How much nicotine am I consuming per day?

[rnln]

Let say I mix my fluid at 2mg. That is 2%. And I vape 20ml per day. 2% of 20ml is .4ml. That is 400mg that I am vaping per day.

Let compare that to smoking the real cig. A real cig has maybe from 1mg to 1.5mg. Let use 1mg per cig to make it easy. If I smoke a pack a day. That is only 20mg perday. Wow, am I consuming 20 times more of nicotine compare to smoking?

 

[cedric212]

2mg = 0.2% not 2%, so it's 40mg vaped per day.

 

[ScottP]

Cedric is correct. Also there is less nic absorption from vapor so it actually less than 40mg.

 

[SissySpike]

You also have to consider how you vape there's allot of factors to consider here. Its something that cant be answered with just some quick math. You might be able to get somewhere in the ball park but not really enough to be accurate.

 

[Spazmelda]

This is some weird math, no need to convert to percentage (which is where your error is). Say your liquid is 2 mg/ml and you vape 20 ml. 2 mg/ml * 20 ml. mls cancel out to leave you 2mg * 20 = 40 mg.

My liquid is 12 mg/ml and the total amount if vape in a day is about 3-4 ml, so the total amount of nicotine I go through is about the same as the hypothetical example. However, we really don't have much of an idea how much of that starting amount of nicotine is actually inhaled and how much is actually absorbed (2 potential times in the vaping process where nicotine could be 'lost'). Iirc, a couple of studies have shown vapers' blood cotinine levels to be somewhat less than those of smokers, but somewhat more than those of NRT users. I suppose you could get a blood cotinine test if you were concerned, and compare your numbers to those typical of smokers, because I'm sure nicotine absorption from vaping has a lot of variables (depending on setup and vaping style). I've always thought this would be cool to get a cotinine test just to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[cedric212]

Bioavailability of nasal administrations of nicotine is between 60-75% and 20-45% for oral. Since most of the nicotine is absorbed in the oral mucosa when vaped, I would probably guess ~30-40% (most likely to be even lower) which would make vaping 40mg/day be equivalent of 12-16 cigs.

 

[SissySpike]

Although the above answers are just educated guesses they are most likely lots closer than the OPs original figure with the math error he would of been closer to 120 to 160 cigarettes per day;-) I can see why he might of been a little concerned.

 

[Spazmelda]

Although the above answers are just educated guesses they are most likely lots closer than the OPs original figure with the math error he would of been closer to 120 to 160 cigarettes per day;-) I can see why he might of been a little concerned.

Yes, that would be concerning.

This looks like a nice little summary of what we know about nicotine absorption from e-cigs. I haven't read through it all yet, but posting it is easier than looking up all the references myself.

 

[SissySpike]

Just a thought if we are only absorbing 40 to 60% of the nicotine with vaping and there is little to no exhaled nicotine. Where does the rest go? I wonder if possibly some of the nic gets burned up or destroyed in the coils?

 

[Penn]

I see people are pointing out not all the nicotine in juice is absorbed.

No one has caught the fact that the 1mg number attached to traditional cigarettes is only the average absorbed amount per cigarette. The is actually about 10 mg in the actual cigarette. So a pack of smokes may mean you absorb about 20mg but it has 200mg.

 

[Spazmelda]

I see people are pointing out not all the nicotine in juice is absorbed.

No one has caught the fact that the 1mg number attached to traditional cigarettes is only the average absorbed amount per cigarette. The is actually about 10 mg in the actual cigarette. So a pack of smokes may mean you absorb about 20mg but it has 200mg.

Yes, that's explained in the article I posted, but definitely a good thing to point out.

 

[jclifford]

It has seemed kind of strange that the vapor we exhale is considered harmless, yet we are only absorbing a percentage of the nicotine that is available. It has to go somewhere?

 

[Spazmelda]

Just a thought if we are only absorbing 40 to 60% of the nicotine with vaping and there is little to no exhaled nicotine. Where does the rest go? I wonder if possibly some of the nic gets burned up or destroyed in the coils?

