Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for your good wishes.
Stephanie, I'm so sorry for the loss of both of your parents, especially to cancer. It's such an insidious disease, which wrecks havoc on its victims and their families. You've clearly been through a great deal sorrow. I'm glad you found e-cigs, and this forum. I wish you the success with it.
To the heavy smokers, I too smoked 2-3 pack a day for more than half my life. I feel your pain and your joy.
Northern Bob, sorry if I was unclear about MSK and gave the impression that their interest is limited to smoking cessation. Their Smoking Cessation Department is interested in the cessation aspect. However, that's one of hundreds of departments, and each studies different aspects.
I will try to explain the enormity to everyone. The cancer treatment center, which is huge, is only a part of MSK. Another part is the Sloan Kettering Institute. They have 93 separate laboratories with state of the art equipment. They have separate "Collaborative Research Centers” that include the Brain Tumor Center, Center for Cell Engineering, Experimental Therapeutics Center, Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center and Metastasis Research Center. They have separate "core" facilities that include Analytical Pharmacology, Animal Imaging, Antitumor Assessment, Behavioral Research Methods, Bioinfory matics, Biostatistics, DNA Sequencing, Cyclotron-Radiochemistry, Electron Microscopy, Flow Cytometry, Gene Transfer and Somatic Cell Engineering, Genetically Engineered Mouse (GEM) Phenotyping, Genomics Core Laboratory (GCL), Geoffrey Beene Translational Oncology, Glassware Washing, High-Throughput Drug Screening Facility, Immune Monitoring, Media Preparation, Microchemistry and Proteomics, Molecular Cytogenetics, Molecular Cytology, Monoclonal Antibody, Mouse Genetics, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Analytical), Office of Clinical Research, Online Research Tools, Organic Synthesis, Pathology, Preclinical Pharmacology, Radiation Facilities, Research Engineering Lab, Research Pharmacy, Stem Cell Characterization, Tetramer, X-Ray Crystallography Facility.
So Tropical Bob, which one should I ask your question?, lol. Their focus is obviously cancer, what causes it, how to cure it and how to prevent it. However, much of the reasearch they perform, prove things not related to cancer, and all things come full circle. Including nicotine. They study and test every aspect of it. And guess what happened?? It's the new wonder drug!
The reason I know liquid nicotine will not be banned is because it turned out to be the newest, proven effective treatment for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, Attention Deficit Disorder and other cognitive disorders.. And they know that people are addicted to nicotine because it helps them think better, concentrate better, and make other brain functions better. The only problems they found were side effects such as nausea, increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure in effective doses. So nicotine is here to stay. They will develop new forms without the side effects, but in the meantime, they know it's safer than tobacco, and the "real" medical community, who want to stop cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and the like, will tell the FDA, and the Senate that significantly less people will die on liquid nicotine than they will with tobacco. And they will tell them that the liquid tested is generally safe, and that people can legally poison themselves with nicotine in tobacco, if it even comes to that. The discussions have been had, and that’s why the FDA can’t give a straight answer. They leave themselves the option to pounce if someone were to do something criminal and/or dangerous with liquid nicotine, but otherwise I am confident the FDA will leave it alone until someone in the US come up with a way to purify it or create a safer form of it. Then they will likely sell their souls to the highest bidder, um, I mean patent holder.
As for published results about the level of nicotine in the bloodstream, I don't know of any,but I haven’t looked. there isn't anything useful I can share about what they told me because the calculation is based on weight, how one's body metabolizes other like things, etc.
And yes Yvilla, they definately support it and can't "publicly" recomend it, but the head neck doc couldn't wait to recommend it to the doctors, staff and friends. What they told me was if I would be willing to try and use it for smoking cessation, it would be over a long period time with gradual decreases in nicotine, and an eventual stop
vaping date. The key clue is "it would be over a long period time." As in, not going to be unavailable any time soon. And they get the nod from departments much bigger than they are.
As for this discussion being about me and or MSK, I guess it’s both. In my case, I was diagnosed with a type of lymphoma of which there are 20 known cases ever. My local hospital is big; it's part of Yale-New Haven, a well respected entity. They told me they would treat me based on the published studies and literature on it. Radiation would cure it, and there was only one way to radiate the area. I just knew this doctor wasn't telling me something. I asked questions every different way possible, and he would cover his mouth when answering me, and would never give me a straight answer. I had no idea what he wasn't telling me, but I knew it was something. So I called the lymphoma expert at MSK. She saw me and basically told me to just to pick a place that had machines that didn't break, because most of them do, and I left.
Two days later I received a call from her nurse telling me that all patient visits reports are sent to every department at MSK and they are read by someone in every department, and that one of their Oncologists would like to see me, and would I be willing to come see him. Huh??? Would anyone say no??
I went and met the most truly wonderful person who informed me that the Oncologist at my hospital would cure my cancer, but hasten my death by the method he was planning to use!!! And that he would rather me leave it untreated, and live longer, than treating it as planned. And would I consider having it done there where they would do it differently and guarantee (from a treatment prospective) me a long, long life. HUH?? Would anyone say no??
And so began my journey, and my trust, and my understanding that will they will always do right thing, not the politically correct thing. They've proved it over and over, every time they call and say, "Would you be willing..."
I am so happy to share what I know and what I learn with all of you. So it’s much about MSK, nicotine, and e-cigs, with relevant bits about me. But mostly I think it's about us.
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