Cashmere, you're on the right track. I'm certain that Ruyan manipulates the PH of the liquid used in the Ruyan Vegas to maximize nicotine intake by mouth absorption. Here's a graf from a medical source explaining the difference between puffing a cigar and inhaling a cigarette:
"Nicotine in cigar smoke (pH 8.5) is much more readily absorbed
through the mucous membranes of the mouth than is nicotine in cigarette smoke (pH 5.3)."
Low mouth acidity and a high alkaline substance go together. Cigar smoke is alkaline, so it absorbs easily. Cigarette smoke is acidic and if a smoker "puffs" a cigarette, he or she gets little nicotine. The lungs, however, go the opposite direction. Acidic cigarette smoke works if inhaled, doesn't do much if left in the mouth.
In these same studies, you'll find that a dry mouth is an open invitation to mouth problems. Suggestions are to drink something sticky to coat the back of the throat and prevent it from drying out. That might apply doubly to e-smokers of humectants like propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine. Both can dry out a mouth, inviting problems. An acidic drink, like a soft drink, will worsen the problems of an acidic mouth. It will take saliva 20 minutes to two hours to correct the PH imbalance in the mouth. If a person continuously "sips" a soft drink, the mouth never becomes balanced. Hello, cavities and worse.
Ever bite on a tart, sour or acidic substance and felt your mouth squirt saliva? Saliva is alkaline and keeps bacteria, which love acidic mouths, from growing and ruining your teeth. Another quote:
"Normally saliva is alkaline, with a pH of 7.2 or above. At this pH, the saliva encourages strengthening and the repair of teeth."
This helps explain why cigarette smokers have far more mouth problems than cigar or pipe smokers. The more cigarettes smoked, the more acidic the mouth remains for a longer period of time, setting up ideal conditions for disease.
In short, the Ruyan Vegas, if its liquid has been manipulated for mouth absorption as seems to be the case, would be far less threatening than cigarette smoking and probably e-smoking in general. It would also eliminate any danger, however slight, from inhaling propylene glycol.
I love the idea of the disposable, alkaline e-cigar, but not the price.