Lol, yeah. That's the absorbed nicotine paradox. Some probably gets destroyed in the vaporization process, some probably doesn't get vaporized and stays in the carto or tank, some is absorbed into our bodies, probably some gets swallowed (nor sure if that would make it into the blood stream or get destroyed by stomach acid?), and some is let off into the air. Are there any other possibilities? Anyway, from what I can tell, nobody is really sure where it all goes. Those are just my guesses as to where it could all be going.

ETA: some sources I am finding say that swallowed nicotine is not absorbed well, and is destroyed by the liver. I don't know what the evidence for that is, but I've found several sites that mention it.

 

[zoiDman]

Bioavailability of nasal administrations of nicotine is between 60-75% and 20-45% for oral. Since most of the nicotine is absorbed in the oral mucosa when vaped, I would probably guess ~30-40% (most likely to be even lower) which would make vaping 40mg/day be equivalent of 12-16 cigs.

There was a Study done and it showed that the amount of Nicotine absorbed was along the lines of 10-15%.

I'll poke around and see if I can find it.

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - Here is an Interesting Thread...

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...ne-vapor-compared-traditional-cigarettes.html

 

[Penn]

There was a Study done and it showed that the amount of Nicotine absorbed was along the lines of 10-15%.

I'll poke around and see if I can find it.

It's odd that so far there doesn't seem to be a consensus among the studies. I do know I read more detailed versions of 2 studies that were very far apart but that could be explained by who was chosen as test subjects. The one that indicated lower absorption rates used smokers who never used an ecig. The one that showed SIGNIFICANTLY higher levels in the blood was people who had vaped for 6 months or more.

 

[zoiDman]

It's odd that so far there doesn't seem to be a consensus among the studies. ...

It is More Than Odd.

With the Insanely Large amount of Money at Stake, and with both State and the Federal Government involved, that more Independently Verified Numbers about ALL Aspects of e-Liquids isn't Publically Available.

Seem like much of the Policy and Health Assessments are being Driven more by Speculation than by Science.

 

[degnr8]

I think the most salient point in that article is what we vapers have been talking about all along, self titration. Whatever strength we're using,we will vape enough to get to the levels we're used to and stop. This is why I think a lot of people complain about never being able to put the bloody thing down because their juice is too weak.

 

[rnln]

thanks for pointing out my error. I missed a decimal. 12 to 16 cigarettes sounds better than a pack. Regarding the 1mg or 10mg per cigarette, let me tell you my story today.

I used to smoke between a pack to 1/5 pack of the normal cig per day before I start vaping. For a round a month or so, I slowed down to a to 5 cigs a day while vaping. I quite completely for around a week or two. Today, I planed on getting another carton and take ir slow while vaping, then I decided to do 5 packs, then 1 pack and too bad, I got one pack of the ultra light. Let me tell you that first cigarette of the mini ultra light taste and smell so good, and it almost knock me out. I spin me around for at least couple seconds.

Remember, I smoke the normal same brand for 30 years, sometimes up to 2 packs aday. Each break, I took 3 cigs to satisfy. Now, one mini ultra light can spin me for couple seconds. So, saying 1mg of nic per cig doesn't sounds right to me. it must has more, a lot more.

 

[CookingWithGuns]

It's odd that so far there doesn't seem to be a consensus among the studies. I do know I read more detailed versions of 2 studies that were very far apart but that could be explained by who was chosen as test subjects. The one that indicated lower absorption rates used smokers who never used an ecig. The one that showed SIGNIFICANTLY higher levels in the blood was people who had vaped for 6 months or more.

Not odd at all given how shoddy the methodology is for so many Tobacco studies (probably because of political purposes). A great example is the premier US study of Hookahs. The one that is cited all the time, I think called for by the government, and lead to the massive regulation of them. The study showed a huge increase in cardiovascular issues, lung issues, cancer, etc... However the risk numbers didn't add up with the actuality in Hookah-heavy parts of the world. Turns out that they treated the Tobacco in the Hookah like a normal cigarette and brought it up to roughly 500 degrees Celsius whereas in proper use a Hookah's tobacco only hits 200 max and stays around 150. At proper temperatures it turns out that most of the harmful stuff in Hookah tobacco doesn't reach you and it is actually much much much safer than cigs, to the point that one hookah session is safer than a single cigarette. However the US even after having the rest of the world and various private organizations show them the studies done under proper methodology refuses to commission a new study for use in considering regulations.