Do you "measure" vaping? Or how do you do it?

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robertpri

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We can easily count/measure booze, two, three drinks, four, whatever, and analogs, one pack a day, two, whatever, even cups of coffee and pills.

But how does one measure their daily vaping? There are times I reach for my 510, more from habit than desire. [years of reaching for analogs]

One site stated that a cart is about 15-20 analogs, another site said, no, it's more like 7-10 for typical user. But is this without topping off?

If either of those numbers are accurate, I am vaping way too much, but don't really understand how to measure it.

Or, since there are no chemicals or tobacco, does it really matter?
 

Hellen A. Handbasket

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Robert, I don't think it matters... what ever keeps you happy and off the coffin nails!

I vape all day unless very busy with a project. The PV is never far away! I just cut down the amount of nicotine. I have some very low mg menthol that is a great throat hit, but isn't buzzing me out. I alternate it with my normal coffee or tobacco flavor (all day stuff) that is 11-18mg. I'm happy, and I've been cig free for 9 months!
 
I think it depends if you're using pre-filled or refilled carts, dripping or some combination. I think most people "measure" based on how much liquid they're using. My usage went up when I started vaping at 5V, but its still less than 2 or 3mls/day... I've been mostly using 12mg juice, so I'm probably getting about as much nicotine as a "stage 1" patch.

Considering that there are more TSNA's in a single analog than an entire LITER of e-liquid, and I'm not going to concern myself over a few milliliters/day of PG/VG.
 

ProfessorDaffy

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Don't expect to get a single answer. A "cigarette" is as many puffs as you take to get through a cigarette. But take a longer drag and it burns faster. So you get less puffs. Everyone is differnt. I used to smoke a cigarette in under a minute, easy.

Vaping is the same. You'll see a lot of "mouthfuls". Whatever that means. A cartridge will last between 4-6 cigarettes. Or it won't. I like to vape 12mg. I could probably vape half as much if I used 24mg. But I like to vape. I vape probably twice as much as I smoked. Or should I say twice as long. I love a good long vape. I never smoked at the computer, now I vape constantly at the computer. I'm pausing now to vape... See.

There is only one way to "measure" your vaping and that's by how many milliliters of liquid you go through in a day. Might want to measure out 3ml in a bottle and vape ONLY from that bottle for a day. If your bottle is half empty or half full, it's a matter of opinion. I switch flavors so much I have no idea how much I vape. With cigarettes it was easy. About a pack a day. But some days I vaped a pack plus 5. Some days I didn't.

If you're satisfied that's all that matters. Just make sure you don't run out of juice.

--Prof Daffy
P.S. Yeah, I know. I raise more questions than I answer. It's my thing.
 
We can easily count/measure booze, two, three drinks, four, whatever, and analogs, one pack a day, two, whatever, even cups of coffee and pills.

But how does one measure their daily vaping? There are times I reach for my 510, more from habit than desire. [years of reaching for analogs]

One site stated that a cart is about 15-20 analogs, another site said, no, it's more like 7-10 for typical user. But is this without topping off?

If either of those numbers are accurate, I am vaping way too much, but don't really understand how to measure it.

Or, since there are no chemicals or tobacco, does it really matter?

and, I don't think it matters either 'cuz we are certainly better off without analogs, but I would like to know as well just to know that my e-cig consumption is far less than my previous habit and that I'm going to be healthier. I've enjoyed not reaching for analogs for the past 5 months and having my PV's to occupy my hands is really a plus to get past that part of the old habit! I think cutting back slowly on the nic and adjusting the mg has helped, too. Maybe keeping count of our empty e-juice bottles would help us measure??
 

cruisedoc

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Sure it matters, since there is nicotine and you need to watch your dosing. In round figures here it is: one real cig. is 1 mg. of nicotine, so one pack is 20 mg. At 20 mg. per ml., you can vape one ml. to equal one pack of smokes. It's pretty easy. So, 2 ml. per day is about equal to 2 packs of cigs. So, a 10 ml. bottle should last 5 days. You should consume 60 ml. per month. That's it...put simply. Incidentally, 1 ml. is equal to about 20 drops, so one drop approx. equals one cig. See, it doesn't matter if you top off or how often, just watch your overall daily consumption. Dr. G.
 

