end but I've never wanted to go the lab route and who would - we're not talking psychadellics or something people would go crazy for, just a better vape (there's always a perfectly legal option of smoking an analog afterall).
Now, it would be great if we could find a way to achieve a WTA that was pure and a match for any commercially produced equivalent. We may or may not be able to achieve that, but we can get close enough I think..
DVap has seemed obsessed with the perfect, but is perhaps coming to terms with the fact that people need a choice between the very good (i.e., a relatively-simple, safe-to-prepare homemade WTA) and the analogs they will otherwise consume.
Stress is the silent killer in the modern world (cortisol etc), and a big part of why people smoke. And that stress-reducing quality of WTA is what makes it special.
I've forgotten the anchor point now; post anyway.
I'll take a stab at your point.... wta, and even smoking itself, could prove more healthy than living in a state of elevated stress. WTA reduces the negative health consequences associated with smoking and maintains the neuroprotective qualities.
oh, and I bet you wanted to include something about 'not relying on big pharma for your antidepressants.' ;-)
Good guess, I'll bet, tceight.
To your point, no one is arguing that analog consumption is harmless, but have you thought about how the decline in smoking rates has been inversely correlated with the rate of a multitude of health issues?
, you'll know what I'm talking about.....)