cruisedoc

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PS The above is for simplicity, in reality most liquid is avail. as 18 mg./ml., but some is avail. at 20 mg./ml. ...it depends on supplier. Also, above is for a 2 pack a day full flavor cig. An ultra-light smoker would probably do well with a 12 mg./ml. strength. If you like vaping more, cut the strength & increase to 3 ml. per day. Bottom line is to watch your total intake per day in mg. of nic. Also realize that some nicotine is lost in the heating process. How much is debatable, but you're not consuming 100%. In real cigs, the nic. in mg. is actual consumption. A full flavor cig has about 10 mg. of nic, but 90% is lost by burning, so you get 10%, or 1.0 mg. In vaping, not THAT much is lost.
 

robertpri

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Sure it matters, since there is nicotine and you need to watch your dosing. In round figures here it is: one real cig. is 1 mg. of nicotine, so one pack is 20 mg. At 20 mg. per ml., you can vape one ml. to equal one pack of smokes. It's pretty easy. So, 2 ml. per day is about equal to 2 packs of cigs. So, a 10 ml. bottle should last 5 days. You should consume 60 ml. per month. That's it...put simply. Incidentally, 1 ml. is equal to about 20 drops, so one drop approx. equals one cig. See, it doesn't matter if you top off or how often, just watch your overall daily consumption. Dr. G.

Methinks you have clarified it, but let me be sure:

1 analog = 1 mg of nic
1 pack analogs = 20 mg nic
1 ml = 20 mg
ergo:
1 ml = 1 pack analogs
1 ml = 20 drops juice
1 drop = 1 analog

So, if I top off with say 5 drops, that's five analogs?
20 drops = one pack?
 
Many thanks. I have followed many threads on MAOI's, but TSNA...?

TSNAs are "Tobacco Related Nitrosamines"--the 4 chemical compunds the FDA detected in e-cigarette cartridges and reported that made them "as dangerous as cigarettes"...but neglected to point out that the approximately 8 nanograms they found in a gram of 16mg e-liquid has more in common with a similar dose of NRTs (seems to be right around 1 nanogram of TSNA for every 2mg of nicotine) than with an analog that can have over 10,000 nanograms per gram. So you need about a liter of e-liquid to be exposed to as many carcinogens as are in a single Camel cigarette....that's not even counting the 4000+ chemicals that you aren't getting at all!

And let's not forget that a gram of e-liquid is enough to fill a cartridge (replacing 7-20 cigarettes, depending who you ask) versus a gram of tobacco which is enough to fill just one cigarette.
 

robertpri

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FDA detected [snip] reported that made them "as dangerous as cigarettes"...but neglected to point out...etc [snip]

Heh, I'm 70 and lived in SF during the turbulent years. It reminds of the famous marijuana studies of the 60's that showed after just one week of use, volunteers became disoriented, hallucinated, loss of concentration, dizzy, etc.

They neglected to note the active THC was injected directly into the blood stream, and the dose was equivalent to smoking a full size joint every seven seconds, twenty four hours a day for a week.

The fact they even survived speaks volumes.
 
Heh, I'm 70 and lived in SF during the turbulent years. It reminds of the famous marijuana studies of the 60's that showed after just one week of use, volunteers became disoriented, hallucinated, loss of concentration, dizzy, etc.

They neglected to note the active THC was injected directly into the blood stream, and the dose was equivalent to smoking a full size joint every seven seconds, twenty four hours a day for a week.

The fact they even survived speaks volumes.

Okay, now that is funny! ...yet so very very sad.
 

jongleur

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PS The above is for simplicity

Correct. There are several variables to consider.

Also realize that some nicotine is lost in the heating process. How much is debatable, but you're not consuming 100%. In real cigs, the nic. in mg. is actual consumption. A full flavor cig has about 10 mg. of nic, but 90% is lost by burning, so you get 10%, or 1.0 mg. In vaping, not THAT much is lost.

One site stated that a cart is about 15-20 analogs, another site said, no, it's more like 7-10 for typical user. But is this without topping off?

If either of those numbers are accurate, I am vaping way too much, but don't really understand how to measure it.

cruisedoc, and robertpri,

You both may like to have a look at the following blog posts by Dvap:

Getting the mg right - A model

The Missing Nicotine

What's a scientist to do?

Everything I think I know about vaping vs analogs

They are not definitive (what is?), but I think they do constitute intelligent observation and commentary on the subject, and may be, at the very least, a starting point for your thinking on this.

--John
 
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